Michael Hall’s blog

Backchanel and Japanese Language

nobody@vox.com(Michael Hall) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:17:39 -0700

The article we read for Thursday was really interesting to me because it is something that I have experienced first-hand. While studying abroad in Japan the use of the subtle grunt, "nn", to signify one's agreement or attention during a conversation was one the first things that I noticed while there. It is not altogether different from the use of "uh-huh" in American English but it something that strikes one as odd when it is first encountered. It took me a second to comprehend if they were actually interested in the conversation we were having at the time or if they were trying to show that did not care at all what I had to say. Also, the smiling and head-nodding that the article discusses is really true. They do a lot of it.

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Turn-taking; An opinion

nobody@vox.com(Michael Hall) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:11:40 -0700

In the article that we read for Tuesday the author briefly mentioned the Native American custom of using pauses between turns of taking the floor. These pauses, which I would think would be quite discomforting to most Americans, are something that I have read about before in other literature. I think this is a wonderful way to carry out a conversation and wish it was utilized more within the general population. The reason for these pauses is one of respect which allows the speaker and hearer the time to form a well thought out utterance and to fully digest what has been said before taking one's turn. It just seems to me that this is a completely rational way of carrying on a conversation and one that would seem more civilized. Just my opinion though.

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Ambiguous Implicatures

nobody@vox.com(Michael Hall) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:27:56 -0700

So thinking about the many different ways implicatures are used brought to mind somewhat of a correlation between them and politeness. More specifically how people tend to use the most ambiguous implied meaning when they have to tell someone something that is definitely going to hurt their feelings. So I am not going to try to give a really specific example, but I believe everyone knows what I am talking about. There comes those times when we try to soften the blow by letting someone know something through implied meaning rather than saying exactly what it is that is going to be hurtful. By doing this I guess we are also trying to lessen the blow for the speaker. I am not sure if this makes sense but if it understood I would like to hear your comments.

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Implicature

nobody@vox.com(Michael Hall) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:15:02 -0700

So I am wondering if anyone else has the problems with implied meaning, via texting, that I have encountered. I have a particular friend who does everything in her power not to have a normal phone conversation and insists on texting only. To say the least this is somewhat aggravating at times. Anyway, even though we know each other quite well (personalities, humor, etc.) we have problems figuring out sometimes what is being implied in our messages. This is because so many implicatures must be accompanied by tone of voice, body language, intonation, etc. so that they will be understood. So what do you all think?

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