The Grand Finale

It seems like it was only yesterday when I started on the first blog post. Indeed, thirteen weeks have gone by in a flash. This post then marks the finale of the module. With this, there is undeniably a sense of accomplishment rather than merely heaving a sigh of relief.

I would say that there are certain teaching seminars that have seem to have left an imprint more than the others, with the obvious reason being these are the topics which I can relate to the most. The seminar which focussed on speech acts and speech events is one of the most memorable. Telephone conversations, lectures and service encounters seem all so common in our everyday life but yet little did I detect the underlying but obvious patterns or structure of the language used in these activities. It was through the teaching seminar that has allowed me to see and realize that the structures of the language have been governed by certain norms.
Also, it is interesting to learn that non-verbal interactions have various interpretations across cultures. I remember learning quite a lot from the video that was shown to us in one of the classes. Like how a nod in Japan would mean that one is listening attentively but does not imply that he is agreeing to something, the latter being the common interpretation in our culture.
Overall, I believe this module has not only served to enhance my understanding on cultural discourse, but has enabled me to become a more effective participant in various speech communities.

Computer Mediated Communication

I felt that the last teaching seminar on Computer Mediated Communication was perhaps one of the most interesting as the listed examples of tools were all familiar to us in one way or another. Especially since most of us have been bred in this affluent society, computers, handphones as well as the use of internet have become almost indispensable in our daily lives. So does that make us slaves to technology? Well, that may be debatable.

Recounting on how Malaysia pinned the blame on the extensive use of internet language such as abbreviations for their deteoriating standard of English certainly reminds me of how ludicrous it was for them to have confidently claimed our famous local dishes like Laksa and chilli crabs to have been originally theirs. Personally, I believe that any one with a mind of his/her own is able to know when to apply the appropriate language style depending on circumstances. For instance, "u" is the common abbreviation for "you", often used in online chats like msn and in informal emails. But do YOU see any abbreviations being used here? I don't think any one of us uses abbreviations in their blogging exercise especially since it's for class purposes, there is this notion of formality.

So my point being that it is natural for one to be able to know when to use the right style of language based on various situations. And hence, the stand made by Malaysia, wherein internet language has caused the standard of their English to suffer sounds ridiculous to me.

Market Transactions

At some point or other, we have all bought something for someone, a loved one, a friend or that annoying friend that we all too often feel obligated to buy him or her something just because it's their birthday.

This week, I will be talking about market place transactions and the underlying factors that contribute to the speech event of buying or selling of goods in the market place, between the vendor and the customer.

Whether we realise it or not, we all are in one way or another contributing to a structured or more accurately, routinised script. The structure of this speech event begins by the vendor offering his goods to potential customers, which, an interested customer will in turn respond by choosing the goods or by asking the vendor for the price. If both parties have agreed on the price, the transaction is then completed by the exchanging of goods for money.

There is however a way out for those of us who are unwilling to be slaves to a scripted event in which we as consmers sometimes feel duped into getting something we do not want. This event or script, will only be conformed to if the vendor and the buyer have the same end goal in mind. In this instance, the customer has to have the goal in mind to to purchase whatever the vendor is selling and the vendor, as all sane vendors should, have the goal to sell his product. Therefore, the way out of this conformity to a scripted speech act would be to never have a similar end goal as the vendor.

In conclusion, as fas as market transactions are concerned, like it or not, we as consumers have no choice but to conform and be slaves to this scripted speech act since no man is an island and we all have to depend on vendors for daily neccesities. So bring on the shackles and chains, I'm off to the market!

Would this be considered abject?

