Saturday, September 26, 2009
The Comeback Culture
For me, I was always can describe the American Culture as very sarcastic. Half the time, people don't mean what they say or say what they mean. A lot of the times I can't even imagine how I would describe sarcasm or "comebacks/ jokes" to another culture. Especially the all time favorite your mama jokes. Besides the jokes we make, their are also some gestures that could probably be seen as different in somebody's culture. The head nod is used often. Usually to demonstrate understanding of something or just to say hey to someone. Someone else could maybe think you are trying to start a fight or your dissing them. A majority of people use their hands when they talk. Usually their is no meaning behind it, but it just helps the person explain what they are trying to say. Someone from a different area or culture could think you are saying something disrespectful. Once I was asked why I use my hands when I talk and first of all I didn't even notice I was. Also, I couldn't give a straight answer, because truly no meaning goes behind it.
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Yeah, I never really thought about when we use our hands when we speak, it may be insulting or confusing to someone. People of other cultures may do things when they speak that may look awkward to us too.
ReplyDeleteI agree people are so sarcastic you can never tell when they are telling the truth. So many people make fun of others but then they say o just kidding but then even though it was just a joke someone can take it in the wrong way. I think all the sarcasm in the United States is a little too much and people should be a little bit more careful with all the sarcasm.
ReplyDeleteSarcasm is the #1 thing that my teacher prep courses said to never, ever, ever do. And I agree on some levels, but they took it so far as to mean to never ever even use direct humor (not sarcasm). Sarcasm is funny for commedians and easy to create in movies/tv but really tough in everyday life b/c it relies on shared/common understanding of both material and symbolic culture and having a shared perspective on values....really tough and risky, but on a side note sarcastic humor is considered the highest indicator of learning a new language (if you can understand sarcastic humor in a different language then you really know the language and a culture)!
ReplyDeleteGreat motto!