I am having fun observing my linguistic performances throughout a day. Never before did I notice that I actually manipulate language. I display different selves through language. In effect, I try to fool people with my linguistic choices.
When I talk to fellow parents of Noah’s kindergarten, or the optician, or street vendors, I try to conceal any traits of me having lived abroad for 14 years. I avoid using English words and I make my accent more Taiwanese-like. Sometimes, for fun, I would add in some recently-acquired phrases, like “okay” (level tone; not the same “okay” as in English). After learning that I am from the US, the optician remarks that strangely I don’t have an accent, as he thought I had lived in Taiwan all my life. A sales clerk saw the US dollars in my wallet and comments, “You are so lucky to travel to America for vacation!”
To my parents’ friends who are “Mainlanders” (those originally from China in 1949), I use more standard phonology, and if they had lived in the US, I freely add in English phrases to express myself more clearly. I feel that I can connect with them better and perhaps be taken more seriously if I distance myself a little bit from the casual Taiwanese-style speech. Who knows if these intended effects are realized though.
When I talk with my students at the university, I do my best to sound native-like in English. Sometimes it’s a little funny to hear myself sounding like a complete “American” because I use phrases that a Chinese professor would not use if speaking in Chinese. I sound more like their peer in Chinese. When I occasionally switch to Chinese--usually when they look too confused, I noticed that my Chinese is more standard and formal, making me sound suddenly more like a professor.
When hanging out with the kids, I generally speak "half-and-half". But in situations of danger or stress, I switch completely to English, such as “Benjamin! Watch out for cars!” Besides acting out of instinct, I do this to sneakily get people’s attention to these little American kids so they’ll be extra careful.
Our everyday life is in this way a performance, and all of us perform our selves differently through language. I am kind of enjoying this acting class. It’s funny to observe oneself as, consciously or unconsciously, a little manipulative :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
When you perform differently, do you feel different, or do you just feel like you have a strategy that gets people to treat you the way you want? When you speak a certain way, do you think you're more likely to believe things that others who speak that way do, or do your beliefs stay constant?
No I don't think I feel different when I speak differently. As for your second question, Paul, I'll have to check. What kind of beliefs are you thinking about? Right now, I don't think my beliefs change, but I may be doing so unconsciously. If anything, I think I would distance myself from the people rather than following their beliefs. For example, when a Chinese mom worries that the A/C would make the kids sick, I tend to align with the American belief that comfortable temperature is harmless, and vice versa.
Hi Sylvia,
I read and enjoy your blogs. What I enjoy the most is your attention to simple details that many of us may miss in our day to day lives... Although you may not notice it yourself, to an outsider who reads your blogs, you live in the present... at least that's what I think!
Tara
Thank you Tara for such nice words. So glad to know you are reading. This is a very unique year with so many adventures that it's easier to think about the present, as I am trying to take in so much of the experience. The trick is to bring that spririt back to everyday life, which I am not good at.
Post a Comment