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.