12 weeks in class has passed by so quickly and it saddens me that class has ended. It might be my last semester as an undergrad. It might not. Still undecided as of today. But whatever it is, GEK1036 has been one of the more practically-beneficial modules I have ever taken, alongside ES2007S (which is also another CELC-offered module!). I apologise in advance if my post is of a half-past-six standard cost this week is bad for me. 4 level 3000 modules from 24^th to 28^th. Not good. I hope to make amendments to it after 28^th to enhance its content. =)

After having come back recently from exchange in Vancouver, finally some of my questions were answered (from GEK1036 of course!) These were primarily culture-related.

1. Why do Canadians like to compliment, even if they don’t know me?

- Compliments are seen by Westerners as a strategy to get engaged in a conversation.

- It is also seen as a way to maintain good relations.

- Furthermore, their frequent use of ‘negative politeness’ even with strangers, makes them appear more friendly.

2. Why are Canadians ALWAYS giving their seats to the elderly, disabled or pregnant persons (even if there are empty seats at the back) but Singaporeans can’t care less? (Almost everytime an old lady boards a bus, she will get seats at the front.)

- This is definitely the total opposite of what was discussed in class, about Thai and Australian youths on their willingness to help their elderly neighbour.

- Well, this is still a mystery. Maybe because we are more respectful in terms of granting them self-independence and less so of offering help? Or simply because, we are just being self-centred. Well ... This is yet left unanswered.

3. Why do Canadians participate more actively in class?

- Lessons can be seen as speech event and to them, everything seems the same as what we observe in Singapore classrooms except for one: the participants. Apparently the power difference between the two main participants (students and teacher) is smaller in Canadian society.

- I’ve ever chanced upon an Afghan immigrant teacher and she was complaining to me how loud her students can be. And that she finds it rude how the students can talk while she teaches. Another clash of culture! =)

4. Why do Canadians always agree to compliments? And why do they look surprised when I don’t ‘accept’ their compliment?

- Well, it is in their favour to agree because in the Western society, Leech’s Agreement Maxim takes greater weight.

- For an Asians like myself, it is very typical for our society to adopt the Modesty Maxim i.e. to minimise self-praise, maximise self-dispraise. Hence, my rejection or deflection from the compliment given.

- Furthermore, Canadians LOVE to give compliments because to them, it minimises the distance between the two parties. However, if done onto a stranger, compliments or behaving very jocularly may seem as a face threatening act.

5. Why do I get along better with Canadians with Asian descent?

- Well, simply because Asians are more likely to have similar cultures hence more things to share and talk about, especially so because they’re common topics.

- Being culturally similar, we are more likely to practice the same rules and laws during a speech act/event.

6. Simply, why are Canadians different from Singaporeans like myself??

- Well, this can be done by comparing the Hofstede’s rules. Well, I need not explain further need I?

Well, I suppose you can guess that I learnt quite a fair bit from this class. =)

Before I sign off (for good), I would like to express my biggest thanks to Dr Deng Xudong for his commitment and effort in making class as interesting and interactive as possible. And also for his vast knowledge and enthusiasm that he had shared with us in class. You have been a great lecturer. =)

Next up, will be the highly enthusiastic coursemates of course! Especially my project team members for their patience and kind understanding. As for everyone, I wish you the best. To those who are graduating, I wish you an advance ‘Happy Graduation!’. May we all succeed and I wish everyone the best for the exams and future!

Communication will never be the same again. Be it in Singapore or anywhere else in the world. =)

Post Eight: CMC is Not Just MSN, Facebook and Twitter

The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a teaching-learning tool is increasing dramatically in recent years as more schools and educational institutions gain access to the Internet (Murphy, et al, 1996).

If you’re still unaware, I will become a teacher in a few years’ time. So after sitting through session on gender interaction and computer-mediated communication (CMC), I wondered if online learning differs in both male and female students. That was precisely what McConnell (1997) did.

