speak up a little, please.

[kasia]

how many of you have heard that phrase in classrooms? from white strangers? at work?

a friend of mine at law school recently pointed out that many of our professors immediately say, "can you speak up a little, please?" as soon as an Asian girl begins talking. my friend brought this to the attention of several other law students in the beginning of the year and every day they sat in their classes counting the number of times that this would happen. all types of professors did this. mean professors, nice professors, conservative professors, liberal professors, male, female, you get the point. but all were non-asian.

he believes this is a reflection of the stereotype that asian girls are timid and have soft voices.

i have been told to speak up since the very day i entered elementary school. i thought it was just because i have a soft voice. but when i am with my friends or family, they can hear me just fine. when i am in a comfortable work environment, i can always speak loudly and clearly. my belief is this: because i have been told all throughout elementary school to speak up, i have grown to believe that, in such formal environments, i have a problem speaking loudly. because of this belief, i subconsciously choose to speak softly. it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. maybe.

how many other asian girls have this problem? and why do you think it is so?

[babistardust]

I don't really know if all this is a reflection of the stereotypes that Asian girls are timid and have soft voices... :P A few months back, my economics teacher (who's Caucasian) wouldn't stop saying, "speak up!" everytime an Asian person spoke. But then again, she said the same thing to all the other students as well who are African American and Caucasian. Later on during the hour, she made fun of everyone because they were simply inaudible... and truly, we all were because of the fear of not knowing what she'd do to us if she were discontent with our comments, questions, etc. The woman is highly cynical and blunt! 8O I'm don't think she's stereotyping though.

[IKPakI]

I know some asian girls who are loud and annoying..guess that contradicts the statement that asian females are shy and timid huh?

[kasia]

[quote:0a2a4b4c1c="IKPakI"]I know some asian girls who are loud and annoying..guess that contradicts the statement that asian females are shy and timid huh?[/quote:0a2a4b4c1c]

loud and annoying in the classroom?

most asian girls i know are loud and annoying outside of the classroom but very timid and soft-spoken in classroom settings.

[tapestrybabe]

I think I've always been naturally quiet in a class room setting. I guess you can say that its just one of those fears I have... public speaking in a public formal setting like that. And while I think I may fit that stereotype of being a shy and timid Asian female in the classroom... I also think a lot of people.. non asian people have that fear of public speaking in a classroom as well and being quiet when they speak.... Anyways, I'll try to be more aware the next time a teacher says speak up... and whom they're directing it to...

Anyways, when it comes to class participation and speaking up... I think I'm improving in this area tho...

[thaite]

Are you kidding? Asian women are some of the most loudmouth, gossipy yakkity yak yak women I know! :lol:

[amietron]

sometimes
i find myself
trying to be
quiet just to
fit the stereo
type of quiet
asian girl.
:roll:

[kasia]

[quote:1056999b2c="amietron"]sometimes
i find myself
trying to be
quiet just to
fit the stereo
type of quiet
asian girl.
:roll:[/quote:1056999b2c]

i think i know what you mean...if you're not being sarcastic. it's the whole self-fulfilling prophecy thing. the looking-glass theory: you're not who you think you are. you're not who they think you are. but you are who you think they think you are.

and to buoywonder: asian females can be loud and gossipy, yes...but in the classroom--or in professional settings--are they different?

for me, though...people always ask me to speak up...even when i'm shouting. :? one of my clients told me she liked it though. she said the way i spoke softly commanded attention.

BUT...(sorry for the rambling), has anyone read Sideways Stories From Wayside School? Remember Benjamin Nushmutt? BENjamin NushMUTT. BenJAmin NUSHmutt. BENJAMIN NUSHMUTT!!! the boy who was always asked to repeat his name when asked because nobody could hear him. anyhow--remember how he was talking about how embarassing it was to be asked to repeat everything and how it just comes out all wrong when they finally hear you? that's how i feel sometimes...i sometimes think that Benjamin Nushmutt is really an Asian girl.

[achtungbaby]

[quote:a20f5c8924="kasia"]most asian girls i know are loud and annoying outside of the classroom but very timid and soft-spoken in classroom settings.[/quote:a20f5c8924]

I try to catch myself from droning on and on because I'll remember the times when I've heard others do the same and thought how boring or ignorant they sounded.

