Since I had to miss last week's lesson because I had an interview, I had to study the lesson's discussion topics by looking through the lecture notes on my own. And it seems like I have missed an interesting lesson!
As an female English user, I have always found the language to be somewhat 'sexist'. When writing reports, I used to construct sentences like, "The employee can do what he/she wishes." But when there is a need for the repeat use of a pronoun, the constant use of terms like 'he or she' and 'he/she' seems redundant. So in the end I find myself just using the pronoun 'he' as a general pronoun.
As the lecture notes have stated, many English words place more prominence on men. Despite the positive changes that have been made, the language is far from favoring both gender equally. An IQ question once told to me by a friend illustrates this point.
Question: An attractive young lady got into a lift with a doctor, a lawyer and a monk. The lift broke down midway and the lights went out. The group was plunged into total darkness. The woman felt someone grope her behind during this time. When the light came back on, she immediately turned to the monk, gave him a slap and accused him of molesting her. How did she know he was the culprit?
Answer: The lawyer and the doctor are both females!
Despite the simple logic behind the question, when my friend posed the question to me and a few other friends, we were unable to guess the reason immediately. I am embarrassed to say that even as an emancipated female in this modern society, my initial assumptions were that the doctor and the lawyer were both males.
Hopefully there will come a day when the use of the English language becomes sexism-free. But I think that this will take a long time to come true...if it becomes true at all!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Computer Mediated Communication
When new accquaintances find out that I do not use the online chat platform, MSN Messenger, they are always surprised. "Why?", they would ask. Afterall, almost everyone our age are using it to communicate and interact with people.
While I agree with them that the availability of such chatting devices has made communication much easier and faster, I still dislike using them because I feel that it is impersonal. I much prefer to meet up with my friends and talk to them face-to-face, so I can see their faces light up as they tell me excitedly about their new crush or observe their sympathtic nod to my complaints of a bad week.
Because I don't chat online, when I do come across acronymns while surfing the Internet, I am always left puzzled and have to google for the exact meaning of the few random letters grouped together. Some of the slang I came across which I found perplexing includes DEGT (Don't Even Go There), TAFN (That's All For Now), IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) and the last which applies to me, PCMCIA (People Can't Master Computer Industry Acronyms). I am truly amazed by people's abilities to shrink their words.
But I guess acronyms and slang are necessary when you want to type fast and chat rapidly. Still, I am never going to understand all of them as I am not regularly exposed to them like my peers are.
While I agree with them that the availability of such chatting devices has made communication much easier and faster, I still dislike using them because I feel that it is impersonal. I much prefer to meet up with my friends and talk to them face-to-face, so I can see their faces light up as they tell me excitedly about their new crush or observe their sympathtic nod to my complaints of a bad week.
Because I don't chat online, when I do come across acronymns while surfing the Internet, I am always left puzzled and have to google for the exact meaning of the few random letters grouped together. Some of the slang I came across which I found perplexing includes DEGT (Don't Even Go There), TAFN (That's All For Now), IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) and the last which applies to me, PCMCIA (People Can't Master Computer Industry Acronyms). I am truly amazed by people's abilities to shrink their words.
But I guess acronyms and slang are necessary when you want to type fast and chat rapidly. Still, I am never going to understand all of them as I am not regularly exposed to them like my peers are.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Face and Politeness
Since it was e-learning week last Friday, we had to learn about the week's topics on our own. Reading through the lecture materials, I was relieved to discover that the teachings were relatively easier to understand due to the examples given. Since we have all been raised in an environment which also highlights the importance of face-saving along with politeness, I find that I have applied the different maxims listed as well as have had them used on me.
I thought it was interesting that words like "just" and "a bit of" were considered 'minimizers' to reduce the implied cost to the hearer. I actually use these 'minimizers' quite a bit in my conversations with other people, so now I understand that in doing so, I am actually applying the Tact Maxim.
As for doing FTAs on record, I almost never do it baldly. If it is someone I am not really close to, I would make sure to use negative politeness so the person has the option to reject me if he or she wishes since I am imposing. One example would be, "I'm sorry to trouble you, but can you please help me get a drink from the canteen since you're going there now? If it's too much of a hassle, then nevermind."
If I am making a similar request to a close friend or a family member, I will employ postive politeness instead such as, "Please be a dear and help me get a drink! Love you!"