Clearly, certain everyday mannerisms could be interpreted differently by many from different parts of the world. This could be due to long standing cultural views or traditions that have led a certain act to be deemed as a norm and others that do not abide would be considered unacceptable. Hence, what's deemed as appropriate might come across as rude in another's culture. For instance, burping- a common everday act of nature, is seen as a compliment in China or Japan, and is a form of positive expression indicating to the chef that he has excellent culinary skills. However, in the Western culture for example, burping out loud would be associated with rude or inappropriate behaviour. Similarly, spitting in public would be seen as uncivilized in the Western culture, but such an act would certainly not be tied to a similar stigma in places like China. Therefore, it is apparent that feelings of abjectiveness would vary from culture to culture.

Speak your language, or not?

I know for sure that I get this handicapped feeling sometimes when it comes to writing. I won't deny that I'm not feeling it right now as I blog, and I wonder if this has to do with my confidence/fear of what the readers might think/a mental block. I guess perhaps it's a little bit of everything rolled into one. Ever so often, I'd wait for my muse to spring before I get into the mood of writing. Funny I think it's easier for me to speak what comes to mind instead of penning them down. In other words, it is more natural for the former. Maybe it's because for mild grammatical or vocabulary errors, it would be more convenient for them to be dismissed or go unnoticed when used in speech rather than when seen on paper. What do you think?

Born and bred in Singapore, like every other Singaporean Chinese, I've been taught both English and Chinese as a Mother Tongue subject as early as kindergarten. But I've always dreaded Chinese classes, and I certainly found the language a bane to my existence. The strokes are so complicated and I still find it a tough struggle to express myself speaking with the language, let alone write. Sometimes it gets embarassing.

And I think I know where my Mom was coming from whenever she jokes and says "Teochew nang bui hiao da teochew wei" (which means a Teochew who can't speak Teochew). But honestly, being Teochew does not quite put a pressure on me to learn the language well, and perhaps I can't deny that my sheer ignorance is to be blamed.

Nothing but Talk

It is certaininly out of the ordinary for a caller to identify him/herself especially when calling a friend due to the take-for-grantedness that everyone on earth owns a handphone that is accompanied by a caller-id.
I called a good friend of mine to and I wanted to find out what she was up to this afternoon. Our Wednesdays phone conversations are some what predictable.

Caller (could be either person): Hello, what you doing?
Receiver ( could be either person as well) : Nothing much ( Actually this reply is pretty much redundant, cos it doesnt quite serve any impact)
And the ultimate key question of the conversation goes "wanna play mahjong/ wanna go out?"
Following this would be the time arrangement. A short and sweet conversation, dont you think?
But then again, it really depends on the relationship between the two conversationalists and how exactly they are bonded. Surely there'll be more formality if youre conversing with an elderly such as your grandparents or an authoritative figure like your boss. I know it because when it's my grandma on the line, I'd first have to identify myself. For one it's because she has 17 grandchildren and to top that I doubt she knows how to use her handphone beyond the functions of answering/rejecting calls. In other words, she doesnt hold a caller ID. Then out of concern and due respect, I'll ask if she has already eaten. These are things that I tend not to ask if it's my friends on the line. I guess it has become so natural as to be able to separate the notion of casualness and respect with regards to whom we're speaking to.

Let's Talk About Speech Events!

Last week in class, I learnt about "speech events". These two words combined sounded a tad foreign to me at the beginning. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be since interestingly after embracing the definition, I realized that we are all actually active participants of such activities, events that are taking place every single day, from telephone conversations to lectures to purchasing of services. Such activities are inescapable and conversations within occur in such formatted structures but yet they all seem so natural. For instance, a phone conversation would first be kicked off with a "Hello" and then after, the contents begin to spill, and finally "Bye" to denote the end of a phone call before one hangs up. If one doesn't abide by this structure, he or she would normally leave an ill impression of him or herself. Like what do you think of someone who DELIBERATELY hangs up on you abruptly? (I'm not talking about a sudden disconnection) In my position, I would certainly be annoyed. Hence, I believe speech events revolve around social norms and if these norms aren't abided to then society would generally filter or estranged those who fail to conform, ie. those who carry themselves in an uncivilized way or portray themselves to be rude/impolite.