He emphasized the importance of identifying interaction patterns to facilitate in our understanding of the power dynamics in and between the different genders. Ultimately he categorized the approaches to analyzing these gender differences based on the following perspectives:

i. Allocation of speech turns: turn taking occurs when a person talking gives way to another

ii. Patterns of interruption: transition from one speaker to the next

iii. Choice and development of topic: who chooses the conversation topic

iv. Length of exchanges: who speaks longer/shorter

His study focused on differential learning patterns between male and female elementary school students in mathematics and science. The guiding frameworks that were used in this study are as follows:

• Socio-cognitive view – from a socio-cognitive perspective based on Vygosky’s theory, learning is a socially mediated process. (Vygotsky, 1978). In CMC settings, interaction means the participation of all participants in the social construction of meaning (Kaye, 1992)
• Multi-cultural argument – According to Bielaczyc and Collins (1997), we need to construct learning environments that foster students’ diverse abilities and learn with others. In CMC settings, the learning community must synthesize diverse views, and each participant’s contributions must be respected.

Previous studies on face-to-face learning have shown that:

· Males talk more, talks longer and have greater control over topic of conversation (Josefowitz, 1984; Brooks, 1982; Michard & Viollet, 1991).

· Females more likely to support other’s themes and initiate topics more, but fewer of these topics get developed than when started by males (Graddol & Swann, 1989).

CMC is an effective electronic means of connecting learners without time and location constraints using computers (Machtmes & Asher, 2000). It has also been shown that the use of CMC can afford a more democratic regime and promote gender equity than face-to-face settings for student interactions (Wolfe, 2000). However, McConnell found that in a study on college students, females are less disadvantageous in online discussions than in learnin face-to-face but on a whole, males still talked longer. The following was what he found out:

Turn taking: males took more turns than females

Topic initiating: females generated more initial messages than males in connected messages, but are generally equally likely to start a topic

Topic development: male generated messages less likely to be followed than female generated messages, but both genders equally likely to follow and support previous messages in CMC setting. On a hole, female topics were succeeded in being established in the discussion.

On a whole, gender remains to be a factor in student interaction in CMC settings. And CMC can possibly offer new opportunities for female students in mathematics and science learning, especially since their messages were more likely to be supported and developed. This might also further elevate their interest in learning these subjects.

I guess computer-mediated communication has given many women greater say over their education. =)

Post Seven: How Gender Interaction Changes as We Age

Back in my primary school days, I’ve never had difficulty mingling around with the other girls. We used the terms ‘awak-kita’ (the very polite term for you-I) and it was basically talks about girly stuff i.e. books and ear studs, strictly no talks on boys yet, that formed the crux of our conversations. That was how 7-year old Malay girls would have typically interacted with one another.

On the other hand, I was a little bit hesitant to interact with the boys in class. It wasn’t because I was shy (too naive for such things) but rather, I disliked how rough boys can get when they talk. And that left me to ignore them.

In primary four, unfortunately, I was made to sit in class with the second-naughtiest boy in class. Not only was he disruptive in class, he liked to call people names too! And because of that, I always scolded him to shut him up. It was not surprising that I started to use rough words ever since: ‘kau-aku’ (more harsh terms for you-I in Malay) and words like ‘bodoh’ (stupid) and ‘gila’ (crazy) when talking to him. And that turned me into a tomboy throughout the rest of my primary school years. It was as though I became a boy when I talked to boys and ‘remained’ girlish when talking to girls. How fascinating. Those were the identity-crisis years. I still hated boys then though. =)

Moving on to secondary school, I was in the National Police Cadet Corps. Although I wasn’t as tomboyish as before (maybe wearing a skirt makes me more girlish), it was just second nature for crude words and vulgarities to be hurled at the trainees during training or camp. Not surprisingly, these came mostly from the male instructors. =). And that was the period when I used vulgarities (I’ve stopped immediately after I graduated from secondary school) even outside training. Funnily, when talking to boys, I rarely used vulgarities (in an attempt to maintain that feminine outlook) but I used it rather frequently with my girl friends. But I know my guy friends use vulgarities more than girls do and they do so openly.