And my requests for people's help in buying a drink for me are always met. I guess I can credit the success then to the politeness strategies that I did not even I was employing until I read the notes. :)
I thought it was interesting that words like "just" and "a bit of" were considered 'minimizers' to reduce the implied cost to the hearer. I actually use these 'minimizers' quite a bit in my conversations with other people, so now I understand that in doing so, I am actually applying the Tact Maxim.
As for doing FTAs on record, I almost never do it baldly. If it is someone I am not really close to, I would make sure to use negative politeness so the person has the option to reject me if he or she wishes since I am imposing. One example would be, "I'm sorry to trouble you, but can you please help me get a drink from the canteen since you're going there now? If it's too much of a hassle, then nevermind."
If I am making a similar request to a close friend or a family member, I will employ postive politeness instead such as, "Please be a dear and help me get a drink! Love you!"
And my requests for people's help in buying a drink for me are always met. I guess I can credit the success then to the politeness strategies that I did not even I was employing until I read the notes. :)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Components & Representation
A large part of successful intercultural communication is in understanding that different national groups have different cultural traits which affect the way they communicate. In this globalised world where there is an unprecedented movement of labour across country borders, it is increasingly important for people to grasp the nuances of intercultural communication in order to perform optimally in business settings. The knowledge will help to prevent misunderstandings and facilitate matters amongst employees in organizations with a diverse multi-national workforce.
Take the example of an female American manager being posted to a new job position overseas in Japan. Having come from a low power distance culture where her subordinates speak freely to her as en equal, she may not be able to comprehend why her new colleagues rarely voice out their opinions if she did not understand it was because Japan has a high power distance culture. Subordinates generally do what their superiors order and seldom ask questions even if they have doubts as a form of respect. High power distance is a feature of Japan as a collectivist society while low power distance is common in the USA which is an individualist country.
The same manager would also experience a shift from a low uncertainty avoidance culture to a high uncertainty one. Therefore it is likely that her team members may be unused to her informal style of leadership and also be resistent to any changes/new ideas she propose.
Having come from a country which strives for gender equality within the workplace, the US female manager may encounter difficulties in Japan which is a highly masculine country. Males are typically accorded higher status then females. If the company that the manager is working in still holds on strong to traditional values, she may find herself having to serve tea to her male colleagues in meetings, even to her subordinates.
Having come from a low context culture, the new manager may also need to adjust to the ways of a high context culture in Japan. She is likely to find it hard to bond with her new colleagues simply due the fact that she is viewed as an outsider. She would also need to understand the concept of "face-saving" that is required in high context cultures like Japan and avoid offending her Japanese counterparts by dealing with any conflict subtly and discreetly.
As shown in the above example, there are many cultural traits to consider when one is operating in a new business environement in order to ensure successful intercultural commnication and achieve a good enviroment for business.
Take the example of an female American manager being posted to a new job position overseas in Japan. Having come from a low power distance culture where her subordinates speak freely to her as en equal, she may not be able to comprehend why her new colleagues rarely voice out their opinions if she did not understand it was because Japan has a high power distance culture. Subordinates generally do what their superiors order and seldom ask questions even if they have doubts as a form of respect. High power distance is a feature of Japan as a collectivist society while low power distance is common in the USA which is an individualist country.
The same manager would also experience a shift from a low uncertainty avoidance culture to a high uncertainty one. Therefore it is likely that her team members may be unused to her informal style of leadership and also be resistent to any changes/new ideas she propose.
Having come from a country which strives for gender equality within the workplace, the US female manager may encounter difficulties in Japan which is a highly masculine country. Males are typically accorded higher status then females. If the company that the manager is working in still holds on strong to traditional values, she may find herself having to serve tea to her male colleagues in meetings, even to her subordinates.
Having come from a low context culture, the new manager may also need to adjust to the ways of a high context culture in Japan. She is likely to find it hard to bond with her new colleagues simply due the fact that she is viewed as an outsider. She would also need to understand the concept of "face-saving" that is required in high context cultures like Japan and avoid offending her Japanese counterparts by dealing with any conflict subtly and discreetly.
As shown in the above example, there are many cultural traits to consider when one is operating in a new business environement in order to ensure successful intercultural commnication and achieve a good enviroment for business.
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