Unit 8 Page 67
Read and listen to the text.
Conversational styles. What sport are you?
Mustafa Alper from Ankara, Turkey, was in his early 20s when he traveled to the United Kingdom to do a masters course. He soon made friends with other international students. And he especially hit it off with a group of students from Argentina. Although their cultural backgrounds were quite different, they enjoyed sitting in cafes, drinking coffee, and having lively discussions about football, food and cars. Mustafa also met students from other countries, including Japan and Korea. Although they had some common interests, he found it more difficult to socialize with them. He felt that they were somewhat reticent , and his efforts to join conversations were often met with an uncomfortable silence.After graduating, Mustafa returned home and began working for a pharmaceutical company. After a year he was promoted and his new position involved extensive travel. The company signed him up for a seminar on intercultural communication. Mustafa wasn't convinced he needed it since he had studied in the UK and had friends from other countries. And in the first session, when the instructor wrote conversational styles, rugby, basketball and bowling on the board, Mustafa thought there was little he could learn. But as the instructor started to explain, Mustafa suddenly realized why he had never felt as comfortable with his Asian friends.
Conversational styles differ throughout the world. It is possible to distinguish them in terms of pace or speed. Method of turn taking pitch and volume changes, number of speakers participating simultaneously and rapport between speakers. In order to illustrate these differences, Professor Susan Steinbeck of the University of California created a sport metaphor.
Rugby
Conversational rugby is played in Latin America, Africa, Southern Europe and the Middle East. As a conversation style, it is characterized by a great deal of energy. Ideas are brought up and dropped quickly. Speech is fast paced and spontaneous. The speaker's turns overlap . In other words, it would be unusual for a speaker to pause and listen to another until he or she has finished. Conversations tend to be quite noisy with very obvious changes in pitch and volume. Playing conversational rugby also involves more physical contact and gesturing, although the extent of this may depend on the gender of the speakers and cultural norms. Rapport between speakers is important, as is their camaraderie .
Basketball
Conversational basketball is played in the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia. In this style, as in the game of basketball speakers try to gain control of the conversation, which is symbolized by the ball. Speakers try to hold the floor by using phrases such as. Let me see... I wanted to talk to you about.... just give me a minute to think. This is like dribbling the ball. Speakers may interrupt each other or steal the ball in order to make a point. However, once a speaker has made his or her point, it is important to toss the conversational ball to others. This can be done by asking for an opinion. Without passing to other speakers, the conversational basketball can turn into conversational rugby with speakers turns overlapping as they tackle each other to gain control.
Bowling
Across East Asia, specifically in Japan, Korea, northern China, and parts of Thailand, the conversational style resembles bowling. Unlike basketball or rugby, there is no attempt to steal or take control of a conversation. In contrast, speakers watch and wait their turn. Speakers pause between turns to reflect on what has been said or done. Speakers follow clear guidelines of etiquette to grab the ball from someone will be a mistake. It just isn't done. In addition to strict turn taking, there are procedural rules based on the age or status of the speakers. The older the speaker, the more likely he or she is to speak first and a more junior speaker would show deference by waiting. Similarly, in conversations with teachers or older family members, the older person would be expected to open the conversation.
Using a sporting metaphor can be a useful way of understanding cultural differences. However, we also have to be careful not to make overgeneralizations , and to remember that there are many variations and exceptions.
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