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€˜Courtesy€™ includes the overlapping concepts of 'politeness' and 'consideration':
· In a pluralist society, the obvious default form of politeness with strangers would be in the form of conventions determined by the majority culture €“ such as customary greetings.
· Within small close-knit groups from a minority culture, ethnic customs might be observed between group members €“ but with strangers it is clearly more tactful to comply with majority customs, at least to begin with.
· It is a basic courtesy for people to speak the language of the region where they live.
· The term €˜courtesy€™ also includes considerate behaviour: avoiding annoyance to other people, for example, and acting to avert their discomfort.
· People may want to ask others to behave differently €“ for example, to reduce their noise level. It is courteous for people to accede to such requests, particularly if politely made €“ though there can be difficulties, as discussed below (4.4.3).
Within this meaning, the term €˜courtesy€™ does not require agreement with the other person€™s views and beliefs. It facilitates peaceful pluralism if it is reciprocal: both majority and minority groups need to be courteous to each other.
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