it's a really interesting question to ask - how does this affect the way people think, the way that it is customary to express gratitude for something
in bulgarian, the word is 'blagodarya' which literally means "i gift you with a blessing"
save, bless... isn't it interesting how the slavic languages frame gratitude...
in portuguese the word is "obrigado" which means "i owe you"
it's a different vibe, intent is the same but "i give you a blessing" and "you saved me" are a very different expression to "i owe you"
i am not sure of the roots of the dutch/german word, "dank" but i think it is related to the near neighbour "denk" which means to think, so it probably means something like "i regard you" and "gard" is nordic word relating to "hold" and "protect"
people should pay more attention to the meaning and intent of these customs, IMO
when i give gratitude, i bless, i am redeemed, and i hold and protect those who give me the value that i need
pretty much the entire linguistic construct of the european ways of expressing gratitude form a facet of the bigger picture, and in some way fail to express some parts of it
personally, i really liked saying blagodarya, in bulgaria they also say "merci" and ... yeah, don't forget merci... obviously related to the concept of mercy which is forgiveness... but when someone does something for me, i bless them, to me the bulgarian form is the most correct to why i express gratitude as a habit when people give me something
i am not in your debt, i did not sin, you gave me a gift, and for that i bless you