Now that I am much, much, much more mature, the way I interact is totally different: no more harsh words and very polite use of the language (be it in English or in Malay) towards both male and female friends and family members.

Now that I’m much more mature, I believe I’m able to assess conversations better. After analysing a few conversations I’ve heard between the different genders, these are what I’ve gathered:

Male-male:

- Greater frequency in the use of harsh words, vulgarities at times

- More fluent, very loud

- Very rational and objective-driven conversations

- More open about their private lives

- Traditionally gossip-mongers are women; now a fair share of men doing so too

Female-female:

- More listener’s response used than males

- Greater frequency of interruption

- Often indirect i.e. beats around the bush before arriving to the objective of the statement

- May include use of harsh words in some instances, but often very polite

- Women talks very fast (sometimes appear as though they’re mumbling)

- Women stereotyped as the naggy one

Mixed gender interaction:

- Male sounds more ‘commanding’ and demanding- typical in Muslim families because men are inherently the leaders of the family

- Women more submissive and more feminine than when talking to another female – often giving way to men when talking

- More beginning to ‘indulge’ in the use of harsh and vulgar words in this interaction group – both men and women

But with everything becoming more and more egalitarian, it is not surprising if there are no specific observable traits that can be used to characterise each type of interactions. Ah well, so much for having women’s rights. Aye! =)

Gender interaction is not a phenomenon. It does not occur only during that brief moment in time when one interacts with someone from the same or different gender. It is actually these encounters that ultimately shape one’s entire personality and behaviour. And most of the time, how we interact is largely influenced by the people around us and

Throughout the years, I’ve finally realised how interaction between the different genders change as one ages.

Post Six: What Do You Mean I'm Not Polite?

The first time I saw the terms 'Agreement Maxim' and 'Modesty Maxim' in the articles I was assigned to read for my literature review, I thought it was just an 'Agreement vs Modesty' debate. So I was rather surprised that there's not just 2, not 3 ... But 6 maxims in total introduced by Geoffrey Leech. Often, when it comes to reviews on the topic of 'compliments and compliment responses', the two most prevalent maxims are (once again) Agreement and Modesty maxims.

So I tried to find out more about this maxim. Unlike Hofstede, these two prominent figures do not have their own official website (or maybe not for now ...). Hence, I would like to share some light on my findings with my fellow coursemates. Leech's Politeness Maxims were actually built upon the maxims brought about by philosopher Paul Grice. His Gricean Maxims are also known as 'Conversational Maxims'.

So how are they both different? Well, let's take a look at the table I've prepared below (I've omitted the info on Leech's maxims that we've already done in class):

Both maxims attempt to lay down the socially-acceptable ways of interacting and executing conversations with the people around us i.e. they can be the underlying criteria for the etiquettes we observe everywhere we go. And in both cases too, flouting the maxims may produce a negative pragmatic effect such as sarcasm and irony.

As discussed, of course both sets of maxims don’t hold true for all cultures. Grice’s oppose what is being practised by the Malagasy of Madagascar and Leech’s might not be entirely true for countries like Cuba.

Reflecting on what I’ve learnt from the last class and the additional research that I’ve done, I begin to reflect on what I’ve been doing all these while in an attempt to be polite:

- Maximise benefits in others i.e. make them pleased/happy with my words and actions

- Maximise cost to self i.e. going the distance to make people feel pleased e.g. say thank you, smile

- Malays love to praise one another hence it is something which I often do to my friends. Usually in younger ones like myself, the things that we praise on are often appearance and possessions. Of course, the typical skill which most of us praise on nowadays are on cooking.

