IT use and computer mediated communications has become so much a part of our lives that many do not realize how embedded it has become. SMS, MMS, phone calls, instant messengers, skype. the world has indeed shrunk many-fold, and the issue here (i feel) is that it is changing at too fast a pace.
Many social problems do happen not because society is changing. that is normal actually. the problem is that it is changing too fast, so fast that society is unable to catch up to the changes.
i recall a study i once read, that in such a fast-paced world, where efficiency is prized, even language is not spared. for example, in singapore, acronyms are so common! what about our short-forms for almost everything? nowhere else in the world do people label their universities with acronyms. when we ask foreigners where they study, we get answers like "harvard" or "university of Berkley". never HU or UB. even our sentence structure of Singlish is a shorter and more efficient version of standard english. it has been shortened, not for 'fun', or just because it happened, but usually to cut out words that are "waste of time".
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Lecture 8 : Cross-Gender Interaction
It never occurred to me that communication between genders, can be considered cross-cultural! But after the lesson, I really how true it was! Boys and girls are brought up in total different ways, and are really considered different!I guess that's one similarity ALL ethnicities share! Oh wells maybe not - I DO recall a tribe in North America that differentiate gender by the roles one played in society, not the sex. means if you are 'destined' to be a hunter, you will be brought up in the "masculine" role, whether you are male or female.
The plurality of cultures, even between genders make me wonder, it's so all-encompassing, then true human rights and so-called democracy will never exists? There will be some group that claim certain 'tradition' to their advantage. It is indeed a very tricky and complex situation.
As for english being sexist, one simply has to look to their long long history to understand why. England, is historically a patriachal state. a good example is the case of homosexuality. Did u know that gays were not allowed in the past? But there was no rule concerning lesbians! Simply because the people at that time did not even manage to conceptualise the idea of two women making love!
Singapore is extremely patriachal too! LKY once said, women are MEANT TO BE HOUSEWIVES. He said how can they have full jobs like lawyers and doctors, and at the same time have families? haha
The plurality of cultures, even between genders make me wonder, it's so all-encompassing, then true human rights and so-called democracy will never exists? There will be some group that claim certain 'tradition' to their advantage. It is indeed a very tricky and complex situation.
As for english being sexist, one simply has to look to their long long history to understand why. England, is historically a patriachal state. a good example is the case of homosexuality. Did u know that gays were not allowed in the past? But there was no rule concerning lesbians! Simply because the people at that time did not even manage to conceptualise the idea of two women making love!
Singapore is extremely patriachal too! LKY once said, women are MEANT TO BE HOUSEWIVES. He said how can they have full jobs like lawyers and doctors, and at the same time have families? haha
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Lecture 7: Cultural Sustems 2: Face and Politeness
Face and politeness: very interesting! I never realised we employ these kind of Maxims and Strategies to "maximize benefit, minimize cost blah blah". haha and in Singapore, I can already see (from this systems), that there are SO MANY MANY MANY cultural types. Much more than the CMIO - within chinese alone there are so many! For instance maybe compare university-educated chinese and the non-educated. The way we save "face" or "politeness" is already so different! (I feel) University-educated tend to be more "western" in our strategies, while others are more "asian".
So much for PAP's constant iteration that Singapore is a "CLASSLESS" society! hrmmm! statistics simply show Singapore has an ever-increasing social inequality. And this, can be illustrated through cultural systesms, where different groups of people have different cultural systems simply due to education (and exposure to international cultures).
Power also plays a part in language use. This brings to mind the concepts by some sociologists, that argue that everything in society, is about negotiation of power - power struggle. From politics, to mundane things like marriage. Perhaps, language is also part of this concept? A lecturer (as given in the example), may use less "polite" or "face-saving" strategies to assert his power, while a student is unable to do so as he is powerless and to do so would mean risking a failure!
So much for PAP's constant iteration that Singapore is a "CLASSLESS" society! hrmmm! statistics simply show Singapore has an ever-increasing social inequality. And this, can be illustrated through cultural systesms, where different groups of people have different cultural systems simply due to education (and exposure to international cultures).
Power also plays a part in language use. This brings to mind the concepts by some sociologists, that argue that everything in society, is about negotiation of power - power struggle. From politics, to mundane things like marriage. Perhaps, language is also part of this concept? A lecturer (as given in the example), may use less "polite" or "face-saving" strategies to assert his power, while a student is unable to do so as he is powerless and to do so would mean risking a failure!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Lecture 6: Communication Systesms 1: Component & Representations
Finally some concepts i can understand again! concepts to be used to interpret data, results from cross-cultural studies.
I'm guessing i could maybe use the "power distance", definitely not the "uncertainty avoidance", and most definitely the "masculinity vs feminity" component.
Singapor, being a patriachal society ( it still is, no matter how feminists want to argue. hrmph!), would certainly have implications on how couples use humor to resolve conflict. Certainly I'd think that perhaps the male would use humor more, and well and more aggresively etc.
