Western Civ 101

Topic: Reading between the lines (Part 1)

Westerners often communicate indirectly. This means that they may say one
thing but mean another. There are many ways to do that. This can cause a lot of
confusion among the Chinese, many of whom mistakenly believe that
"foreigners express themselves directly", while in fact they often don’t.

There is a lot of indirect communication going on in Western culture, no matter

whether the language is English, French, German, or any other. Not everyone
uses it, and not all the time, and there are some differences in how often it’s
required and what kinds are most common, but it does happen. Even some
Westerners who think that they are direct, often don't realise that in fact they
are indirect: this kind of communication is so common that they don't even
notice it anymore! That's why it is very important for you to become familiar
with indirect communication so you can correctly understand English-language
movies and TV series that you watch, books and articles that you read, and
conversations that you participate in. In this two-part class you will have an
opportunity to develop this skill so you can better understand the culture of
English-speaking countries specifically and the Western culture generally.

Every act of communication can be considered as potentially divided into the

“literal meaning”, which is the simple, straightforward meaning of the words
used, and the “subtext”, which is the real intended meaning hidden below the
surface. If communication is direct, there is no different subtext beyond the
literal meaning; if it’s indirect, there is a difference there. Finding this difference
is called “reading between the lines”. Let me give you some examples.

If I look outside the window, see it's raining very hard, and say "What a beautiful
day!" it doesn't mean I’ve gone crazy or that I love rain. It means that I’m using
irony, that is, I say the opposite of what I mean. In this case, the subtext is "The
weather is terrible!", but if I say that directly, it will be boring and weak;
therefore, I say the opposite: "What a beautiful day!" to express my
dissatisfaction in a more interesting and powerful way. In the West people often
say: "It's great!" when they really mean "It's awful", or “I love it!” when they
mean “I hate it!”. This is called “verbal irony”. (There is also “situational irony”,
when the world seems to be doing something different than you expect: for
example, you may always keep a green pen on your desk and never need it, but
the one time when you finally need that green pen, surprisingly you can’t find
it… However, in this class we’re going to focus on verbal irony.)

If someone shares an idea with me and I say: “This is the most brilliant idea I’ve
heard in my whole life! You are the new Einstein!” this usually doesn’t mean that
the idea is really so great and I like it very much. In fact, this most likely means
that I think the idea is useless and the person is wrong. This is a specific kind of
irony called sarcasm, which is used to criticise others by pretending to praise
them. This kind of communication can be quite rude and nasty, even though on
the surface it sounds nice. Imagine you had a friend in high school who was very
bad to you. After gaokao you were happy not to see her ever again. But one day
you run into her by coincidence and you say hello to each other, but you notice
she has become really fat now, so you say “Wow, congratulations, you lost
weight!” While it may seem like you are being nice to her, in fact you are making
fun of her weight and expressing your negative subtext in positive words.
Sarcastic comments often use exaggerated nice words in this rude way.

Another kind of indirect communication works differently. Let’s say you invite
your new friend to come over to your place and you cook food for them. You
like spicy food, so you put a lot of chili pepper into the food. While eating, you
ask your friend how they like it, and they say “It’s great, just a little spicy”. This
“little spicy” comment probably means that it is in fact too spicy and your friend
feels uncomfortable, but they are too shy to tell you directly that it’s too spicy
for them. This is called understatement, which means you express less than
what you feel. Important: when you understate things, you don’t say the
opposite of what you mean, which would be irony or sarcasm (“Not spicy
enough!”); just less than what you mean. It’s very often used to be polite.

