Compare and Contrast: My ramblings vs. Professional studies.

Often when I read about ‘Personality types’ or behavioral patters, I try to identify whether I agree with the statement being made by comparing the claims to my own behavior (bizarre as my behavior sometimes seems). I found myself unintentionally using this method to test the theories presented by Tannen in “Put down that paper and talk to me!”

To preface my analysis, I should tell you a little about myself. I am, by nature, relatively shy. In High School, I made a conscious effort to overcome my introversion and succeeded to my liking. Whether my change socializing skills were more a result of my efforts or just a bi-product of growing up I don’t think I shall ever know, but regardless of reason I ended up being a relatively typical male student. With my friends, however, I’m pretty loud. I usually joke around a lot and interject my opinions when nobody seeks them. When we play x-box against each other from separate rooms, I have no trouble shouting over 8-12 people in order to be sure my trash talking is audible throughout the house.

Knowing all of this, despite some obvious similarities, has lead me to a less than conclusive conclusion (yes, I said conclusive conclusion). I do, as far as I can tell, talk more readily at parties than at home or other events, which is part of Tannen’s case. However, most of the time I know, or am good friends with, just about everyone attending the few parties I go to. I would not be nearly as comfortable with a group of strangers. Also, I am still reluctant to speak up in a class or discussion unless I believe that I am going to contribute something significant enough to be worth the time people spend listening to me. I don’t devalue my own belief but I also try not to overestimate the importance of my opinions; I learn more when others talk than when I talk, so unless I think I will teach somebody something then I usually keep my mouth shut.

So, all of that being said, I suppose I should draw some deduction from my ramblings. In my estimation, the possibility that my own, sometimes odd, behavior may be the exception rather than the rule far outweighs the possibility that Tannen is mistaken. I think the fact that my behavior follows her rules as closely as it does is proof enough, for me at least, that she probably knows what she is talking about.

Church and State

Article

Most Tennesseans who have not been living under a rock for the past several months have heard one thing or another about the ‘God Resolution’ proposed and passed by the Knox County Commission. The resolution, as stated in the article, is intended "to urge all American citizens who have similar beliefs to proclaim to every level of government its responsibility to publicly recognize God as the foundation of our National Heritage." Needless to say, controversy ensued, not to mention confusion (at least for me).

The most pertinent cultural aspect of this story is, obviously, church and state. For some Christians, this is a perfectly respectable resolution. For me, a Christian as well, this seems sort of like pork-barrel legislation… minus the pork. Perhaps, the first question a field worker should ask would be “Why is this resolution causing so much debate, despite the fact that it doesn’t actually do anything?” A journalist, on the other hand, would probably ask questions more like “Which commissioners voted for/against the resolution?” or “Are other regions following suit?”

What is ‘actually’ going on in this particular situation would most likely depend on who is being asked. As I mentioned before, some Christians may find this to be a legitimate act of a government body, while others of the same faith may think it is frivolous. Even more so, it would probably be safe to assume that members of other faiths may have a strong opinion about the resolution, as they would be most offended by it. The fieldworker could probably conduct individual interviews to get specific reactions, while surveys of different religious groups would give a better idea of approval ratings among the public, which may in turn reveal cultural ideals. The fieldworker could find these sources out on the street, but would find the most concentrated gatherings of individuals who would be likely to have an opinion in Churches, Temples, and other gathering places.

Deutsche

I, like most other students in High School, decided to take a foreign language to better myself (right after I found out I had to). I decided the most practical language choice, due to the proliferation of Western Europeans in East Tennessee, would be German. Additionally, my brother had taken German before me so it was only natural for me to follow in his footsteps…and maybe get some good ol’ fashion free tutoring.

