Linguistics for the everyday wo/man (Part 1)

[cicada84]

I don't think people wake up in the morning deciding that they want to be jerks. But often, when there's a communication failure and perceptions of impoliteness arise, that assumption instinctively occurs in our mind. But why - even if we try to be tolerant - it's so difficult not to think of others as being snotty, self-obsessed jerks?

Perhaps it's

Comments

[hooked2trance]

yup... putting yourself in other's shoes... easier said than done... but nonetheless essential...

[cicada84]

That's true...but what I'm also trying to say is...it's quite useless to put ourselves in other people's shoes in order to understand them. To do so is to assume they share the same mental 'template' as we do. Hmm.

[hooked2trance]

Oh... ok... I think I was too tired, and read it too fast.. lol... misinterpretated...