No problem explained

No problem is an English expression, used as a response to thanks (among other functions). It is regarded by some as a less formal alternative to you're welcome, which shares the same function.

Informality

In the culture of younger Americans, no problem is often used as a more conversational alternative to you're welcome.[1]

It is widely believed that younger speakers especially favor no problem over you're welcome, and empirical research has corroborated this belief.[2]

No problemo

"No problemo" is "a popular elaboration" of "no problem" also used and popularized in North American English.[3]

The expression is sometimes used as an instance of "pseudo-Spanish" or Mock Spanish.[4] An early example appears in a 1959 edition of the American Import and Export Bulletin, with an advertisement stating: "Foreign shipping is No Problemo".[5] Its usage as a Spanish expression is incorrect; a correct translation would be Spanish; Castilian: ningún problema, Spanish; Castilian: sin problema or Spanish; Castilian: no hay problema. Many Spanish words from Latin roots that have English cognates have an -o in Spanish from the masculine Latin suffix -us, such as "insect" (Spanish; Castilian: insecto), "pilot" (Spanish; Castilian: piloto), and "leopard" (Spanish; Castilian: leopardo); however, "problem" belongs to the group of words ending with an a in Spanish that have a similar English counterpart, such as "poet" (Spanish; Castilian: poeta), "ceramic" (Spanish; Castilian: cerámica) and "rat" (Spanish; Castilian: rata). In the case of Spanish; Castilian: problema, this is because it has a Greek 'ma' ending, and as such is among the Iberian words ending in 'ma', such as tema, which is in fact masculine.

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Why Don't We Say 'You're Welcome' Anymore?. Caroline. Bologna. March 1, 2018. HuffPost.
  2. Dinkin . Aaron . It's no problem to be polite: Apparent-time change in responses to thanks . Journal of Sociolinguistics. 22. 2. 190–215. 10.1111/josl.12278. 2018 .
  3. Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor, eds., The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006), p. 1383.
  4. Book: Lipski . John M . John M. Lipski . Picone . Michael D. . Evans Davies . Catherine . New Perspectives on Language Variety in the South . 2015 . 659–677 . 8 September 2023 . en . Is "Spanglish" the Third Language of the South?.
  5. American Import and Export Bulletin - Volumes 50-51 (1959), p. 278.