Yet culturally, Singaporeans are not homogenous. Different classes, different groups of Singaporeans are exposed differently to world cultures. One could say (generally of course) that the higher level of education one attains, the more exposed one is to western cultures, and hence "egalitarianism" of the genders. Of course family backgrounds, frequency of mass media usage etc would affect too.
Hence, i am truely excited to see the results of my study, when it is completed. yay!
and i was doing some readings - there are 150 definitions in English and American sources alone, of "culture". Culture is so large and all-embracing, and grasp some aspect of a complex whole is not enough. Language is but a piece of puzzle in this mighty jigsaw, and to study culture and make assumptions/statements based on language is certainly not enough. We need to back it up with detailed study of cultures, like anthropology, and vice versa.
ending of with another great song, classic one. i wonder, do i include same-sex relationships in my definition of "dating couples"? haha that would definitely complicate things!
I'm guessing i could maybe use the "power distance", definitely not the "uncertainty avoidance", and most definitely the "masculinity vs feminity" component.
Singapor, being a patriachal society ( it still is, no matter how feminists want to argue. hrmph!), would certainly have implications on how couples use humor to resolve conflict. Certainly I'd think that perhaps the male would use humor more, and well and more aggresively etc.
Yet culturally, Singaporeans are not homogenous. Different classes, different groups of Singaporeans are exposed differently to world cultures. One could say (generally of course) that the higher level of education one attains, the more exposed one is to western cultures, and hence "egalitarianism" of the genders. Of course family backgrounds, frequency of mass media usage etc would affect too.
Hence, i am truely excited to see the results of my study, when it is completed. yay!
and i was doing some readings - there are 150 definitions in English and American sources alone, of "culture". Culture is so large and all-embracing, and grasp some aspect of a complex whole is not enough. Language is but a piece of puzzle in this mighty jigsaw, and to study culture and make assumptions/statements based on language is certainly not enough. We need to back it up with detailed study of cultures, like anthropology, and vice versa.
ending of with another great song, classic one. i wonder, do i include same-sex relationships in my definition of "dating couples"? haha that would definitely complicate things!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Lecture 5 - Written Discourse
okie have to admit it. I have absolutely NO interest in written discourse. haha it is seriously not in my scope of what i think is an interesting topic for my essay.
However i do have a thought that has almost nothing to do with Language or communication. All this talk about comparing cultures through communication, tends to encourage comparison between cultures.
Yet, in an increasingly globalising world, where cosmopolitanism is also increasingly widespread, lies a contradiction. Cosmopolitanism, which is the product of a "shrinking" world, advocates diversity, pluralism of cultures. Yet globalisation forces homogenity onto cultures, by way of capitalism and mass media just to name a few.
Similarly, I feel to study cultures through communication confusing. Why should we study how Chinese people speak English? They were born to speak Chinese! so what if their writing style beats around a bush? somehow i feel we Shouldn't be comparing cultures. Cultures were built and created differently to help adapt to specific environments.
and so now, with globalisation, environments are changing. Language, as part of culture, is also changing. Social forces are increasingly intertwined and interdependant, and language along with it. I think soon, to explain certain language use would be no longer as "straightforward" or "simple" as before.
However i do have a thought that has almost nothing to do with Language or communication. All this talk about comparing cultures through communication, tends to encourage comparison between cultures.
Yet, in an increasingly globalising world, where cosmopolitanism is also increasingly widespread, lies a contradiction. Cosmopolitanism, which is the product of a "shrinking" world, advocates diversity, pluralism of cultures. Yet globalisation forces homogenity onto cultures, by way of capitalism and mass media just to name a few.
Similarly, I feel to study cultures through communication confusing. Why should we study how Chinese people speak English? They were born to speak Chinese! so what if their writing style beats around a bush? somehow i feel we Shouldn't be comparing cultures. Cultures were built and created differently to help adapt to specific environments.
and so now, with globalisation, environments are changing. Language, as part of culture, is also changing. Social forces are increasingly intertwined and interdependant, and language along with it. I think soon, to explain certain language use would be no longer as "straightforward" or "simple" as before.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Lecture 3 - Spoken Discourse
Still haven't really grasped the concept of Spoken Discourse. what's it different from Speech acts and events?
a concept my dad once told me: if you call me, means you want something of me. so why should i answer first? YOU tell me who you are. YOU tell me what you want! haha seems a little b*st*rd, but i find it true. and i find it useful in swatting away irritating sales calls. Show some irritation and impatience and you've alread turned your back.
But somehow these sales calls ignore all these openings, cues, negotiations. if you offer a pre-closing offering, they practically ignore it. which i guess is what makes them so irritating.
Me: um...okie but i'm not interested..
Sales guy: why not? it's a good plan! ......................you never know till you try it!
Me: ur huh..if i actually had to try everything on earth then????
gosh this is turning into a ranting post. and so i've taken to not answering unfamiliar numbers, or simply hanging up.