Imagine you want to invite your friend to do some activity for the students’
union. You are very enthusiastic and you are sure your friend would agree to
join you. But when you invite them, they reply: “Oh, have you heard about our
teacher, Ms Wang? She is pregnant, did you know? Wow! I wonder if it will be a
boy or a girl. What do you think?” What a strange reply, not connected to the
question at all! You may think your friend did not hear your question and you
may feel you need to repeat your invitation… Don’t do that! Your friend actually
replied very clearly: the subtext is “No, I don’t want to join you”. How did they
reply? By using evasion, which means changing the topic of the conversation:
they simply started talking about something else! Evading answers is a very
common way to reply “No” – so if you notice evasion, don’t ask again, just realise
that the answer is negative. (Important: evasion is not the same as excuse: if
your friend replies “Oh, I would love to join you, but I’m just too busy!” this is a
direct reply, so it’s not evasion, but an excuse and probably a “white lie”).

Some words or expressions may be too serious and upsetting, so we use others
instead to make things seem nicer and easier. Example: if someone dies, people
may feel uncomfortable using the expression “He died”. Instead, they will say
something else, like “He is gone”, “He has moved on”, “He passed on/away”,
“He is not with us anymore”, “He is in a better place”. These expressions sound
less serious, even beautiful in a way. But the subtext is still serious. This is called
euphemism. Another example of euphemistic communication: someone who is
newly jobless/unemployed may feel ashamed to admit that they lost their jobs
or have been fired. Instead, they will say “I’m between careers” or “Just taking
my time looking for better job prospects”. Again, this literally sounds quite
optimistic, but the subtext is serious. So if you hear people using euphemisms,
you need to realise that these nice and easy words can actually be expressing
some uncomfortable emotions, even if the literal words sound positive. In such
a situation, be considerate, gentle, and respectful, because the person may
actually be communicating their embarrassment and/or vulnerability, even
though they seem to be OK. They may even be trying to express to you that they
don’t want to talk about this, or that you should leave them alone.

Some embarrassing or taboo topics may be expressed relatively safely through

innuendo and double-entendre, which are a kind of wordplay (pun). These
expressions seem to be about something ordinary and plain, while the subtext
is embarrassing or taboo, such as sexual topics (by the way, calling sexual topics
“yellow” or “adult” is a kind of euphemism). I will not give you any examples
here ;-) But I can tell you that innuendo and double-entendre are often used in
comedy movies. So, if you watch a comedy and the characters say something
that seems ordinary to you, but other people are laughing, this may mean that
there is a subtext there, and the whole communication is based on innuendo
and double-entendre.
So these are the main kinds of indirect communication in English. Sometimes
you may hear teachers talk about low context cultures and high context cultures,
which is related to direct/indirect communication, but this is not a practical way
of looking at cultures and people in daily life. By looking at real-life examples
above and practicing them, with time you may be able to understand more of
any cultural material you come into contact with, and be able to appreciate the
culture of English-speaking countries more. To help you with that, it’s very useful
to pay attention to the tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions,
because with sarcasm and other kinds of indirect communication they can be
different than normal (exaggerated, subdued, strange). This may be difficult,
especially at first, but don’t blame yourself: in many situations even native
speakers may find it hard to recognise irony, understatement, and others, which
causes misunderstandings in communication and difficulties in interpersonal
relationships. But as you become more familiar with it all, you will get better.

The funny thing is, many foreigners who come to China need to quickly become
more direct, because if they use their normal indirect communication, their
Chinese hosts and friends may be confused. Myself, I have become much more
direct now, having lived in China for several years! Only when I am with my
foreign friends (or my Chinese friends who speak advanced English) can I safely
use indirect communication and be sure to be understood. So sometimes it’s the
Chinese expectations for Westerners to be direct that make Westerners become
more direct! Isn’t that kind of ironic? ;-)

ASSIGNMENT

1. Read the video transcript below, looking up any new words that you don't
know, and thinking of the indirect communication tips shared above
(particularly those about sarcasm).

2. Take a pen (or a stylus) and underline any words / phrases / clauses /
sentences that you guess may be sarcastic, and add comments about what could
be the real meaning between the lines. This will prepare you for the groupwork
you will do when we meet.

