To those of you who have heard this story before please bear with me. For those who haven't, well this situation occurred in Sydney during my summer exchange program.
We were taking a ferry to Manly beach when an Australian man came up to us. He asked us which level does he have to go to board the ferry as there were two levels. To which my friend replied quickly and I quote " Oh both also can lor". The Aussie immediate frown and repeated back the words slowly to us " Both also can lor?" It was at this time when I explain to him with a very bad slang that it was fine to board at either level. He promptly smiled and when on his way, leaving the rest of my group were laughing like a bunch of possess monkeys.
This scenario shows us just how important effective communication is. Even such a short sentence could be misunderstood. In Singapore, Singlish is commonly used and can be easily understood by almost all Singaporean, however we should not impose this cultural norm on others. We took it for granted that everyone would be able to understand what we were saying, when in actually fact only we do.
The look on that mans' face was one of utter confusion and might I add irritation. The words were slightly familiar, but he just could not understand it. Hence, there lies the danger. The ability to offend others, when we impose what we feel is normal when it actually is not. The man could have felt that we were purposely making fun of him, when in actual fact we were telling him in the way that we usually speak. Therefore, we should not expect people to understand our culture, but rather take the time to understand theirs in order to avoid misunderstandings.
Last point that I wish to make even though I have overshot the word limit is this. How should I have replied that man? If we speak like we normally do he would not understand, but if I speak in his slang could it not have offend him too? It might have come off as I was mimicking and poking fun of the way his speak. Like how we make fun of Hong Kong people trying to speak English. So what is the right answer?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Different Language??
Posted by
Ryan Lim
at
5:49 PM
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4 comments:
Hi Ryan,
I was one of the few who have heard of the story from you previously and I think it was much more interesting when you gave the narration! And I think this is a very suitable story to explain the lack of understand amongst different cultures.
Anyway, to comment on your final paragraph in this post, I would say that a suitable reply would be a simple "Both levels are fine". You need not follow his accent; neither do you have to stick to the Singaporean Slang. I would say that speaking in the proper British English we were taught in school is the most appropriate.
I agree with you on the point that different accents might lead to a different understanding of the things we say. And this may lead to people feeling offended due to misinterpretation. That is one point we have to take note of especially when speaking to someone of a different culture.
Overall, I think you have provided a very good insight of different cultural behaviours! =)
Cheers,
Shu Ting
Hi Ryan,
This looks like a good example of how Singaporeans unknowingly, might I say, embarrass themselves overseas.
Singlish is so well incorporated into our local culture such that it comes so naturally and when speaking to a foreigner, we might need a few seconds to switch to the “Proper English” mode. Nonetheless, speaking Singlish to a fellow Singaporean in a foreign land can seem to add a touch of home.
I guess if you tried to reply in an Aussie slang, it might come out sounding fake and leave a bad impression on that man. Hence, speaking English in the proper way that one is taught will be a good and sincere way to communicate effectively to a foreigner without us trying to learn the different slangs to accommodate to the different nationalities.
In any case, it takes just some time for us to observe and learn about other cultures such that the other party can sense the sincerity, thereby preventing misunderstandings from arising.
Cheers,
wanyee
Hey Ryan,
This is a topic that I am personally familiar with. In 2001, I was visiting Canada with a few of my cousins, and we were taking ski lessons with an instructor from Germany.
Up till then, I had considered my standard of spoken English to be high for a Singaporean, but I found to my dismay that the instructor could never seem to understand what I said. My cousins often had to step in on my behalf to translate.
Nowadays, I find that I automatically "code-switch" when speaking to foreigners. When I went to the US last year, I faced no communication problems whatsoever, in contrast to some of my sister's friends. It seems that being able to adopt a foreign accent may sometimes aid communication, assuming that you can execute it well of course!
I do confess that this unconscious switching of accents occasionally gets me into strange situations. I am currently in a group project with a Canadian, French, and Thai student. I am not sure what accent I end up speaking in then.
Regards,
Benjamin
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