Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
well hellooooo!
"Your understanding of the subtle, and not-so-subtle, differences, as well as the traditional greetings of a country, conveys a great deal. It sends a message about how you view and value a culture and whether you respect your colleagues and potential partners" (reuters.com, 2011).
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/us-modern-etiquette-idINTRE72K1MU20110321
There are many ways to say "hello" without using words and amongst different cultures these are recognized with specific significances. One must have an awareness of what is expected when sharing greetings in any culture. This article goes on to explain the accepted ways to greet a person in a business setting.
In these uncertain times, one may not be embarking on a career or even finishing a degree in their native country. It is important to know, not only proper greetings, but all accepted non-verbal communication of the society they may become a part of. What you do will weigh heavily on the impression you leave on people. This does not solely apply to gesture. The people of a culture take to heart their distinctiveness and hold dear the societal rituals that define them as a community. Each culture has a style as does every speaker of its language. The style chosen to convey a message may result in undesired interpretation.
“How something is said takes precedence over what is said” (Chaika, 2008). Children of most cultures are taught certain rules that will steer them clear of consequence. In adulthood, those same, unspoken rules apply to save us from humiliation in social settings. Observation tells a member of society what is acceptable and what is not. If it is standard practice to shake hands upon greeting a business associate and another party chooses to hug, there will be an awkward situation to then remedy. Would it be acceptable to call the infraction out in public? Some cultures just might think it is. In which case, the offender best be ready for embarrassment.
I am one of those that will steadfastly correct any wrong doing without just cause. There are several social situations, far more substantial than a “hello” where immediate correction is demanded, but if a colleague were to hug me instead of shake my hand – I suppose that could slide! I’m grateful to have learned the customs of other cultures because they might not be as forgiving as I might be. What would happen if a woman hugged an Arab man?
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/us-modern-etiquette-idINTRE72K1MU20110321
There are many ways to say "hello" without using words and amongst different cultures these are recognized with specific significances. One must have an awareness of what is expected when sharing greetings in any culture. This article goes on to explain the accepted ways to greet a person in a business setting.
In these uncertain times, one may not be embarking on a career or even finishing a degree in their native country. It is important to know, not only proper greetings, but all accepted non-verbal communication of the society they may become a part of. What you do will weigh heavily on the impression you leave on people. This does not solely apply to gesture. The people of a culture take to heart their distinctiveness and hold dear the societal rituals that define them as a community. Each culture has a style as does every speaker of its language. The style chosen to convey a message may result in undesired interpretation.
“How something is said takes precedence over what is said” (Chaika, 2008). Children of most cultures are taught certain rules that will steer them clear of consequence. In adulthood, those same, unspoken rules apply to save us from humiliation in social settings. Observation tells a member of society what is acceptable and what is not. If it is standard practice to shake hands upon greeting a business associate and another party chooses to hug, there will be an awkward situation to then remedy. Would it be acceptable to call the infraction out in public? Some cultures just might think it is. In which case, the offender best be ready for embarrassment.
I am one of those that will steadfastly correct any wrong doing without just cause. There are several social situations, far more substantial than a “hello” where immediate correction is demanded, but if a colleague were to hug me instead of shake my hand – I suppose that could slide! I’m grateful to have learned the customs of other cultures because they might not be as forgiving as I might be. What would happen if a woman hugged an Arab man?
Hugh Laurie: the British accent vs the American
This clip features Hugh Laurie (famous british actor who is now famous in America for his television series “House”) as a guest on the daytime show “Ellen”. (Hosted by Ellen Degeneres – famous American comedienne)
It’s interesting to see two people try to decipher popular words from two different languages. One might believe that American English and British English are the same language simply because one can understand the other without “learning” the other’s language. When, in reality, what is being understood are the sounds. This clip is an excellent example of how similar sounds can be combined in such a way as to be indeterminable by someone who is not familiar with the culture in which combining specific phonemes creates meaning only in the social settings of a specific culture. This is the feature of these similar languages that must be learned through experience.
“Pronunciations, word choice, even grammatical forms all are linked to the social structure of the community the speaker belongs to” (Chaika, 2008). If given time in the right setting, Laurie could easily learn what the quizzed words mean and vise-versa. Humor is apparent when watching the two of them try to guess the slang words from each other’s language because the American audience finds their slang easy to understand, while Laurie reacts as if he has just been spoken to in gibberish. What makes it more amazing is that neither one of them realizes that just the way they are saying the word to each other can convey meaning. Without having an understanding of the social significance of each phrase, it is impossible for them to guess what the words might mean – eve when giving their best effort. Do you think Hugh Laurie would stand a better chance if given twenty minutes in a room with the Black-Eyed Peas and 3 teenagers?
baby talk
"Researchers at Northwestern University have found that even before your little one begins to speak, words play an important role in your child's comprehension and communication. "
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/25/experts-talking-to-your-baby-can-build-language-skills/?iref=allsearch/
Out of uncertainty and desire to be a successful parent, grow studies such as this. It may seem commonsensical that parents must actually speak to their children in order for them to learn language yet, on a global level, the how surrounding first language acquisition are still not exactly common knowledge.
Before my daughter was born, I decided that she will be talked to as a, thinking and feeling, human being from her first breath on. I watched as my friends used coded words and phrases to explain the world to their children and I was less than impressed with the results they were getting. If a child's first language is learned by the sounds he hears in social settings than shouldn't those sounds form real words?
This study, however simple, shows that infants learn the phonemes that give meaning to the objects in their world. Infants are capable of hearing all of the sounds in al of the world’s languages, but will absorb and use those that are most commonly heard in social interactions around him. How often would an infant hear a “beep” synchronized with an object present in his everyday life? It is much more likely that the child will hear his parents use the same combination of sounds, or morphemes, and eventually will make connections with objects most commonly present when those sounds are heard.
Did we really need a study to tell us this? “Kids don’t come with handbooks”, as my grandparents always said, there is no right or wrong way until future generations discover that there just may be a right way. If there’s one thing we can take from this study it is that no matter if the word is real or fabricated, the sounds will come together to form meaning in the child’s world.
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/25/experts-talking-to-your-baby-can-build-language-skills/?iref=allsearch/
Out of uncertainty and desire to be a successful parent, grow studies such as this. It may seem commonsensical that parents must actually speak to their children in order for them to learn language yet, on a global level, the how surrounding first language acquisition are still not exactly common knowledge.
Before my daughter was born, I decided that she will be talked to as a, thinking and feeling, human being from her first breath on. I watched as my friends used coded words and phrases to explain the world to their children and I was less than impressed with the results they were getting. If a child's first language is learned by the sounds he hears in social settings than shouldn't those sounds form real words?
This study, however simple, shows that infants learn the phonemes that give meaning to the objects in their world. Infants are capable of hearing all of the sounds in al of the world’s languages, but will absorb and use those that are most commonly heard in social interactions around him. How often would an infant hear a “beep” synchronized with an object present in his everyday life? It is much more likely that the child will hear his parents use the same combination of sounds, or morphemes, and eventually will make connections with objects most commonly present when those sounds are heard.
Did we really need a study to tell us this? “Kids don’t come with handbooks”, as my grandparents always said, there is no right or wrong way until future generations discover that there just may be a right way. If there’s one thing we can take from this study it is that no matter if the word is real or fabricated, the sounds will come together to form meaning in the child’s world.
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