It is truly surprising how much a simple action could have so much meaning! I was having fun in the lesson trying to figure out what my usual reaction was to some of the phrases given in the questionnaire. Some of us imagined themselves to be talking to a close friend of theirs while others imagined talking to their parents or even total strangers on the street doing surveys. The tone involved in the conversation depended on whom we were talking with.
For instance, when a close friend compliments you on your dressing, in my own behavior, I would usually reply with “Of course I’m looking good! Who do you think I am?” However, if a not-so-close friend gives the compliments, the reply would usually be of the thanking and returning categories. Why is there such a difference in behavior? Probably it is human’s natural instinct to be wary of people who have yet to enter your inner sanctum of trust and still build a wall around themselves or, MAYBE, it is only polite to do so because we are not so close to the other party, not knowing whether they can take the joke.
As mentioned in class, Chinese in particular tend to be more of thanking and denigrating themselves while receiving compliments and Westerners tend to be the opposite. However, this proves to be wrong after consolidating all our responses from the questionnaire after the group discussion. I believe this to be a teaching passed down from our ancestors in Ancient China, the teachings of humility. In Western countries, I have an inkling that the teachings are to accept all compliments or criticism with grace and elegance. That leaves much to say and probably requires more research in this area, for myself that is.
I would also like to touch on how a particular speech act performed in various languages by different speech communities. It was not as obvious before but now that it is mentioned, there is a Mandarin variety show on television that has people of different nationalities gathered together and getting them to speak Mandarin in various ways. Some of these include tongue twisters, which I personally find it to be very entertaining. The host also tried to get these foreigners to speak “Singapore-Style”, or Singlish, as most of us know it as. The way in which others are unable to comprehend the Singapore lingo is how we are unable to comprehend other lingos used in other countries. After the class on Friday, I really do see how speech acts are performed in various speech communities and it is really interesting to see how our simple conversation can be termed in so many ways.
Bernanke's lecture series
13 years ago
3 comments:
Hi Alan, I was also trying to picture the scenario in my head when we were asked to do the survey! Haha, like who would I be talking to and also my mood. If I were happy it would probably sound like "Of course it's nice, I chose it!", jokingly, of course. And if it were an acquaintance, or someone I don't really want to talk to, I would maybe pretend I didn't hear it at all. Actually, I think the entire context of how we reply to compliments (eg: place, mood, etc) plays quite a big part in the response, no?
The way we react to a compliment is certainly dependent on how comfortable we are with the person who makes the compliment. To avoid coming across as overly egoistic, people normally tend to react in the humblest ways with others whom they've met for the first time or whom they're acquianted to. ie. to thank and accept in a humble tone, or if not humbly disagree. Afterall, the first or if not, first few impressions count. Im sure no one would want to be thought of as being overly confident especially where there is less room for jokes with people whom we're not too comfortable with.
Hi Hui Min! I think everyone was really picturing in their head what they would reply. Myself included. And also, my responses in the questionnaire was based on the person I was talking to. Basically, I pictured myself experiencing the same situation with various people and adding onto the response. And yes to your question! How we respond really plays a huge part in the environment we are in and people we are with.
And to Christine! We are definitely all trying to be goody two shoes when we meet new people, especially when we are in a new environment too. Like I mentioned, I think we are only reacting naturally to be protective towards people whom we do not know well. And the video at the end of the class certainly inspired all of us to open up more to the dwellers of our inner circle.
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