What does it mean to understand language? by Prof. Dr. Raja Nor Safinas Raja Harun https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2 Exploring language en-us 2018-03-01 21:02:59 UTC 2025-04-24 07:02:04 UTC hello@padlet.com How to become British? safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237190308 Study the postcards provided for each group. Discuss on what does the postcard mean? What is the message that it is trying to convey?]]> 2018-03-01 21:06:27 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237190308 safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237191933 2018-03-01 21:10:38 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237191933 safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237192535 2018-03-01 21:12:18 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237192535 safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237192877 2018-03-01 21:13:11 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237192877 safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237193427 2018-03-01 21:14:31 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237193427 safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237193842 2018-03-01 21:15:39 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237193842 safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237194127 2018-03-01 21:16:19 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237194127 Notes safinasharun1 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237195791 Introduction to what is discourse analysis.]]> 2018-03-01 21:20:28 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237195791 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237244403 2018-03-02 01:01:15 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237244403 Tourist attraction (Group 2) nabilanwar https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246525 1. At the end, the cashpoint will always be the attraction.
2. You can go to the castle, cathedrals, colleges, but you will always find yourself at the cashpoint to withdraw your money.
3. Even if you want to withdraw money from the bank, you have to pay for it (interbank network service provider).
4. Wherever you go~ whatever you do~ the bank will always be there for you~]]> 2018-03-02 01:12:15 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246525 jlsw https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246702 1) The Big Ben is supposed to be a historical clock tower but it losts its original meaning after it became a tourist attraction.
2) Letters are still much more appreciated than emails because it takes effort and sincerity. Even though emails are much more convenient and faster to reach, but letters have not lose its original meaning.
3) Smokers will continue to smoke no matter what initiative (eg: smoking ban, sign) has been taken. ]]> 2018-03-02 01:13:06 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246702 Group 4 liewjiayiing https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246804 -The conversation starts by talking about the weather because it is the British culture to start a conversation in such way.
-Everyone has their own level of proficiency 
-The way a person speaks depends on their proficiency level and the general knowledge. 
-The manner of speech used is polite.
- The English speakers have different accent so it is hard to understand even though they speak the same language. 
. ]]> 2018-03-02 01:13:35 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246804 Response heranytahany https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246818 What does the postcard mean :
- in whatever circumstances, British people have to be polite.
- they are particular amd fussy about their language.
- in some situations, where life is put at dangerous situation, language is their utmost priority.

Message the postcard wants to convey :
- At some point where things are critical, the language itself doesn’t have to be perfect or accordance with the familiarity or custom of the society. Because, what important is, to ensure the message is delivered and immediate response can be taken.]]> 2018-03-02 01:13:42 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246818 Group 3 Response syawalaiman96n https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246897 1. Hypocrite. 
2. Being sarcastic when they answered differently than what they actually feel to the waiter.
3. Fail to communicate well.
4. Not illiterate.
5. The 'salad' is actually good. If it's rotten, there would not be any worms. 
6.They did not want to offend the waiter so they did reveal their true feelings about their food.
7. They cannot communicate effectively because they want to remained polite. 
8. When we face challenges or face something that we do not like, we still have to put up with it at times.]]> 2018-03-02 01:14:08 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237246897 arnitaramachandran https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237259551 2018-03-02 02:31:15 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237259551 syawalaiman96n https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237259560 2018-03-02 02:31:18 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237259560 MARY'S RESPONSE madammary https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237299433 COMMENT
For British people, they won’t treat you nicely if you speak rudely to them. According to the postcard, their so-called ‘rude’ is speaking without adding the word ‘please’. As we could see from the above postcard, when Character A speaks to Character B without adding the word ‘please’, Character B feels mad at him. On the other hand, when Character A speaks politely by adding the word ‘please’ to Character B, his facial expression changes thoroughly. There is another important point that can be seen from the above postcard. That is, Character A spends 5000 pounds in order to learn the so-called ‘polite language’, but the sentence structure is still ungrammatical. 

 

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT
From Character A, I have seen great sarcasm. This is because after Character A spending 5000 pounds in order to learn the English, supposedly, he will speak politely and with correct sentence structure. However, the truth is, he just speaks politely as it is what the British people concern. The connotative meaning that I have learnt from here is that we put effort on something is because we want the society to accept us but not that we want to improve ourselves. This reflects our society nowadays. We do whatever that the society wants us to do but we never think of doing something that will change our society.