- It is also typically the Malay culture to be humble and hence, minimise self-praise i.e. I rarely praise myself

- Agreement is not always observed in my conversations. It’s just alot of listener’s response and don’t often always confer agreement

- Sympathy is one thing which Malays are well-known for. We sympathise other people too much at times. So much so, our sympathy is sometimes seen as questionable

As for conversational skills, I realise that I still don’t observe the following maxims:

- Maxim of manner: I often talk a little bit too much (adhering too much to the Quantity maxim i.e. to make my speech most informative) so much so it tends to digress

- Maxim of relation: because I like to communicate as informatively as possible, I tend to overlook this aspect

- Maxim of quality: I still realise that some of the things that I say tends to be ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ i.e. fine details that I can’t remember are usually filled in with details that are often inaccurate

Ah well, so much for talking and not observe any rules that govern these talks! =) Once again, a person who has never thought much about linguistics would have never thought that all the speech acts we execute, observe specific rules (which most of us are totally unaware). These rules that govern ‘polite’ speeches too come as no surprise. Something to 'chew on' ... =)

Post Five: Some Things to Note When Setting Up a Business in Norway

Once again, the session last week has left me not just surprised, but fascinated and yearning to find out more ... =)

After flipping through my notes and straining my eyes on what I've scribbled (almost illegibly) during class, I decided to find out more on Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions. Googling his name will find you his official website (mind you, his last name is trademarked!) topping the search list. If in class, Dr Deng mentioned that Hofstede has not gotten his PhD, he is now an Emeritus Professor at Maastricht University.

The aim of the Hofstede Score basically functions to compare countries, societies or cultures in terms of their cultural behaviour. This includes:

PDI: Power Distance Index

IDV: Individualism

MAS: Masculinity

UAI: Uncertainty Avoidance Index

LTO: Long-Term Orientation

I didn't quite understand why there's a need to have such scoring systems but after perusing through the website, I discovered that the main aim of assessing different societies is to give insights to people who would like to do business in other countries, especially in another part of the world. Let's take for example, Singapore's score chart:

Assuming a Singaporean entrepreneur wants to do business in Norway. Let's now take a look at Norway's score chart:

After comparing these two charts, it's quite obvious that these two countries are total opposites! So what should this entrepreneur do?

As mentioned in class, PDI is generally very low in Scandinivian countries unlike in Singapore, where hierarchy at the workplace is very prominent. So the Singaporean must expect a lack of distance and 'respect' from his workers.

Next, Individualism in Norway is typical of Western societies. Just as much as Singapore seems to be teeming with individualistic yuppies, we are still widely practising collectivism. Hence, when in Norway, a Singaporean should know what is appropriate and what is not in setting up his/her company's policy.

Thirdly, Masculinity wise, it is rather surprising that Singapore is more masculine. Masculine in a sense, it is more assertive. Whereas Norway is expected to be more modest and caring. Hence the index somewhat measures the gender distrbution and in the execution of their roles. It is expected that Singapore to have a greater gap between men's values and women's values. This is probably because of our still-prevalent traditionalisticAsian culture, which practises gender-differentiation in almost every aspect of our lives. Norway, on the other hand, is more egalitarian i.e. roles men and women are not the typical male-breadwinner and female-homemaker template. Hence, when hiring workers or dealing his/her Norwegian counterparts, it is wise that the entrepreneur knows more about this gender differentiation so as not to be caught by surprise.

Based on the Uncertainty Avoidance Index, we can sense that Norwegians are not so much of risk-takers like Singaporeans. They are less receptive to ambiguities in life. Singaporeans, on the other hand, scores high on the Uncertainty Acceptance index. It is said that countries like Singapore are more receptive of novel ideas, and not just stick to the norm. This is possibly due to the nature of our multi-cultural society. As a result, they are not expected to show emotions. (I guess this is why people are becoming more an dmore desensitised to one another's feelings)

Lastly, the index that fascinates me most is LTO. Apparently, LTO is typically analysed in countries which practices Confucian teachings. This includes Singapore. This is so because the questionnaire was designed by Chinese scholars. Long-term values include thrift and perseverance whereas short-term values inclide respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations. However, this is not restricted to Asian countries only. It is also applicable to European countries. So, do not be surprised if Norwegians are not thrifty and not seen as hardworking.

