Social customs in your country (Language of generalisation)
Below are some things that books like Culture Shock and Lonely Planet tend to over-generalise about. Try to agree what completely accurate sentence you would write for a foreigner (e.g. someone coming to Korea on a business trip) about one of the topics below, then move onto another. Start with the easiest topics first.
- Blowing your nose in public
- Constant sniffing to avoiding having to blow your nose
- Spitting in the street
- Eating your rice with chopsticks
- Writing someone’s name with red ink
- Leaving your chopsticks stuck in your rice
- Filling your own glass (e.g. pouring beer for yourself)
- Passing things with your left hand
- Touching people on the head
10. Wearing shoes indoors
11. Kissing in public
12. Eating with your hands
13. Holding hands or walking arm in arm with your boyfriend/ girlfriend/ same sex friend
14. Tipping
15. Gesturing with your chopsticks
16. Jewellery for men
17. Leaving food at the end of the meal
18. Giving someone four flowers
19. Opening a gift in front of the person who gave it to you
20. Ripping open presents
21. Taking off your jacket in a business meeting
22. Eating while you are walking
23. Picking your bowl up while you are eating
24. Slurping while you are eating
25. Drinking directly from a soup bowl
| Useful language for generalising(Only) older people/ young people/ children/ teenagers/ conservative people/ traditional people/ rural people/ people from small towns/ the elite/ posh people/ women/ the religious…
The vast majority of people/ almost everyone… Quite a lot of people… Only a minority of people/ (Very) few people… People usually/ generally/ almost always… People rarely/ seldom/ hardly ever/ almost never… These days/ In the modern world, people… Traditionally/ A generation ago/ Until…, people… People tend to/ make a habit of/ try to… … don’t care one way or the other/ don’t have any strong feelings on this … disapprove of/ hate/ object to/ are offended by… … think it is rude (= impolite = bad manners)/ strange/ offensive/ unacceptable/ ill-bred/ disgusting (= revolting)/ disrespectful/ unhygienic to… … are superstitious about…/ think… is bad luck/ … have religious reasons for… … don’t/ avoid… …are shocked/ surprised/ offended (by…) … expect you to… … are impressed/ flattered if you… … tend to/ make a habit of/ try to… … disagree about… It’s (completely) taboo (for … people/ in … situations), because… It’s (very/ extremely) important to… It is (very/ perfectly) normal/ (very) common to… It is acceptable/ polite to… (when/ as long as…) |
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PDF version for easy printing: SocialCustomsSpeaking