]]> 2018-03-02 07:37:57 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237299433 ING ING'S RESPONSE panginging https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237650047 Comment
The figure above has clearly shown that there is a contrast of feedback before and after the waiter is asking for opinion about the food. As the title for this figure is "How To Complain",  the explicit meaning would be customers should learn on how to complaint to the restaurant if the food is really bad. By considering the cultural background and language used, the implicit meaning would be no matter the food is bad or not, customer has to give positive feedback as this is the culture of native speakers. The waiter asks for feedback is not due to the aim of improving the quality of food but just a procedure of serving food whereas the customers' feedback is just a common reply to a waiter as a response to the question. In their culture, people are encouraged to interact with one another  regardless of the position or status of a person. They are used to start a conversation that related to the particular environment such as the example of the figure above. Their conversation has nothing to do with their content but merely a simple greeting manner.

What Have I Learnt
The difference between the native speakers and the Malaysian is the latter does really complain a lot compare to the former. In our culture, we complain whenever we feel bad about others. Traffic jam, we complain, GST, we complain, increase in price of petrol, we complain, nearly everything we complain. However, we never appreciate the good that have been done to us, we never praise the other. In Malaysian culture, we always choose to discourage the other when we can actually encourage the other. I believe that both encouragement and discouragement bring improvement, just that the process of improvement of the latter has more disappointment. If we can make a little encouragement in our surrounding, I believe the chain reaction will take place and make Malaysia a better place to stay. ]]> 2018-03-03 03:21:34 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237650047 AUNI'S RESPONSE auniliyanaa https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237656134 Comment
From the postcard above we can see the usual places that tourist visited when they come to Britain. We can also see the price to visit the place and it is expensive. 
What I learn from the postcard is the British people using the tourist interest with the places to generate their income. At the end tourist will spend more money in their country]]> 2018-03-03 06:06:34 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237656134 Liew's response liewjiayiing https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237680809 Based on the picture above, it shows the practical example which most of the people will encounter this kind of situation, especially the foreigners. This is because our world is multicultural, consists of different kind of people with respective cultures. For an exemplification, the non British speaker unintentionally did not use the word "please", which leads the British thought he is impolite. This is because, in British culture, making request without the word "please" is considered as rude and uneducated. Thus, in my perspective, i think the non British speaker realised his error, so he paid money to learn the native culture and he got to impress the British.

What I have learnt from the pictures above is language influenced by culture in terms of appropriacy and formality. In our country, we have learnt how to make request during our grammar lessons, but ww do not apply it in our daily conversation because we used to be casual and simply in our daily conversation. Thus, we do not practice in using the word "please" when making a request. On the other hand, the British is very particular in the politeness of their conversation. For instance, even if you are making a request politely but without the word "please", it is still considered as rude. Consequently, they will either ignore you or reply you impolitely.]]> 2018-03-03 12:27:21 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237680809 Nur Ain's response nurainahmad2312 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237685552 This postcard is trying to portray that saying something when it means just the opposite is one of British etiquettes. Meaning that most British people are not straightforward and open such as Americans or other cultures when expressing their feelings. From the situation in the postcard, British will not complain about someone to their face, because they expect the person to pick up on indistinct clues given by them and don’t want to have an explicit confrontation about it. 

]]> 2018-03-03 13:29:28 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237685552 Christine's response orange3097 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237770691 I will only be commenting on the first postcard. It is a huge irony. The two people are looking at books when they speak, indicating that they are both tourists and are referring to language guide books. Although their English is fine, their conversation is pointless. Asking for the time when the Big Ben is right there and chiming is funny because even though you might not understand the language of the country you are in, clocks are universally readable. The person replying escaped the question with the excuse of being a foreigner, indicating that he did not understand the question in the first place.]]> 2018-03-04 09:35:48 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237770691 Izzah's respond Izzah_athirah https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237790379 From the postcard above i conclude that everything that we do requires money. even just for holiday, we still need to spend money. the postcard shows several tourist attractions in Britain but we need to pay for everything even for just visiting castles and cathedrals. the postcard also shows that British people is smart in exploiting the attractions as sources of incomes. they did not just manage to popularize the attractions but they also make some fortunes at the same time.]]> 2018-03-04 13:17:29 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237790379 Atiqah's response n_eiqahramli https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237794567 In my opinion, this postcard is a sarcasm towards the Brits' practice, where they would always start a conversation by asking about the weather. They would also use conversation about weather as a resort to kill silence or to break the ice between two newly met parties. This postcard shows three levels of conversation with the same level of formality and politeness. The main point is, either you are an elementary student or an advanced English user or speaker, the weather will always tag along in your daily conversation. This postcard also showcase the reality of how people there speak and converse with each other. It does not matter if you have no clear vision of where the conversation is heading, but the ultimate importance is for you to be polite all the time.