After laying out the comparisons between these two countries, are you still conviced that learning just the language alone will suffice? My advice: think again. =)

And to see if you've been paying attention, can you find Singapore and Norway in the plot below?

Post Four: Why Are You Writing Like This??

Today's lesson left me deep in thoughts. Never has it crossed my mind that the writing styele and techniques can differ tremendously across cultures! Indeed this is something new to me. Maybe because written Malay and written English are to a large extent similar, hence, that explains my ignorance. =).

In Malay language, imageries are used only in the first 1-2 opening statements (not the entire introduction) in essay/composition/letter writing. Other than that, we use fancifully-phrased proverbs (see example) only sparingly.

E.g. Bagai pinang dibelah dua

Literal translation: Like betel nuts split into two

What it really means: equally pretty, equally nice

How it is used: Usually used to describe couples - "Look at the (wedding) couple, they're sooo made for one another; 'bagai pinang dibelah dua'!"

Side note: betel nuts when split into two, are not equal by the way ... =)

Simply, when it comes to serious stuff, Malays are rather straightforward. I bet, had Kaplan studied the rhetoric trend of a typical Malay-speaker's English essay, its discourse arrow would have looked something like this! =)

Another fine example of 'beat-around-the-bush' use of Malay words is in pantun, syair, gurindam and sajak (these are the variant forms of Malay poems/prose). Other than that, the use of imagery is rarely used.

Sidenote: Use of imagery in pantun (such as above) are often used to make the sentences rhyme with one another, often lacking meaning. But in other literary works, imagery do have its abstract meanings, which often many can't fully comprehend.

After much reflecting, I realise that I should not be too surprised after all. I have been attending Arabic classes for 3 lessons already now (before this I have taken Arabic classes at primary school level) hence, I've not really touched in-depth on the writing part yet. I am still at the introductory verbal aspect for the course. But I find that culture MAY after all influence how one writes in English and this I can infer from the Arabic language.

Unlike Malay and English, Arabic is a little bit different from these two languages. Not only is there greater variation in the sentence structure, some of the words/phrases, when translated into English or Malay doesn't quite make sense. An example:

As mentioned in class, this is what I mean by 'discrepancy' when translating the prepositions used in the Arabic language. Another example: Note how the term 'at/in' is used in place of ON ('ala). Most of the time, the words are used correctly but in some instances (as given above), the word 'at/in' is not used the way I would normally use it. Hence, this could possibly explain why some Arab-speakers make grammatical errors in their English essays.

After much reflecting, I realise that, I already know these things, but I never thought that it would matter so much. Like what was mentioned in class, even if we attempt to speak a common language (English) to understand one another better, the variations in the type of English we use (be it Singlish or Chinglish or Inglish) can be a potential for miscommunication and misinterpretation to happen. =S. Hence, learning more about written and spoken discourses across cultures may ameliorate these misunderstandings and hopefully, everyone can get along with one another with minimal friction.

Wow, that sounds like a recipe for 'World Peace'! =)

Post Three: Listener Response - Of 'haiks' and 'yaas'

(After struggling to condense my previous post to less than 500 words, I realise that I missed out on a lot of crucial points which I wanted to raise. Hence, from this 3^rd post onwards, I will not restrict myself to the word count limit that I initially imposed on myself.)

This week’s topic is of high relevance to almost everyone. But once again, we’re unaware that the things and way we speak on the phone are rule-governed. With 59.3% of the entire world’s population owning at least 1 mobile phone (Taiwan tops the list with 106.5 phones per 100 persons, and Singapore ranks 16^th, with 79.14 phones per 100 persons), it is no surprise conversations can take place almost anywhere and between two persons from different countries or cultural backgrounds. But the rules that govern these conversations vary with culture.

But what fascinates me most is the study of listener response in telephone calls. (I really didn’t think they had a name for all the uhmms and ahhs and uh uhs we express during telephone conversations).

