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Purpose

The purpose of committing these violations is to observe the importance that our society has placed on certain speech acts.  This importance does not translate in all cultures, which can lead to certain failures in intercultural communication.  Consider what you expect of others when you make a phone call or ask “How are you?” to a stranger.  What do they expect of you in the same situation?

Method

In order to experience how uncomfortable violations of cultural norms are, you will commit one of the speech act violations listed here.

After committing the violation at least three times, you will write at least 2 paragraphs summarizing the general reaction to your violation.  Who and where did it occur? (for example: the barista at Starbucks). How did the person listening react?  How did it make you feel?  Was it hard to do the violation due to habit?  Could you commit the violation without laughing? Also, why do you think people reacted the way they did? (age, place, status, etc). Think about class concepts in your explanation of each reaction. 

Violation 1 – Answering the Question “How are you?”

In our culture, "How are you" is a greeting and typically means "Hello." The standard response is: Fine, Good, Ok, or no response. If someone answers this question with more information, we don't know how to handle it. It can lead to an uncomfortable interaction.

For at least 4 interactions, when someone asks you “How are you?” or “How’s it goin’?” you will respond to the literal meaning of the question and tell someone how you really feel. You can tell the truth or lie if you don't know what to say. This activity works best with strangers (shop and bank clerks, the coffee shop barista, the food server, the gas station attendant or even a passerby on the street). 

It will be hard to break the habit of responding automatically. Perhaps plan how you will respond before you attempt the interaction. Don’t laugh and feel free to explain the experiment after you've finished. As you talk, observe the reactions and note your own comfort-level. Does the person frown at you, walk away, laugh at you, look to others nearby for comfort or protection or actually listen and create a dialogue with you? How do you feel as you engage with the person? Are you uncomfortable, nervous, embarrassed? Why do you feel this way? Why do you think the listener feels this way?