]]> 2018-03-04 13:58:46 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237794567 Sarlini's comment Sarlini29 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237795939 From my point of view, I would say that the couple in the postcards are trying to be polite by not expressing  their dissatisfaction to the waiter.  It is very contradictory from the Malaysian culture where we always practice the rule, ' customers are always right.' As Ing Ing mentioned above, we Malaysians complain about  almost everything but we seldom compliment others to appreciate them. In my opinion, the couple should have expressed their dissatisfaction to the waiter in a polite manner which will not hurt the waiter so that the restaurant could improve on their food quality. It is not necessary for us to be harsh when we are complaining about something, we can also do it in a courteous manner where it will not offend others.]]> 2018-03-04 14:12:26 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/237795939 ARNITA'S RESPONSE arnitaramachandran https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/238942560 The postcard reflects the attitudes of British people. In Britain, phrases such as 'please', 'thank you' or 'I beg your pardon' is a must use language when speaking with one another. It does not matter whether or not you are older or younger, everybody have to use it. If you do not use it in your sentences, you will be deemed rude.
What I have learnt:
From the postcard above, I have realised that in life, no matter how good you are at something, it is your attitude that counts. It determines whether or not you will go far in life. Just like in the postcard, the British man looked angry as the other man did not use 'please'. The British man might not help him because he finds the other man rude. Besides, in order to fit in and build relationships in other people's country, you need to learn and understand their culture.]]> 2018-03-06 23:37:37 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/238942560 Ivy’s respone Ivywongseowyuen https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/241728108 Good day all,
In my point of view, the three postcards potray the real life of us as a human being. This is because there are always incidents happen right infront of us, but we just choose to ignore it. For instance, there are still many poor people around us, begging for money, food and shelter. Only some of us will stop by and offer help for them. Unfortunately, most of us will just ignore them. This is sad to witness and said that we are actually a very selfish person. In contrast, we must stay alert and aware of the issues that are happening arround us and try our best to offer a helping hand.

The lessons that i have learnt throughout the class are how to discourse the postcards in a deeper view and also some life’s values. In a nutshell, i have learnt lots of new knowledge.

Thank you.]]> 2018-03-14 07:17:26 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/241728108 Syawal's Response syawalaiman96n https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/241962625 The postcards depicts on the functions of an object or even a place has not been used by people.  
From what I had learned, it is important to understand how does the world work, rather than just ignoring the surroundings. ]]> 2018-03-14 16:03:16 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/241962625 Ling's response hernameisling https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/242775966 In my point of view, the postcard above portrays British as being polite as they reply in a polite manner towards the waiter when they actually didn't enjoy their food and complaint to each other before that. A good thing about being polite is that they wouldn't hurt other people's feeling but it would be considered as two-faced. In fact, the couple should just voice out their opinion but in a nice way so that it would be a constructive comment for the restaurant to improve their quality of food. We have our right as a customer to show our dissatisfaction however it should be done in a proper way so that it would not hurt anyone's 
feeling in the process.]]> 2018-03-16 12:31:50 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/242775966 Vanitha's response vanitharajaratnam https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/242854774 Hello everyone,
In my point of view, the postcards above shows how people are very ignorant nowadays. By ignorant I mean someone that is either unaware of or unconcerned about the important incidents and information. People just tend to ignore instead of taking notice or paying attention to something really important or things that they should know. One should be matured enough to behave in an appropriate manner. Maturity is having responsibility, awareness, and the ability to make the right decisions. Thank you. ]]> 2018-03-16 14:55:33 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/242854774 Jennifer's response :) iamfer18 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/243136144 In this post card it is stated “How to Complain” but it shows the complete opposite instead, meaning the British people never complain, or even if they do you would not know it. There are two ways you can look at this, the good and the bad. 
 
 I’ll begin with the good, the good thing about being polite at all times is it reflects on the society’s mannerism. I think it is safe to say that almost everyone would agree that British people are some of the politest people you would ever come across. Even in their daily conversation to a stranger, they would use words like “Dear” and “Darling” which is very contrary to the practice of our Asian culture. Little things like this create a big impression that they are kind and loving people.
 