[IKPakI]

One time this korean chick was screaming and shouting at her bf at my highschool hallway, it was so loud and annoying. Wish they would take care of it at home or outside the school. I felt like knocking that girl out, so embarrassing. Other kids were standing, looking and laughing.

[amietron]

[quote:5cfcfd04c4="kasia"][quote:5cfcfd04c4="amietron"]sometimes
i find myself
trying to be
quiet just to
fit the stereo
type of quiet
asian girl.
:roll:[/quote:5cfcfd04c4]

i think i know what you mean...if you're not being sarcastic. it's the whole self-fulfilling prophecy thing. the looking-glass theory: you're not who you think you are. you're not who they think you are. but you are who you think they think you are.

and to buoywonder: asian females can be loud and gossipy, yes...but in the classroom--or in professional settings--are they different?

for me, though...people always ask me to speak up...even when i'm shouting. :? one of my clients told me she liked it though. she said the way i spoke softly commanded attention.

BUT...(sorry for the rambling), has anyone read Sideways Stories From Wayside School? Remember Benjamin Nushmutt? BENjamin NushMUTT. BenJAmin NUSHmutt. BENJAMIN NUSHMUTT!!! the boy who was always asked to repeat his name when asked because nobody could hear him. anyhow--remember how he was talking about how embarassing it was to be asked to repeat everything and how it just comes out all wrong when they finally hear you? that's how i feel sometimes...i sometimes think that Benjamin Nushmutt is really an Asian girl.[/quote:5cfcfd04c4]

nope, i wasn't being sarcastic.

yes, i remember sideway stories from wayside school. agree. he's an asian girl in disguise. :)

yeah, i think the quiet voice thing does command attention. you know? everyone is forced to be quiet so the person can be heard.

[thaite]

[quote:b12fdf7821="kasia"]and to buoywonder: asian females can be loud and gossipy, yes...but in the classroom--or in professional settings--are they different?[/quote:b12fdf7821]

In my profession, that's how it is.

[kasia]

[quote:81bea5228f="buoywonder"][quote:81bea5228f="kasia"]and to buoywonder: asian females can be loud and gossipy, yes...but in the classroom--or in professional settings--are they different?[/quote:81bea5228f]

In my profession, that's how it is.[/quote:81bea5228f]

wow. what do you do? :)

[thaite]

news journalist

[kasia]

that's what i want to be!

[LilCPChik]

i have a bad voice i dunt like 2 talk so wen i do the teachers like evryone be quiet so we can hear her... aish...

[kasia]

*bump*

[blue__blood]

off-topicness: I'm a guy and I've been told by many that I speak too fast :P

[Hiroshi2]

Here's a question: Do you think that fob asians are more soft-spoken than their american-born counterparts?

[igcognito]

Originally posted by IKPakI@Jun 11 2002, 06:16 AM
I know some asian girls who are loud and annoying..guess that contradicts the statement that asian females are shy and timid huh?
ditto

[hormiga]

If you're comfortable speaking at a certain audible level then don't change anything.....maybe you should tell them to come closer to you if they can't hear you; also maybe these people are having hearing problems and it's not you.

[hormiga]

Originally posted by Hiroshi2@Nov 12 2002, 02:34 AM
Here's a question: Do you think that fob asians are more soft-spoken than their american-born counterparts?
Hell no! These people living next door are loud muthas, all day and all night! Seems like the less education that people have the less manners they posess. What do you think?

[lethal]

I haven't noticed that the Asian girls at my school speak any less soft than any other people in class. None of my professors have commented on that either.

There is this one black girl who sits in the very front of my Crim class who speaks extraordinarily softly. Every time she speaks, the professors shouts "Loudly" to make sure she rememebrs, then starts walking away from her toward the corner of the room to make sure he can hear from far away.

There is this one Asian girl who speaks softly. Half the time, half the classroom can't hear, so the professor asks her to repeat herself loudly. SHe repeats herself, but at the exact same voice level. One time a student asked her to speak up because we were in the small writing section of 8 people. He sat directly in front of her facing her no more than 10 feet away. He asked her to speak up and she replied "funny, in my head, I'm screaming...screaming." I can't help but laugh at that memory every time.

Anyway, my point is that perhaps it isn't racial, but possibly intrinsic to females in school? There have been studies years back how teachers in high schools didn't call on the girls as much as they called on the guys and this hurt the self-esteem of schoolgirls. Maybe the progression of those same girls from high school have put them in grad school now and this generation of girls are now your classmates?

