On the other hand, in theory, it also gives that person the option to refuse. A “thank you” acknowledges a debt of gratitude and validates a person’s good deed.

There are about 7,000 languages spoken in the world today; they can be divided into about 140 families. Nevertheless, the languages most of us speak belong to just five: Indo-European, Sino ...

The one I selected stated, “I want to thank you in writing.” With a Sharpie, I turned the “I” into a “We,” and asked my students to spend the last few minutes of our class writing thanks.