I suddenly had a thought for the research topic. how about: LISTENER RESPONSE FOR DATING COUPLES! haha or something along that line. might be interesting! that research would sell! girls will be buying to see if their boyfriends are "faking" it. haha
a concept my dad once told me: if you call me, means you want something of me. so why should i answer first? YOU tell me who you are. YOU tell me what you want! haha seems a little b*st*rd, but i find it true. and i find it useful in swatting away irritating sales calls. Show some irritation and impatience and you've alread turned your back.
But somehow these sales calls ignore all these openings, cues, negotiations. if you offer a pre-closing offering, they practically ignore it. which i guess is what makes them so irritating.
Me: um...okie but i'm not interested..
Sales guy: why not? it's a good plan! ......................you never know till you try it!
Me: ur huh..if i actually had to try everything on earth then????
gosh this is turning into a ranting post. and so i've taken to not answering unfamiliar numbers, or simply hanging up.
I suddenly had a thought for the research topic. how about: LISTENER RESPONSE FOR DATING COUPLES! haha or something along that line. might be interesting! that research would sell! girls will be buying to see if their boyfriends are "faking" it. haha
Friday, February 5, 2010
Lecture 2 - Speech Events
Definition: Structured activity which is governed by rules for the use of speech.
I realised that speech events occur in almost every aspect of our lives and we do take it extremely for granted. We assume it's natural, simply because we've been socialized into such norms, values and beliefs. It has become part of our subconscious. Only when we analyze deeper into everyday use of language, do we realise the significance of certain utterances.
Perhaps, this is what truely sets us apart from being mere animals. Perhaps, this is what it is to be truely civilized.
One point raised was that China nationals often have a smaller personal area in public spaces, and that Singaporeans must understand that it is the norm in China. However, in Singapore, it is NOT the norm and the China nationals have to understand it and adhere to our norms here! When in Rome, do as Romans do! The point I raised this was that I was thinking - how can such cross cultural communication or culture studies be applied to the masses so that there can be greater understanding and minimal misunderstanding in a diverse country like Singapore, where 1 in 4 are not born here!
Another point is when the prof asked if a prospective mother-in-law were to invite the son-in-law, what kind of reaction would be given. There were a great varying type of answers generated in the class, and within myself, I couldn't place my finger on my answer too - The "traditional chinese" values of modesty, unconditional respect for elders and consideration, yet being irritated or unhappy at being asked thrice reflected the democratic and respect ideology. My mind immediately thought of the sociologist Durkheim's anomie theory, where old values were becoming irrelevant in the increasingly fast-changing world and there was an absence of new values to govern social behaviour and norms, leading to absence or diminution of standards or values (normlessness). This was a classic example of how globalisation has affected traditional chinese values in a modern society like Singapore.
to end off, above is a video of a GREAT GREAT GREAT band from Scotland, FRANZ FERDINAND. Rock concerts do have a set of implicit rules as well! There is often turn-taking when the singer asks or says something and the crowd screams in response. Many concerts also have long sing-alongs nearer the end of the concert, usually the last song (before the encore). Sing-alongs also usually occur with the singer taking a line and the audience copying him in the next beat. And lastly, of course, when the crowd screams for encore, it is impolite of the band to refuse.
-5/2/10
I realised that speech events occur in almost every aspect of our lives and we do take it extremely for granted. We assume it's natural, simply because we've been socialized into such norms, values and beliefs. It has become part of our subconscious. Only when we analyze deeper into everyday use of language, do we realise the significance of certain utterances.
Perhaps, this is what truely sets us apart from being mere animals. Perhaps, this is what it is to be truely civilized.
One point raised was that China nationals often have a smaller personal area in public spaces, and that Singaporeans must understand that it is the norm in China. However, in Singapore, it is NOT the norm and the China nationals have to understand it and adhere to our norms here! When in Rome, do as Romans do! The point I raised this was that I was thinking - how can such cross cultural communication or culture studies be applied to the masses so that there can be greater understanding and minimal misunderstanding in a diverse country like Singapore, where 1 in 4 are not born here!
Another point is when the prof asked if a prospective mother-in-law were to invite the son-in-law, what kind of reaction would be given. There were a great varying type of answers generated in the class, and within myself, I couldn't place my finger on my answer too - The "traditional chinese" values of modesty, unconditional respect for elders and consideration, yet being irritated or unhappy at being asked thrice reflected the democratic and respect ideology. My mind immediately thought of the sociologist Durkheim's anomie theory, where old values were becoming irrelevant in the increasingly fast-changing world and there was an absence of new values to govern social behaviour and norms, leading to absence or diminution of standards or values (normlessness). This was a classic example of how globalisation has affected traditional chinese values in a modern society like Singapore.
to end off, above is a video of a GREAT GREAT GREAT band from Scotland, FRANZ FERDINAND. Rock concerts do have a set of implicit rules as well! There is often turn-taking when the singer asks or says something and the crowd screams in response. Many concerts also have long sing-alongs nearer the end of the concert, usually the last song (before the encore). Sing-alongs also usually occur with the singer taking a line and the audience copying him in the next beat. And lastly, of course, when the crowd screams for encore, it is impolite of the band to refuse.
-5/2/10
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