Languages & Cultures of East Asia
Trad 101, Sections
18-19-20-21 Fall 2000
Lecture Outline, 12/4/00 - Topic confusion in English-Asian discourse
Scollon and Wang Scollon
Stereotypes
Asians - inscrutable
Westerners - frank, rude
Based on systematic differences of the way people communicate
Not fictions
Source of perceptions
Difference in the way topics are introduced
Conversational sequence
1. Call: what initiates the conversation
e.g. ringing of phone or doorbell
"Excuse me"
"Hey, you"
2. Answer
e.g. "Hello"
Strict constraints - cannot introduce topic
Open-ended - defers to the caller
3. Introduce topic
Caller has the right
Must wait for opening
Iterative pattern
e.g. knock - pause - knock
Call-answer-topic
1. Learned
2. Cultural-specific
Other ways
Athabaskans
Call - open-ended
e.g. "What are you thinking?"
Answer - topic introduced
Asian pattern
Feel politeness and deference
Not coming to the point - inscrutable
Not about main point
Similar to Western pattern
Differ in when topic is introduced -only after small talk
Small talk - facework, find out listener's mood and attitudes
Why small talk?
Introducing topic = making imposition
If facework not enough à topic may not be introduced
If facework sufficient à topic need not be introduced
Comparison
Asian: call-answer-facework-(topic)
Western: call-answer-topic-facework
Difference is source of much confusion
Q: What kind of confusion?
Both remember same details, but assign different values
Prolonged conversation
Unsure what the point of conversation is
Asian- two patterns
Compounded by social roles
Q: What social relationships are relevant?
Inside: family, same class
Outside: temporary contacts
e.g. taxi drivers, bank tellers
Two discourse patterns
Outside relationships
"Waiter, two bowls of beef noodle soup"
"A ticket to Taipei"
Post offices, banks, stations, restaurants
No politeness
Pushy, aggressive, rude
Q: Why such different patterns?
Possible moves limited
No facework required
Q: Western service encounter?
Constrained by call-answer-topic
Q: Westerner in Asian banks?
Wait
Frustrated
Watch others being served
Exceptions - banks in Seoul
Inside relationships
Governed by
1. Hierarchical relationships
2. 'jen' - benevolence, humanity
Confucian virtue
Lower greets higher
child -->parent
student --> teacher
staff --> boss
Q: Lower has the right to introduce topic?
No. Right remains with parent, teacher.
Q: Is greeting teacher a call or an answer?
An answer.
Teacher - subtle, clear, non-verbal signal
No signal à no greeting
Q: lower introduces topic?
No and yes
No - has no right
Yes - how?
Make his needs known indirectly
'Jen' - benevolence
Higher needs to study needs of lower
Shows 'jen' by introducing lower's topic
Q: What does it mean to speak first?
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