Reading Log for "Yes and No"

"Yes and No" is about a Chinese girl named Amy Tan who seems to have a real chip on her shoulder. She doesn't like the way her language is misconceived as an overly polite and passive language. She revolves her essay around an article she found in the New York Times about there being no direct words for yes or no in the Chinese language. She admits later in the essay that it is true, but there are other ways to say it that get the point across with similar efficiency.

She also feels that the reason there are not as many Chinese people in high profile management positions is because of the language barrier and the way Chinese is misconceived. It is not a bad thing to be accused of being polite, but to hear it so often is apparently frustrating to Amy. Throughout the article and then very clearly at the end, she states her feelings about the American way. She seems to think it's particularly rude.

I personally have never been aware of this issue of yes and no until today, but I have had many situations where I could not understand what a Chinese person was saying. I find myself not even trying now because of my failed experiences in attempting to effectively communicate with them. If this is the reason they are not getting high profile management positions in America, then good. I have spoken to many Chinese people who speak good English, and if I moved to China I would not be fit to lead until I fully learned the customs and courtesies of the culture. That includes, but is not limited to it's language.

During my time in the military, I dealt with Filipino chiefs who could not be understood and therefore much time was wasted when their English speaking underlings had to explain it again. These chiefs were in their position because they had a tight knit Filipino family that promoted from within. So I sort of resent it when I hear about someone moving to America and blaming their difficulties on lack of understanding by the Americans.

My Name in IPA

My name is Eric. It is a common name and therefore rarely mis-pronounced. In IPA it is written ErIk. The places of articulation are alveolar and velar. The manners of articulation are liquid and stop.

Usually people can say my name easily enough, but some people pronounce it differently because of their dialect. For instance, a Norwiegen may pronounce it as ieric. Someone of Middle Eastern origin may pronounce it edic, pronouncing the r as a d. Hispanics may roll the r. Someone with a Southern twang may say airc.

I have difficulty pronouncing certain African names because they are constructed with sounds uncommon to English. I can't think of a specific example, but if I could I just told you all that I would mis-pronounce it anyway.

Chapter 5- The sound patterns of language

In chapter five of the text, we learn about the physical production of speech sounds produced by humans. And since humans come in all shapes and sizes, the sounds produced by them also vary greatly. Chapter five goes into the rules of how certain sounds are or are not allowed to follow or be paired with others while also explaining the similarities between certain sounds and the ways in which they are articulated.

The part that stuck out the most for me in this chapter was the part that talked about allophones. Allophones are when there is a group of several phones, all of which are versions of one phoneme. The example they used was the pair tar ans star. When I felt for aspiration on each word, I realized that a phoneme can take on a different sound when preceeded by a certain other. Like the [t] pronounced in tar suddenly becomes less stressed when you place an s in front of it to make star(pg. 45).

As a song writer, the part that I could most relate to was the syllables and clusters segment that explained some of the rules of rhymes and consonant/vowel placement. It demonstrated how certain clusters of words are strategically placed one after another to create the proper sound and flow(pgs. 47 and 48).

My only question is who is Bob Belviso?

I am sure that there are many people in this class who have come up
against major barriers in communication in their lives. Many of you
likely moved to America to find a place that was far less inviting
than you had hoped for. Some of you were forced to adapt to a new
language that would sadly take the place of a language makes up a part
of who you are.

The truth is, I have never been in an environment where I had to
change the way I spoke in order to be understood. This naturally
means that I have not given as much thought to the question of what
language means to me. I have always communicated on an almost sub-
conscious level (a little bit more than I should by the way), and
therefore never gave much thought to how I spoke or how I was
perceived. I mean, I was one of the "normal" ones.

And now I am in a French class. This question has been served to me
with impecable timing. My struggles with French enable me to take a
glimpse into the world of a person trying to survive in a place that
doesn't understand them. The only difference is, when I get
overwhelmed, I can just step out.