1. The chinese use a more blunt language because they think that it makes them more closer to the person they talk to. To them it is not rude but more of a comfort for them. If you talk to them and are blunt that shows that you are comfortable with them. To me I do not think that it is rude because it makes sense. When you are talking to friends or family you talk differently because you are close and comfortable with those people. So i think that in a way that it is polite.
2. Me and my family went to my great uncles house in Connecticut. They have a lot of money, nice cars and huge house. They were definitely the cliche rich New England family. It made me feel out of place because it was like they were speaking another language. They were so polite and proper they made me feel rude for speaking how i normally speak. I think that they speak like that because they feel obligated because of their economic status. They speak like that because it’s the culture that their surrounded by.
3. I don’t think that our language and the way we speak it really reflects our mindset. I think that we just do this so we can identify our subjects and who we are talking to or about. I think the chinese culture is more into being respectful in their language than we are in the US even though it doesn’t seem that way. When we speak about our selfs we are not saying “self” to be rude but just to show the other person who we are talking about.
Great job B, talk about the role of class or economic status on politeness in class if you get the opportunity. Thanks, Jeff