Entry 3: Hello, who's there?

This week, we talk about spoken discourse which personally isn't easy to differentiate from last week's topic, speech events? We have discussed what a speech event is, but then what is spoken discourse? Is it any different from speech event? Dr. Deng has explained that a spoken discourse isn't speech event because of a few "boundaries" that distinguishes itself from other cross-communication topics:


1) Any spoken discourse is governed by "rules".


2) Going against the rules may make one appear rude.


So, what are these so-called "rules", and who make them? Well, to be honest, finding out who make these rules would be going off-topic but it is observed that different cultures follow different discourses because of the influence of these rules. For instance, a simple phone call actually exemplifies this phenomenon. To an average viewer, it may bear no importance but there have been "patterns" that people follow, either consciously or unconsciously. American sociologist Schegloff have conducted an extensive research on the differences between a typical American and Dutch phone call, and have proposed a conclusion: The caller is the initial greeter, and the recipient will subsequently direct the course of the phone conversation. In Holland however, it's very much the opposite: The recipient will self-identify, followed by self-identification by the caller.


Hard to believe? To be frank, I had no idea that this is the "pattern" Dr. Deng was talking about. What about you? What do you do when you make the phone call? For me, I'd usually wait for a few seconds for the recipient to say "Hello?" first. If I receive no response, then I would ask "Hello?". This is how I would typically make a phone call (and this also applies when I speak to my Japanese friends over the phone):



Me: (calls someone)
Recipient: Hello?
Me: Hello, (recipient's name)?
Recipient: Oh, it's you! How are you?
Me: Fine. Where are you?
...


Is it rude not to self-identify in a phone call? Actually, it can be. I've observed that people from the earlier generation dislike callers who don't self-identify, labelling them as "rude". I can empathise with their sentiments; in a normal face-to-face conversation between strangers, would you ask for the person's name without introducing yourself? According to conventional etiquette, people should self-identify before seeking the other's name, but has anyone pointed out that it is necessarily rude for people not to self-identify oneself? Think about it; I rarely introduce myself and yet, nobody has pointed out how rude I am. If no one has pointed it out, then who's to say that it's rude in the first place?

Now we come to the second part of spoken discourse in a phone call. It has been observed that a typical Chinese phone call includes other-oriented inquiries; it's about the recipient's well-being. That's common for me too, although who makes the other-oriented inquiry first may vary (usually, it's the recipient in my case). Here's what Harfiz, Sarah and I have been observing in a typical Malay phone call: We like to ask "where are you?" as our other-oriented inquiry. Harfiz has explained it in his entry: Your recipient's whereabouts serve as a course marker on assumptive grounds. If the recipient is at his workplace (school inclusive), he's probably busy and as a caller, I may change the topic. If the recipient is at home, he's possibly free or bored.


Why do the Chinese generally emphasise on other-oriented inquiries or relation-oriented comments? My assumption is, doing so symbolises thought and consideration for the recipient. By not doing so, the caller may appear selfish or inconsiderate for calling the recipient merely to fulfill the caller's needs without sparing a thought. It's somewhat the same for Malay phone calls, but the sheer amount of either one of them may be different. Saying a single line of either an other-oriented inquiry or relation-oriented comment is enough; more of it may seem long-winded and aimless. Perhaps, this is the same for Western phone calls. After all, Singapore is an Asian country with Western influences.


This week's topic is rather vast, so I'll split this week's entry into two. This is the first entry that deals with a phone call, and my second will deals with narratives and backchanneling. Hurr, how verbose can I be? I wonder if I'm like this on the phone too...?