Comparing Eastern And Western Rhetorical Thought

AGNES FIDELIS GLORIA-PINZON 87-15240 ENG 262_2_2008-2009 TMA 4: Unit Four Page 1 of 7 A. Make an overall assessment of the features of Western rhetoric and contrast western rhetoric with Eastern rhetoric and its manifestations and features. What place does the Philippines occupy between these oppositions? Justify how or why.

To compare Western rhetoric to that of its Eastern counterpart, one must first define what it is to qualify as “West” and “East”. It would be easy enough to define “West” in terms of geographical definitions – West here being nations in the Western hemisphere (North and South America) and the East covering countries in the opposite side of the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East). West and East, however, has come to mean more than just what lies opposite each other across the meridian line. The classifications of West and East, after centuries of modern human history has come to ultimately describe how the globe is divided politically and socioeconomically – where nations and their peoples stand in the global economic and political schema. Thus, the West has come to mean the more industrialized and more developed, ergo more prosperous, countries like the countries of Europe (Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, etc.), the North American continent (the United States and Canada) and even Australia. The East, on the other hand, encompass less industrialized (or newly industrializing) to underdeveloped countries in Asia, Russia, Africa and the beleaguered Middle Eastern countries. Here the distinctions seem easy to identify; the West being the rich First World capitalist (imperialist?) economies and the East being the struggling nations of the Third World. But taking a longer look at this construct will reveal that the schism is not based simply on GNP bottom lines and even a shallow review of recent history will reveal that West and East actually determine how much power a nation wields in global realpolitik. Thus, even if Saudi Arabia, let’s say, controls all the world’s oil resources, it’s not enough to land a seat with the big boys since the country exerts no real power on international affairs. This rather meticulous exploration on distinguishing the West from the East attempts to discover what may have implications on the kind of rhetoric used and valued in both.

First let us define Western rhetoric as the rhetoric used by the Anglo-American speakers and writers of English (the British and Americans) as well as the Romance discourse of the French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish and the East as the rhetoric employed by Asian, Arabic or Semitic and Slavic (Czech, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian) peoples. The table below lists salient features and attributes of each kind.

TYPE OF RHETORIC

CHARACTERISTICS/ FEATURES

WESTERN RHETORIC English

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Paragraph development follow a linear pattern Coordination is considered an inferior way of connecting structures, with subordination as the preferred cohesive device.

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ROMANCE: French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

French

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Spanish

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Digression is heavily discouraged as a straight-line, straightforward pattern of development is preferred. English speaking readers expect to see the introduction of purpose at the beginning of the piece and rely on cohesive devices and transitional markers provided by the writer to guide the reader. Writers take on primary responsibility for creating meaning; they have to spell everything out for the reader: main ideas, details and how the details connect to one another as well as to the main idea. Preference for direct, concise vocabulary. Standard paragraph structure: first sentence states the main idea, the main idea is followed by two to four sentences that support, prove or elaborate on the first sentence, the concluding sentence restates your point, brings it to a conclusion and will ideally create a bridge to the next paragraph. Puts premium on individual effort and extols the value of individualism, thus the “I” perspective is highly valued. When writing descriptive prose, American students tend to create subjective impressions in their descriptions, describing people or things or events in relation to themselves. Narratives follow a particular template and is action-oriented, presupposes a logical sequence of events and centers on a particular character/s to which the action, or sequence of events, happens. Distinguishing feature, in contrast to English, is diversion. Readers of these languages expect to find embellishment of ideas that are tangential to the main line of explanation. Use of broad, philosophical introductions, especially in formal writing. Students are taught a specific essay format in French schools; a five part pattern that includes introduction, thesis, antithesis, synthesis and conclusion. Students are taught to use the introduction to raise questions or define terms and suggest the form and argument of the body. Formality and elaboration are typical and demonstrate a preference for long sentences composed with complex clause structures. Spanish writers also use more pronouns than native English writers.

EASTERN RHETORIC SEMITIC: Arabic, Farsi,

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Paragraph development is based on a series of parallel coordinated clauses

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Hebrew

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ASIAN: Chinese, Japanese, Korean

