Interesting. Could the relative directness be a feature of Romance languages, perhaps? I guess that English speakers are more non-confrontational than speakers of other languages and this is reflected in the communication style. I think that Japanese is even more non-confrontational and indirect. I have a Japanese friend who told me that people from Kyoto are extremely polite and indirect, to the point where he found it uncomfortable speaking with a friend from Kyoto – he felt that he was being rude without knowing if he was or not!