Languages: Japanese masho "let's"

(via J-List) "Another verb ending students of Japanese learn early is masho, which corresponds to "let's...," as in "let's eat" (tabemasho), "let's drink" (nomimasho), or "let's go" (ikimasho) [...]. This is more than just a handy suffix to allow you to say many things in Japanese -- it's actually a reflection of Japan's unique group-centric culture. In a non-smoking area in the U.S., you'd probably see signs saying something like "do not smoke," giving you no choice in the matter. In Japan, however, it's common for such notices to use the gentler masho ending, effectively saying "let's not smoke in non-smoking areas," (tobacco o yamemasho), "let's put our telephones into vibration mode" (manner mode ni shimasho) and so on. It seems to be part of the Japanese psyche that they respond better to an inclusive request rather than a specific command or rule. This "let's request" form has a very soft sound to it, and parents and care-givers use it to make even the most stubborn child do what's asked of them."