This was, as I suppose it is for most people, my first experience with learning a language outside of early development, and therefore the first time that I really considered language and what it meant. Prior to this point, I didn’t pay much attention to the sounds coming out of my mouth; they were the same sounds that everyone around me made, and as far as I was concerned they were all I needed. English, in my subconscious estimation, was the only important language. Though I was fully aware that there are a myriad of languages spoken all over the globe, it came almost as a surprise to me when, in German class, I came to the realization that not everyone else in the world felt the same way I did about English. Rather, they probably felt the way I did about there own language, in this case German. When they see a pane of glass built into a wall or door, they see a fenster (not a window). While this may not strike most people as an epiphany, I think it was an important step in my quest to understanding language.

In class we’ve discussed the fact that language is just a series of sounds to which we assign value, which is essentially the same conclusion I drew from my experience with German; unfortunately, my two semesters as a C student in German were not enough to instill in my memory any vocabulary or linguistic ability of consequence. Despite this fact, I found some sense of empowerment at home being the only member of the family capable of communicating with my brother in our new and mysterious language. We rarely used our secret language, which was comprised primarily of short incoherent sentences, to communicate secretly; instead, I think, it was mostly just for our own entertainment or practice. Either way, we obviously did not do it enough, as reflected by my afore mentioned grade.

Thinking back on the class, however, I can soundly and honestly say I did put effort into my work, and I would venture a judgment that the German teacher at my High School was at the very least competent, not to mention one of the best teachers I had encountered up to that point in my education. To this day I have a large amount of respect for that teacher, and confidence in the effectiveness of his class. This, in my mind at least, begs the question of why I got a C. To some, a C may seem like an adequate grade for a non essential class like foreign language, and in the big scheme of things I would have to agree, but it makes me wonder if I would be a C immigrant (if there is such a thing). If I attended a class for an hour and a half every weekday for what amounted to about 9 months, shouldn’t I be fluent in German?

In reality, to answer my own question, no. For better or worse, even the desire for good grades was not enough to motivate me to go above and beyond what was required of me, which was an easy thing to avoid because it was to nobody’s convenience, myself included, to improve my German speaking skills. Unlike the immigrant who must communicate to survive, my class necessitated only that I do the bare minimum in order to pass. So, while I don’t intend to Germany any time soon, I believe that I gained a broader appreciation of language that has served me well in my studies and will continue, I think, to aid my comprehension of the world around me for years to come.

Reading Responce - Part 1

Having first seen the title of our reading, "Me Talk Pretty One Day", I jumped to the conclusion that we were going to read about an underprivileged individual who missed out on fundamental English education. Much to my surprise, however, I found myself reading about a middle aged man who not only volunteered but paid to learn language by the seat of his pants. In America, we are familiar with a sort of ‘on the job training’ that many immigrants must go through in schools and in life in order to pick up not only language but customs while keeping up with the pace of our society. All sociopolitical stances regarding immigration aside, I found myself pondering whether the story was comparable to what an average non-English-speaking immigrant goes through in our country. Some obvious differences immediately popped up in my mind. First, I would like to think that, in America, most ESL teachers, or any kind of teacher for that matter, would not be quite as blunt as the instructor in the story. Second, the author of the story does not have to maintain a job or other school subjects while learning to speak the language, and therefore does not deal with the same sense of urgency or necessity in relation to being able to communicate coherently. However, due to his teacher’s scornful nature, the author experienced the same apprehension and lack of self confidence that I would expect a new English speaker to feel when undergoing everyday tasks. I would expect, despite the difference in venue, immigrants in America experience some level of introversion and solitude at one point or another during their learning process, perhaps even more so than the author. On the other hand, while many immigrants have family or friends of similar heritage with which to practice, the author of the story was alone and felt his abilities were inadequate for casual conversation with the locals. Having worked as a bus boy at a restaurant with several Spanish/English speaking coworkers, I noticed that those individuals of similar heritage seemed much more comfortable talking to each other, be it in English or Spanish, than to any of the other English speaking staff. All of that being said, I think the author’s experience would be as close as any of us would want to come with what many people go through every day in our country.