Why do flight attendants add so many words to simple sentences. For instance, "Please fasten you seat belt" comes out as "At this time, we'd like to ask that you DO fasten your seat belt." Do they get paid by the word?
So my questions:
1) Where does "At this time" come from and why do they preface almost all commands/requests with that phrase?
2) Why do they feel that verbs are not good enough on their own but need the word "DO" to emphasize the action.
3) A minor annoyances it the "we'd like to ask." I often tempted to offer my permission by saying, 'Go ahead, take a chance and ask."
Oh well,
Thanks for listening.
Jack
Count yourself lucky that they don't say "At this point in time, we would like to acquire your attention for the purpose of requesting that everyone utilize their seat belts for the purpose of fastening them."
Seriously, I'll bet the real reason why they say "At this time" and similiar non-signal words is that an airplane can be a noisy and chaotic place (especially with headphones and whatnot), and they need some words to let you know that they're speaking. So by the time you pay attention, you can hear the actually significant words.
Speaking of silly language used aboard airplanes, the comedian George Carlin has a great bit about just that.
If you can find it, it's a great silly look at our crazy language.
"'we would like to pre-board,' ....what does it mean to pre-board? To get on before you get on?"