linguistics1-7  Exercise 3: Four Levels of Politeness
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"Give me the bill" at four levels (one possible set):

  1. Give me the bill.                              blunt
  2. Could I have the bill, please?                 standard polite
  3. Would you mind bringing the bill when you're   very polite
     ready?
  4. I don't suppose we could have the bill?        indirect, hedged

The more indirect forms leave the hearer an easy way to refuse, which
protects their negative face (their wish not to be imposed on).

Asking a stranger the time:

  German      Entschuldigung, können Sie mir sagen, wie spät es ist?
              (Sie, because the person is a stranger)
  Hungarian   Elnézést, meg tudná mondani, hány óra van?
              (the formal, third-person conditional form)
  Esperanto   Pardonu, kioma horo estas?
              (no choice of formal or informal to make)

What German and Hungarian force on you:

  Both make you choose between an informal and a formal form of address
  (du/Sie; te/Ön) before you can say anything, and the choice signals your
  relationship to the other person. Esperanto has only one "you", vi, so
  politeness is expressed through wording alone (Pardonu, please, the
  conditional), as in English.

(Wording of your own answers will differ; check that the level of formality
matches the person you are addressing.)