Listener response simply means how a listener inserts his/her responses into a speaker’s narratives (Bavelas et al, 2002). This is equivalent to the Japanese Aizuchi (backchannels) i.e. frequent interjection during a conversation to indicate that the listener is paying attention and is actively involved in a discussion. This includes nodding, saying ‘haik’ or ‘honto ni’. This made me to realise that listener response is not necessarily verbal only i.e. restricted to just telephone calls; it can also be actions that we observe during face-to-face conversations. I guess this is what we term as non-verbal cues. This can sometimes be detected in phone calls: And since it varies with culture, talking to the locals when we’re abroad is not as easy as we thought it would be.

Try observing the guy in blue during the first 15 seconds of their conversations. Notice how different their response is compared to our local Singapore cultures?

Closer to home, listener responses is widely used in the Malay community. When asked, my Mum said that it’s more polite to interrupt so that the speaker knows that the listener acknowledges what was being said. The younger Malays don’t use these responses as frequently as the elders.

Popular Examples of Malay Listener Responses (based on what I observe):

Example	What it means ...
1.Backchannels (‘continuer’ or internal utterance) - backchanneling that doesn’t result in turn change Ah(h)* Ah ah* Ye Uhm* Mmmm * Apa lah Okay Mungkin * indicates non-lexical terms	I see ... Uh uh/Yes (please continue ...) Yes Ehmm Mmmm What lah ... Okay Maybe/Possibly
2. Reactive Expressions (final utterance) - Ye tak ye Memang pun Betul tu Ye/Betul ke? Takkan lah ... Tak mungkin Bagus lah ... Apa lah Mungkin kot? Bedek?	Ya hor So true ... That’s right Really? Can’t be ... Can’t be That’s good What only Maybe/Possibly? You must be kidding ...

After reading much on the Japanese Aizuchi, I’ve decided to make a comparison between both Aizuchi and the Malay listener responses.

Comparison between Japanese and Malay Listener Responses:

Japanese Aizuchi	Malay Listener Response
Always in agreement with the speaker	May agree/disagree with speaker
Often involving hidden/indirect meaning e.g. ‘yes’ might not necessarily mean yes and ‘no’ might not necessarily mean no	Often direct meaning; any form of disagreement discretely expressed
Both in verbal and action forms	Often more verbal than action forms
Acquired largely through mother-child interactions i.e. mother will teach and ‘train’ child to ‘give’ and ‘take’ signals (Miyata et al, 2007) - More culturally and language-driven; corrected by mum if wrong	Acquired through listening and observing our elders when they communicate with one another - Not ‘formally’ educated
Often involves non-lexical terms like ‘un’ (yes)	Often involves lexical terms like
Widely studied	Not widely studied; information presented based on my experience

Post Two: Education - It's All About the Classroom

We observe it when we visit other countries but it never occurred to us that it’s called SPEECH EVENTS i.e. phenomena and behaviour we scrutinise in locals to understand their culture better. Also, to not offend the locals and sometimes, facilitate one’s assimilation into a community should he/she plans to stay permanently.

I aspire to become a teacher; apart from learning and enjoying the different cultures while abroad, I like to observe how school is like in different parts of the world. I hope such experiences can make me a more competent educator.

Pre-school & Primary Education: Singapore vs. Cambodia

“Kids here go to school as and when they like, can enter and leave the classroom as they please,” I was told. Education isn’t compulsory and not a Cambodian government’s priority, thus only a few can afford to go to established schools. As part of my humanitarian expedition in Sihanoukville, I was assigned to teach at and refurbish two schools in the slum.

My first impression: DISSHEVELED!

School = run-down hut with only 1 classroom + operates any two days weekly + kids aged 3 – 14 attend the same classes (no levels) + VOLUNTARY attendance

No proper system = No discipline in kids. Basically, every aspect of the speech event is highly unpredictable: the teacher has to suit to the likings, not needs, of the children.