 But on the other hand, this would not be good because one will never know the truth with them. For example, in the picture, the food at this particular restaurant is bad but because of their habit of being polite the management would never know. They cannot improve themselves. This in turn might end up causing them to lose customers because no one would want to go back there again. 

What I learned from this is that, it is good to be polite but when you overdo it, then you’re asking for trouble. I think everyone should remember this quote, “Too much of anything isn’t good for anyone”. Live by this quote and you will have a happy life.

]]> 2018-03-18 02:27:12 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/243136144 Nabil's Response nabilanwar https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/243155236 In my opinion, this postcard shows that British people have to be polite in any situation. Even in a very critical situation, such as the poster above where a man is drowning, the drown man have to ask for help in a polite way in order to get attraction by people around him instead of shouting "HELP!". What I learnt from the postcard is British people have to be polite and in good manner in order for them to get response from someone else, or else they will get ignore.]]> 2018-03-18 08:37:07 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/243155236 Nasaruddin's response https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/243999426 In my opinion, this postcard is trying to convey the message where British people and their courtesy towards others. It shows how Britain complain to something they dislike by actually conceal it from the person in charge. The customers might sound polite at first but i think they have rob their rights to deserve a better meal. ]]> 2018-03-20 13:33:38 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/243999426 Jane Lee's comment jlsw https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/244044807 I personally think British people prioritise good manners in their culture, no matter the age. That is why they always say "please", "thank you" and always ask about the weather as a sign of friendliness. 
So I've learnt that in the postcard, the sentence "My English now.. (£5000 later)" is actually portraying sarcasm. It is showing that no matter how much money you spent to learn a language, it is the culture that people prioritise first.
]]> 2018-03-20 14:36:21 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/244044807 Sarah's response sarah_hazwany https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246355650 In my point of view, the postcards above potray the real situations that are happening now in our society. Many incidents happen in front of our eyes but we choose to ignore it because of the ignorance that we have in ourselves.
 




]]> 2018-03-27 04:48:36 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246355650 Melissa’s response https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246356479 Based on the postcard above, i could assume that these are the main tourist attraction in Britain. The expenses are quite expensive and in my opinion,the postcard is trying to convey that no matter where we spend our money,we would eventually find ourselves withdrawing money from the bank. So the bank is concluded in one of the main tourist attraction too. ]]> 2018-03-27 04:59:19 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246356479 Hillary's response hillarygereal96 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246510731 It is basically a joke but from what I have observed, yelling "HELP" to a British man won't attract his attention whereas the longer winded British speech drew the attention of the British man into the situation and he felt obliged to help. This might be related to manners that the British have. They are quite particular about their language and to them being polite is mandatory no matter what situation it is.]]> 2018-03-27 14:17:39 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246510731 Iricson's Response d073563 https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246523304 In my point of view, this postcard shows how the British can be so polite until they do not have the guts to say it. I can see that they are being fake to each other.]]> 2018-03-27 14:38:20 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246523304 Nurin's response nurin_fir https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246528639 The places featured in the postcard above are Britain's top tourist attraction and it is no suprise that a bank is listed as the tourist attraction too. I think that is because whenever we go and whatever we do, we have to pay, and this includes withdrawing money from the bank. Bank as the tourist attraction shows how important money is. They say 'money is our god'. Whenever there is a decision to make, we turn to money for the answer.]]> 2018-03-27 14:47:39 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246528639 shamila's response https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246539323 From my point of view, British people will not entertain you if you don’t speak to them properly. For instance you need to include ‘please’ when asking for someone’s help. However, in some circumstances, this kind of ‘proper’ language are not actually proper to be used. For example when there is an emergency we would be using the simplest word possible as long as the message is conveyed.

]]> 2018-03-27 15:07:42 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246539323 Deven's response devendon https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246601291 Based on the postcard above, it is essential for the Brits to have courtesy in speaking. Words such as 'please' as well as 'I beg your pardon are important as they regard the courtesy that a person have in their respective life.

What I've learnt is we must have the courtesy as well as the respect in challenges that we face in life as well as with the way we speak. As we learn life lessons throughout our journey, we must keep learning on how to improve our interpersonal skills as well as our way of communication. ]]> 2018-03-27 17:08:58 UTC https://padlet.com/safinasharun1/ljfx3det03f2/wish/246601291