3. That’s it! In class we will watch the original video and discuss what’s going on
there. Enjoy :-)
Philip Sarc and the Dawn of Sarcasm
[transcript of a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live]

Host: The Middle Ages were a time of stagnation for the arts and culture. But in twelfth-
century England, one man changed the art of conversation forever. The man who invented
sarcasm, Philip Sarc, was the first man to say the opposite of what he meant, to emphasize a
point. Tonight we look at the life of Sarc, and the dawn of Sarcasm.

Vassal: Lord Sarc, for tonight's meal, the cooks have prepared a sheep's blood pottage.

Lord Sarc: Well, well, well, sheep's blood pottage! Was goat testicle pie not available?

Vassal: I don't believe so, my lord.

Lord Sarc: Oh, I notice you have your thumb in my soup. Any chance you could dip all five
fingers in there?

Vassal: Of course!

Vassal: I'm glad you like the meal, my lord.

Lord Sarc: LIKE it? I wish I could have this every day for the rest of my life.

Vassal: Really? Then it shall be done!

Thomas: Let it be known, that it is decreed by his Lordship, that sheep's blood pottage will be
served henceforth each day for as long as he shall live!

Host: Unfortunately, Lord Sarc's comments were taken literally, creating much confusion. This
continued in matters of love.

Vassal: Presenting Baroness von Wilkie.

Baroness von Wilkie: An honor, your liege.

Lord Sarc: Wow, YOU'RE a vision. I can't decide what I like more: your pasty skin or chinless
face.

Baroness von Wilkie: Why, thank you.

Vassal: Shall we arrange a formal courtship?

Lord Sarc: You know what, here's a better idea. Why don't you go out and find me the biggest,
smelliest, fattest pig you can find, put it in a dress, and I'll marry THAT!

Vassal: It shall be done.

Thomas: Go out and fetch the fairest swine in the land, clothe her in the finest linens, and
bring her here at once! His Lordship is to be married! HUZZAH!!

Vassal: Huzzah!

Lord Sarc: Oh, and... if it's not too much trouble, do you think we could make this roof leak a
little MORE?

Vassal: Why, yes, yes. we could.

Lord Sarc: That's wonderful! Here's an idea: maybe in the next house I have, maybe you can
all go out, and you can just throw together a collection of random stone blocks in the middle
of nowhere, and I'll live there! You think you can handle THAT?!

Vassal: At once, my Lord.

Host: And so, Stonehenge was built: the first sarcastic structure in the world. By 1119, Lord
Sarc's comments had run their course.

Thomas: And so it is decreed, that I shall walk around with my head FIRMLY up my ass, from
this day forth, until I know it better--

Lord Sarc: Okay, don't you GET IT? Do NONE of you morons understand what I'm doing?!
LOOK: I don't really mean ANY of the things I'm SAYING!

Vassal: So I'm not the smartest man you've ever met?

Lord Sarc: No, you are not the smartest man I ever met--I'm saying the OPPOSITE of what I
mean for EMPHASIS! For example, Thomas, when I say, "I love your lute playing," what I really
mean is I'd rather hear the pained mating cries of a jackass!

Thomas: Ohhhhhhhh. That's bad.

Lord Sarc: Nooooooo, it's terrible, pal! And when I tell all of you what a joy it is to be in your
company, what I really mean is that you all completely disgust me! Do you mouth-breathing
idiots UNDERSTAND?!!

Others: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

Host: Philip Sarc was immediately burned at the stake. But his legacy lives on today in the
sarcastic comments of millions around the world. Join us next week when we look at the life
of Roger Prat: inventor of the pratfall. Good night.

___________________________________________________________________________
ATTENTION! This is a COMEDY video and you should NOT use it to learn any knowledge about historical
events: there wasn’t any real man called “Philip Sarc” in history: these are only jokes! The video has no
informative value except for giving us many examples of sarcasm. Please remember that :-)