In Singapore, students adhere strictly to rules. Lesson starts when teacher greets the students, and the latter responds before proceeding on with class, mostly led by the teacher. That’s the rule of interaction. The moment the teacher leaves class, everyone goes berserk until the next teacher comes in to restore order again.

Tertiary Education: Singapore vs Canada

The first lecture I attended in Canada hinted me that I’m in for some differences in classroom behaviour. The genre, setting, topic, function and the tone of the lecture are the same but the participants and the rules and norms of interaction differ.

In Singapore, when a lecturer asks a question, everyone stares right back. This is similar to a monologue. In Canada, everyone will raise their hands and interrupts the lecturer to ask questions. Such ‘dialogue’ only occurs in Singapore’s tutorials. A Canadian friend who teaches at a local high school said that students are encouraged to inquire and be vocal in class since young. This explains their eagerness to ask and answer questions.

Lack of interaction in NUS’s lectures might be due to an Asian value many have been taught since young: respect for the person talking, especially if he is older. Interrupting is impolite and often disrupts what the lecturer has planned to present for class that day.

Back in Singapore, I found it disturbing that an ang moh guy in my class asks questions in tutorials ONLY but not in lecture. Maybe because he has observed Singaporeans’ lecture vs tutorial ‘etiquette’ and decided to just go with the flow? I suppose that’s a first step to be assimilated into our NUS community. =)

Post One: How Can There Be Action in Speech??

In a Western wedding ceremony, when’s the exact moment a couple 'legally wedded'? It’s believed that it's the moment the priest pronounce 'you are now man and wife'. How can such a short statement create such a big impact on many people's lives? According to Ward (2004), the legal 'binding' occurs upon signing the wedding contract. Yet, the statement above gives the impression that the words itself was an action. This is a fine example of a concept we know as 'speech act'. As paradoxical as it may sound (how can there possibly be an action in speech?), speech act has been a part and parcel of the lives of people who’ve been blessed with the gift of speech. I got the image below from http://courses.media.mit.edu/:

Speech act can be as ubiquitous as making a promise, saying 'sorry' or inviting friends over to dinner. It's basically words that represent an action. And what fascinates me most is how it varies tremendously with culture!

Truthfully, I was never this eager to learn about cultures. I owe this enthusiasm to my exchange in Canada. Singapore may boast itself to be a cosmopolitan nation but one should stay in Vancouver to experience what a 'truly cosmopolitan' lifestyle really is:

Singaporeans are likely to reject compliments as it’s seen to be humble whereas Canadians tend to agree.

My first day in Canada: I told an American friend she looked great. To my surprise, she responded 'I know!'. That gave me the impression that she's yet another haughty and braggy teen, like what I've seen on MTV's 'Sweet Sixteen'. It took me four months to be able to swallow the fact that 'all Americans are snobbish', because they respond similarly to compliments. Perplexed, I felt as though I was being overly humble but my roommates found it disrespectful when I rejected their compliments.

Only after the 'Speech Act' lecture I've learnt it was more polite to agree than to reject in Western cultures. Intrigued, I perused through Google Scholar to find out more about the are of giving and receiving compliments in Malays. A futile attempt, though not totally. All information was accurate but not well-substantiated.

Malays are 'generous' in giving compliments. But their common ‘compliment receipt’ strategy is to 'deflect'; first, politely agree (e.g. say 'thank you') or more often, reject (e.g. say 'no lah'), followed by ‘deflection’, claiming that these attributes are not possible without God's grace.

Knowing that culture is dynamic, I have this impression that the younger ones (who’re evidently more 'westernised' than their senior counterparts) are more likely to adopt the ‘agree’ response strategy. So I put up the following on my Facebook status and the responses come right after (in the blue box):

All except the last respondent are young-generation Malays. Surprisingly, 3 out of 5 still adhere to the traditional compliment response strategy. A larger sample size is definitely required to prove my ‘hypothesis’.

Looks like I’ve got a lot more to learn about my culture. =)