Taiwanese continuing speaking to you in English even if they know you speak good Mandarin/Taiwanese

[chupachups]

Hello.

I am European psychologist currently based at Taipei. I am doing research about social exclusion through language at Taiwan – that kind when people speak to you in English if you doesn’t look as Taiwanese for them even if they know you can speak Mandarin or Taiwanese. I don’t mean that kind of behavior, when people speak to you in English when they don’t know you (and they possibly turn into Mandarin/Taiwanese when they recognize you can speak them). I mean that behavior, when people continue to speak to you in English even if they know they could not and you are trying to continue in Mandarin/Taiwanese (and simultaneously they speak in Mandarin/Taiwanese to others but not to you).

I want to learn more about this behavior from people, who live at Taiwan longer than me and make some interviews with them.

If you live at Taiwan several years, you are visually distinguishable from Taiwan majority population, your Mandarin or Taiwanese speaking ability is enough to make a normal conversation (so you may have experience of that kind), you feel, that you have large experience with the behavior as described above, and you want to share your experience with me (maybe one hour interview in English, Mandarin or Korean), please contact me at:

chupachups567 (at) yahoo (dot) com

Thank you!

[ironlady]

Hello.

...I mean that behavior, when your appearance is “objectified” that way, that you are expected or demanded to be an English speaking person and people continue to speak to you in English even if they know they could not and you are trying to continue in Mandarin/Taiwanese (and simultaneously they speak in Mandarin/Taiwanese to others but not to you) and they exclude you from the community this way.

This is a rather large assumption, don't you think? I'm a sociolinguist and my belief is that this phenomenon has more to do with group identity and visual channel cues than a conscious effort to exclude. I think it would also be useful to look at the norms for language use in group situations among Chinese speakers with particular reference to the dialect situation. I've been in many situations where people would use their local dialect in front of other Mandarin speakers who didn't speak it, and no one thought anything of it (and we did ask).

I have had people insist on speaking English, even if I was answering them in Mandarin (or Taiwanese, but I could hardly blame them considering the sad state of my Taiwanese ) but I don't think I've ever felt it was an effort to exclude. After all, if it's obvious I understand Mandarin, what's the point? I still know what's going on, and I'm still using Mandarin as the code to communicate with the rest of the group.

Just not quite sure what you're getting at.

[chupachups]

Hello.

...I mean that behavior, when your appearance is “objectified” that way, that you are expected or demanded to be an English speaking person and people continue to speak to you in English even if they know they could not and you are trying to continue in Mandarin/Taiwanese (and simultaneously they speak in Mandarin/Taiwanese to others but not to you) and they exclude you from the community this way.

This is a rather large assumption, don't you think? I'm a sociolinguist and my belief is that this phenomenon has more to do with group identity and visual channel cues than a conscious effort to exclude. I think it would also be useful to look at the norms for language use in group situations among Chinese speakers with particular reference to the dialect situation. I've been in many situations where people would use their local dialect in front of other Mandarin speakers who didn't speak it, and no one thought anything of it (and we did ask).

I didn't mean, that it should be conscious effort. It just happens as a consequence of this behavior. So I want to learn from more experienced people, where are roots of this behavior. Thank you for the suggestion!

[chupachups]

Hello.


I have had people insist on speaking English, even if I was answering them in Mandarin (or Taiwanese, but I could hardly blame them considering the sad state of my Taiwanese ) but I don't think I've ever felt it was an effort to exclude.

Just not quite sure what you're getting at.

The perception of this situation depends on where you are used to live also. I have spent about one week in English speaking countries. In countries, where I haved lived, saying "Hello" to someone being different from majority population is understandable, because he or she could probably be a foreigner and English is the most common language known by foreigners. But continuing in English when he or she replies in the language normally used by the community to which the listener belongs is probably not perceived as being OK everywhere.

[Teddoman]

Have you read this thread? I posted on this very topic there just recently

[jimipresley]

If you live at Taiwan several years, you are visually distinguishable from Taiwan majority population, your Mandarin or Taiwanese speaking ability is enough to make a normal conversation (so you may have experience of that kind), you feel, that you have large experience with language social exclusion behavior as described above, and you want to share your experience with me (maybe one hour interview), please contact me at:

What language do you intend to conduct this interview in?

[chupachups]

If you live at Taiwan several years, you are visually distinguishable from Taiwan majority population, your Mandarin or Taiwanese speaking ability is enough to make a normal conversation (so you may have experience of that kind), you feel, that you have large experience with language social exclusion behavior as described above, and you want to share your experience with me (maybe one hour interview), please contact me at:

What language do you intend to conduct this interview in?

English or Mandarin. Thanks for the question, I forgot to fill this above.

[chupachups]

Have you read this thread? I posted on this very topic there just recently

Teddoman, thanks for the link! It definitely contains information useful for me. However I want to speak with some people having good understanding of this phenomenon and some opinion about it, since I want to get deeper understanding of their opinion than is possible through the online discussion forum.

[ironlady]

I still strongly recommend you read existing literature concerning sociolinguistics, language choice, and group identity before coming up with this sort of hypothesis for testing. I think you are making assumptions about a multicultural phenomenon using monocultural assumptions.

[urodacus]

Much as you hate to admit it, Ironlady, some people just are rude ignorant hicks.