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• • Chinese

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Characterized as very elaborate to recreate the same elaborate intricacy that the Arabic language provides When Arabic writers write in English, they use a significantly higher number of coordinated sentences (The boy was here, and he had a goat, and the goat ate the grass, and the boy took the goat home.) Another characteristic is repetition which can be in the form of paraphrasing content on the idea level or on a smaller scale through the use of specific synonyms and hyponyms. Written discourse is rooted in strong oral traditions which mean keeping their message simple and clear and the use of repetition ensures that the audience still understands the ideas. Attention is paid to the writer’s relation to the reader. Arabic writers often start essays with broad sweeping information about their place within their families and societies, including references to religion. Essays use an indirect approach and come to the point only at the end The development of the paragraph is said to be “turning and turning in a widening gyre” with the circles of the gyres turning around the subject, showing it from a variety of tangential views but without presenting it directly. These writers tend to use an inductive or “quasiinductive” pattern of idea development in which there is a delayed introduction of purpose”. Main ideas are not strongly stated at the onset and while details are presented, direct connections between them and a main idea are not. This is to get “readers to think for themselves, to consider the observations made, and to draw their own conclusions.” The task of the writer is to stimulate the reader into contemplating the issue or issues that might not have been previously considered. Asian discourse strategies often employ abstract vocabulary that gives it an official or artist “sound” Founded on Chinese culture and tradition; Chinese students are taught specific formats for essays (eight-legged essay, qi-cheng-jun-he) Chinese writing is also characterized by a preference to draw upon the wisdom and knowledge of previous texts rather than to rely upon personal viewpoints. Writers will often include stories from Chinese history or mythology. This shows sophistication and respect for authority. Use of elaborate and abstract vocabulary.

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Japanese

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Korean

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SLAVIC DISCOURSE: Czech, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian

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Also has roots in traditional writing forms. Japanese writing demands more of the reader and does not make use of a lot of cohesive devices and transitional markers because the “reader is expected to piece together sections to make coherent text” As with the Chinese, Japanese students tend to write in a manner that effaces the “I” or the personal identity as more emphasis is placed on the value of the collective. In writing descriptive prose, Japanese students tend to describe objectively. They describe people, things or events as they are; no personal relationship is established between the subject of description and the person giving the description. Follow a traditional format: ki (introduction), sung (development of topic), chon (turning to a somewhat unrelated topic and kyul (conclusion). Writers tend to withhold their main ideas until the end Slavic writers include more digression in texts but a reader’s focus is usually drawn back to the main argument near the end of the text. Delayed presentation of purpose and thesis. Reader responsibility is also greater and the reader is expected to invest effort in the process of creating understanding. While the writer tells details, there is no need to explain how the details support the main idea. Writers also prefer elaborate wording and sentence structures as a means to demonstrate mastery of both vocabulary and style.

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Having thus enumerated and described cross cultural rhetorical differences, we move on to the difficult task of locating Philippine rhetoric in this construct. It is difficult because Philippine rhetoric does not fit as snuggly into the Asian model as one would expect. For one, Philippine writing for the most parts, as with almost everything “Philippine”, follows western models. Philippine literature in English, as we’ve discussed in a previous class, had for its beginnings the American colonizers’ very intention of training and molding young Filipinos to slowly but completely ease the flow of influence and insure assimilation of the new colonial culture. From its early stages Philippine writing in English has always reflected its acquiescence to its western roots, especially in academic writing. I remember composition classes in 1

Miller, Laurie. Internationals Writing in English: An Introduction to Contrastive Rhetoric from the George Mason University, English Language Institute. Retrieved from http://www.pdfcoke.com/doc/2339047/Cultural-Differences. 2

Roach, Michael. International Business Meets Contrastive Rhetoric. Retrieved from http://www.experiencethread.com/articles/documents/article53.pdf. 3

Salonga, Aileen. Module 10: Cultural Expectations from Problems in Rhetoric, UP Open University

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college stressing the importance of sticking to a main idea and avoiding a style that is prone to clutter and verbosity. In spite of its propensity to manifest its western colonial predisposition mostly through structure and form, Philippine rhetoric has some fundamental commonalities with its Asian neighbors. Despite intensive and prolonged training and conditioning to always get to the point quickly and without much digression, it is never truly Pinoy to be point-blank blunt and as in Oriental rhetoric, Philippine writing will always, to some degree, go off on a tangent if only to spare a reader’s feelings – a classic trait of pakikisama. Also, as in speech, the Filipino’s penchant for the ornate and elaborate finds its way in writing as well - perhaps an expression of our people’s love for the colorful and the dramatic in the humdrum of everyday life. The way we think and the way we express ourselves as seen in our rhetoric, is as vivid and rich as our very spirit as a people – and this cannot be undone even by decades of colonial programming. As noted in the course material, when people coming from other cultures are exposed to or taught the standards of Western or Anglo-American rhetoric, they have a tendency not only to view these as universal and the norm but they actually tend to prefer it over their native standards of discourse; “Japanese native speakers tend to prefer the linear pattern of English after they have been exposed to it…(and)… similarly Korean academics schooled in the West often carry with them and teach the Western style of writing when they go back to their home country.” 3. It’s tempting to wonder if this hold true for us Filipinos as well – do we prefer the way others think, write and express themselves over the way we’ve thought, written and expressed ourselves. Admittedly, there was a time in our nation’s history when we thought of everything West as best and we patterned each facet of our lives after our American big brothers. Although we may blush now at the incredulity of such a thought and strong stirrings of nationalism are suddenly invoked in us, this is a sad but undeniable (and unforgettable) truth. But I’ve come to believe that this might not longer be absolutely the case. We have ceased to write, speak and think in English as we have been taught in the past and we might have actually adopted the language to express our thoughts, our feelings, our beliefs, our joys, our fears, our triumphs and our struggles - and by doing so, we have also chosen freedom from strictures of form and style as adapted from western models: writing, speaking and thinking in a way that is inimitably and indomitably Filipino.

