Lots of good suggestions are turning up for the fugitive word Joanna Carr has requested, about the way people behave on crowded streets. (Keep 'em coming!) In his blog, Jim Fallows proposes "the people of Beijing and Shanghai" for this and talks about the Chinese "walking-style."
Fine points of behavior on the street are a cultural signifier too. As Fallows says, they tell you something about a culture and about individuals within that culture. What I like about the analogy with language here is that no one seems to need to have it explained why fine points of street behavior matter. We all notice it, we all judge it, and nobody seems to think it's snobby or pointy-headed to do so.
Maybe instead of invoking "cultural signifiers," I'll start explaining the point of linguistic niceties like this: "You know how you feel when you're out walking and a group of people coming toward you takes up the whole sidewalk?"
I think there are two main types of cultural signifiers: those that are used to set oneself apart from others, (like adopting a Harvard accent), or those unconscious or involuntary behaviors that others use to judge us (like a Southern accent). I also think you're right that the use of precise grammar can sometimes act as a signifier. I had a friend who, when asked, "How are you?" would always say, "I'm well, thank you." It was jarring to me the first time I heard it, and it took me a few moments to realize that she was correct, because my response in that situation is always "pretty good". I'd said it and heard people say it a thousand times, and I'd never realized it was grammatically incorrect until that moment.
The correct use of "whom" also can act as a signifier, because it's so rarely heard in casual conversation.
The way that people walk on the sidewalk could be considered an unconscious form of cultural signifier, signaling familiarity with the local norms. People in New York may walk quickly and avoid eye contact because anyone trying to make eye contact is probably only going to give you grief. People generally keep to the right on a crowded sidewalk because that's the tacitly accepted rule for keeping traffic flowing smoothly.
When people violate those norms, then they disrupt the flow of traffic and annoy others, but it seems that most people learn pretty quickly what the accepted behavior is. Perhaps that's part of the process of becoming a native: once you've learned to walk quickly, keep your head down, and stop gawking at the skyscrapers, you're on your way to passing for a real New Yorker.
Posted by a | October 21, 2008 3:41 PM