"Nin guo jiang le [您過獎了]" (#159; Topic K)

At one point in her essay in Newsweek 5/1/06, on China (#159), Anna Quindlen made reference to an exchange with her American-born translator: "If [he] is told his Chinese is excellent, he learns to reflexively reply, 'Nali, nali, nin guo jiang le [那裡，那裡，您過獎了].' Loosely translated, that means 'Please don't, please don't, you overpraise.' To acknowledge ability is considered arrogant. What could be less American?" Upon reading it, I have mixed feelings. In China, it is indeed expected that one on the receiving end of a praise be modest and offer a disclaimer (那裡，那裡 in the above). To avoid being viewed as unappreciative, the addressee then adds a short phrase to soften the negative connotation. The final four words above, which serve this purpose, are used more frequently in Beijing -- residents there are invariably more diplomatic and more cultured. People in Shanghai -- and I consider myself being one, having lived there some 18+ years -- are likely to be more blunt and less circumspect. Were I on the receiving end of a praise such as the above, I probably would blurt out: "Not so, not so, my enunciation is not good" or similar denials to this effect -- which, as may be seen, only compounds the negative connotation of the first four words. In any case, after being in USA, it took me a long time before learning to respond with a simple "Thank you" -- and certainly not reflexively. Still, I have a problem. True, saying "Thank you," being shorter and simpler, is also more direct. But why is being modest considered as "less American" or even "not American"? I don't have a good answer.