B. Pick a short poem of any type, on any subject, by any author as the text you will be using for analysis. Using what you have learned from the Unit, analyze the type of rhetoric it employs, and give meaning to the logic, form and structure by identifying elements that conform with the features of the given rhetorical stage/direction you have chosen.

I had some difficulty as I was trying to understand this particular task of the assignment. I was not exactly clear on what the task demanded as we had accomplished a rhetorical analysis earlier on in the course (Why did Kamal die?). What I understood from the instruction was that I needed to analyze a more difficult rhetorical piece, this time a poem, with the objective of paying attention to and understanding not only what the author was trying to say but also on how he was attempting to say it. My interpretation here is thus limited to just that – my understanding of the author’s line of argument and his efforts at getting this across to his readers.

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I chose Geminio Abad’s poem, I Teach My Child because it reminded me of a conversation I had with a cousin who teaches Literature in the Ateneo. I remembered she was very ecstatic about having been chosen to read from Cyan Abad-Jugo’s newest novel. Right about that time, I was finishing up The Jupiter Effect by Katrina Tuvera and I remember commenting that perhaps children of writers have it easier than those of us who struggle to write the hard way, without the benefit of a bloodline that must surely come with benefits (a ready sympathetic critic or fan or the always available editor or resource). “Buti pa ang mga anak ng makata, makata na rin,” I remember telling my cousin, sighing in that painful state of envy. Katrina Tuvera is the daughter of the literary great, Kerima Polotan while Cyan Abad-Jugo is Dr. Geminio Abad’s daughter. As I was browsing through the net looking for a poem I could use for this assignment, I chanced upon Dr. Abad’s I Teach My Child and I thought it was exactly what I was looking for.

Dr. Geminio Abad is not only father to Ms. Jugo but he is also an esteemed educator – roles that give him credibility and authority to write this particular poem. He writes using a reflective tone of one ahead in years and experience. His voice is somber and his treatment of the subject grave and serious, almost as if he is bequeathing a vital secret. He writes as a matter of life and death, beginning and ending with: I teach my child To survive. I begin with our words, The simple words first And last. He writes to parents, to teachers, to children, to adults, to anyone who’s life has been touched by children. He appeals to his readers’ emotions by invoking feelings of family, friendship and the range of emotions that pass between them: They are hardest to learn. Words like home, Or friend, or to forgive. These words are relations. They are difficult to bear; Their fruits are unseen. He draws readers with words that inspire and evoke stirrings of passion and fervor; words that give clarity of purpose to one’s life and existence, words that bring out only that which is pure and true: Or words that promise Or dream. Words like honor, or certainty, Or cheer. Rarest of sound, Their roots run deep; These are words that aspire, They cast no shade.

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The author claims that these very words are the words that make up man, that lift him beyond the mundane and the ordinary, words that bestow upon him a more noble existence. Man, after all, is spirit and is boundless: These are not words To speak. These are the words Of which we consist, Indefinite, Without other ground. His logic is that at birth through infancy, each child seeks to make sense of the world around him, albeit in silence and after having acquired the skill of language, that ability to understand and acquire new knowledge grows to even greater proportions. A whole different world opens up for the child and from that point on, he will be defined by his experiences, by his words. My child Is without syllables To utter him, Captive yet to his origin In silence. By every word To rule his space, He is released; He is shaped by his speech. Then a child’s life unwinds, almost uncontrollably as each experience builds upon another, with time passing in a blur of moments and memories. Every act, too, Is first without words. There's no rehearsal To adjust your deed From direction of its words. The words are given.

Then we begin to realize the enormity of our responsibility to all children; how our words and the words we teach them impact their lives and make a difference in how they will grow up in this world. The author cautions us adults against words that destroy instead of build up, hurt instead of nurture, inflict instead of inspire, limit instead of set free. The poem also warns against words that are empty and untrue. But there's no script. Their play is hidden, We are their stage. These are the words That offer to our care Both sky and earth, These same words

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That may elude our acts. If we speak them But cannot meet their sound, They strand us still In our void, Blank like the child With the uphill silence Of his words' climb. The poem ends as it began with the author’s repeated lesson to parents and teachers alike of the wisdom of teaching children what matters most in order to survive and thrive in a world that will test their strength and their will. And so, I teach my child To survive. I begin with our words, The simple words first And last.