Innocent junoir
Culture is very broadly defined. People with different nationalities, languages, educations, ages, genders or etc may have different values and believes. Intercultural communication is everywhere in our daily life, and it is problematic if misunderstanding or improper reaction occurs.
I am always nervous and highly alerted when my grandmother talks with me. With a 60-year gap between us, I am always trying to find appropriate tones and words to react with her, just in case that sometimes the way I talk may sound like I am not respecting her. For example, once I say words such as “anyway”, “whatever” or “let it be” to my grandma, she will be angry as she feels that I am not concentrating on our conversation, and I should have an enthusiastic attitude when talking with her. Worse still, even when I am misunderstood, I can never argue with her saying that I am concentrating. Therefore, most of the times, I will keep silent in such a case.
Similarly it also applies to me and my aunt. My aunt used to be a teacher, whereas I was always a good student in my family. Good students mean that they must rule themselves strictly on their speech and behaviors at anytime. Therefore, when my aunt hears me saying “oh shit!” or “Angelina Jolie is hot and sexy”, she will definitely remove my name from the good student list.
As a junior, I am quite innocent because the way my generation talks is sometimes unaccepted by the old generation. But in fact, I am never offensive. And the more I explain the more troubles I will be involved in. Therefore, silence is gold.
Hi Zhang Jiao, thanks for sharing your intercultural experience. I do share the same sentiments when talking to my grandmother with a age gap of 56. My grandmother can very long winded at times and likes to narrate her past stories to me repeatedly. Sometimes, I will reply her in just less than a sentence and she may think that I am not listening attentively. I understand her feeling as she is lonely and wants to talk to someone but I am busy sometimes. Nevertheless, I will spend time to listen and talk to her. In this way, she feels happy too. Hope it helps.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Kent
Hello there!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that culture varies with generation gaps too.
For me, I do not get to communicate much with my grandmothers because of language barriers. Also, I do not get to see one of my grandmother anymore. :(
But I have the similar experience with my mum! My mum always gets into talks about how a great student she had been in the past, and how she had to handle housework and school. Sometimes when I brush her off, she'll be a little annoyed and goes on saying how fortunate I am and the conversation with herself goes on.
Anyway, I kept laughing at the part where you copied and pasted the part "Angelina Jolie is hot and sexy". I can't imagine you saying that. :D
Oh, and great attepmt on the interview today!
Cheers,
Jiaai
Hello Zhang Jiao!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that generational gap can be a cause of intercultural conflict, as I face this problem when communicating with my grandparents. You narrated the need to be mindful of one’s speech and manner around elders, and the older generation tends to enforce values such as respect towards the elders. Indeed, the older generation are more particular about family values, morality and dislike open sexuality that is seen in most movies today. Another example I could think of is the older generation values privacy which oppose to the perception of youths today, because when my grandpa came to learn of the tools of social media (and putting up personal information, displaying pictures and updates on oneself on the internet), he was not accepting of the idea.
Even though youths of today are different from youths in the past, we should be respectful to our elders and be mindful when around them. Among our peers, however, we could be less particular about our behaviour.
Another “youth culture” increasingly prevalent is that youths want to stake out their own identity and expect independence to make choices on their own. But parents usually impose constraints, and forbid them to do certain things. It is a case for cultural differences between the parent and child, do you think so?
Regards,
Jerina
Hi Zhang Jiao,
ReplyDeleteFrom your narration, it is interesting that you have to be the one who is more tolerant and careful. You are respectful and therefore do not think the older generation should change their attitude.
Can you think of any circumstances where the older generation should accommodate the young?
Regards,
Happy