Wait...Where are you from?

I am in the process of reading "Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh. At first, I was hesitant to read it because I think there are a lot of books about the nostalgia of British nobility. Nevertheless, I checked it out from the library. I must admit that I am in love with the story.

Anyway... I am not going to dedicate this entry to the book. However, there was a situation in the story that prompted me to ask this question.

In the story, Charles Ryder invites a friend to dine with him and his father. When the friend arrives, Charles' father greets him. During the first 2 minutes of hte conversation Charles' father makes a comment to which the friend does not respond as the father was expecting. The father used a colloquialism that he expected could help in break the ice. Not achieving his objective, the father assumed that his failure was linked to the cultural background of the friend. He assumes the young man has been out of the country for too long to the extend that he has lost his Britishness. For the rest of the dinner, whenever the father wanted to use a common British words he gave an explanation right after. He used phrases like "in your country" or "in your culture." At the end of hte night when Charles and hsi friend are saying goodbye, the friend made a remark. He said, what are interesthing fella is your father, he treated me like if I was American." It turns out that the friend was indeed British but from a distant region.

Have you ever been questioned your nationality or background because of your dialect or accent?

Oops...Negative politeness.

As a member of my sorority, I recently participated in Cougar Preview. For those of you who are not aware, Cougar Preview is an opportunity for upcoming fresmen to familiarize themselves with student organizations. It also serves as an opportunity for student organizations to network amongst each other. Towards the end of the event, a student approached my organization and stragely introduced himself. He handed us a copy of the Daily Cougar, pointed to an article ha had previously circled in red and simply said, "Read! It's about me!" The article was indeed about him. After quickly we finished reading the article we took our eyes away from the newspaper and waited for what he had to say.

He then delivered a speech that invited us to collaborate with him in a project. I liked the enthusiasm he put into his invitation of supporting his Cougar Patrol. Despite his good rhetoric, his speech was victimized by hideous colorful vocabulary. I would not be exaggerating by saying that he finished every sentenced with words like "Shit," "Fuck" and "Damn."

Those hearing his message felt uncomfortable towards his choice of words. Every time he spit one out, his listeners would turn around or simply ignore him.

His choice of style and vocabulary failed to establish the relationship he wanted to achieve. His objective, perhaps, was that by using this colloquial language he could make us feel at ease in order to relate to him. He obviously failed.

Second first impressions do not exist. Politeness involves expressing oneself appropriately in terms of social distance and respecting status differences. Being polite means getting the linguistic expression of social distance as far as your addressee is concerned. Be cautious to get it right the first time.

Introduction

Hello. Welcome to my blog!

Wow! I never thought I would ever write those words. When I was first introduced to the idea of creating a site for the posting of my thoughts I was not very excited. Why? Mmm...I really don't know but I have a good guess: Pressure.

I am blessed to live in a country in which majority of the people are literate; they can both read and write. however, not all of them know how to properly distinguish what is worth reading and writing. Trash is not just found on the sidewalks. Sometimes, it is part of our personal and public libraries and our "favorites" of our website search.

Everyday, I am to be the best literate person I can. "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report of praiseworthy, [I] seek after these things."

I hope that my postings will not be trash and will truly be WORTh at least 5 MINUTES of your time. If they are not, let me know. In the mean time, enjoy.