[enygma]

it could be just geared towards the women in general. psych studies have shown that girls are neglected more than boys in the classroom at an early age and that might be part of the reason why they're so much quieter and more timid about sharing. but, i haven't experienced anything like that here. true, i was more timid my freshman year, but i'm more confident now and the only thing i worry about is whether what i just thought about in my head makes sense when i actually say what i thought.

[Hanuman]

Originally posted by Hiroshi2@Nov 12 2002, 02:34 AM
Here's a question: Do you think that fob asians are more soft-spoken than their american-born counterparts?
Might be true. I'm American born and I'm loud :o

Might be that foreign born people are just a little more shy because they worry about the language more. Then again, my father is foreign born and he is LOUD!!

[angel nympho]

I'm loud and proud. But so's everybody else in my family.

Koreans are loud. :)

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by Tawee@Nov 12 2002, 05:36 PM
Originally posted by Hiroshi2@Nov 12 2002, 02:34 AM
Here's a question: Do you think that fob asians are more soft-spoken than their american-born counterparts?
Might be true. I'm American born and I'm loud :o

Might be that foreign born people are just a little more shy because they worry about the language more. Then again, my father is foreign born and he is LOUD!!
there's this mainland chinese guy who wrote a book on the best way to learn english, he used to run some language academy in beijing and got rich off his ideas. can't remember his name, personally I think he's a total fraud ... but anyway, the basis of review in his method consists of sitting at a desk and reading words aloud loudly. even some Tsinghua and Beijing U. grads I know are practitioners of his method. wait until you hear them quote a passage from some English reading materials ... damn, sounds like a public address system.

anyway, Chinese people are not exactly known for being soft-spoken. personally I can't stand girls who talk in this little voice like they're so fragile and it might harm their lungs if they talk in a normal tone of voice everyone can hear. drop the act please, we're in the classroom so that we can learn, not so that you can put forth this helpless image to try to attract guys. But I see this type in America as well, among both FOBs and AAs.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Nov 12 2002, 06:57 AM
Originally posted by Tawee@Nov 12 2002, 05:36 PM
Originally posted by Hiroshi2@Nov 12 2002, 02:34 AM
Here's a question: Do you think that fob asians are more soft-spoken than their american-born counterparts?
Might be true. I'm American born and I'm loud :o

Might be that foreign born people are just a little more shy because they worry about the language more. Then again, my father is foreign born and he is LOUD!!
there's this mainland chinese guy who wrote a book on the best way to learn english, he used to run some language academy in beijing and got rich off his ideas. can't remember his name, personally I think he's a total fraud ... but anyway, the basis of review in his method consists of sitting at a desk and reading words aloud loudly. even some Tsinghua and Beijing U. grads I know are practitioners of his method. wait until you hear them quote a passage from some English reading materials ... damn, sounds like a public address system.

anyway, Chinese people are not exactly known for being soft-spoken. personally I can't stand girls who talk in this little voice like they're so fragile and it might harm their lungs if they talk in a normal tone of voice everyone can hear. drop the act please, we're in the classroom so that we can learn, not so that you can put forth this helpless image to try to attract guys. But I see this type in America as well, among both FOBs and AAs.
yo man, you got to become friends with more local HKer girls. once they feel comfortable around you, it's loud and rapid-fire cantonese all the way. :lol:

and i actually like that alot.

[artsfartsyjanet]

Being at a Chinese restaurant... man, us Cantonese folks are dayam loud! =) Funny how the classroom setting is almost the exact opposite. I think I'm in the middle. When I speak, I usually think I'm loud enough.... whether it's a stereotype or not.. I'm not sure. Or people could just be deaf altogether..... <_<

[LeahLe]

Well It doesn't matter whether you speak loud enough or not.
Just speak softly and carry a big stick, that'll do the trick to get people to naggin about your volume. :rolleyes:

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Nov 13 2002, 03:47 AM
yo man, you got to become friends with more local HKer girls. once they feel comfortable around you, it's loud and rapid-fire cantonese all the way. :lol:

and i actually like that alot.
yeah, that's what annoys me. I see some of these girls laughing and shouting outside of class. then they ask questions and you can barely hear them. haha anyway like more than 2/3 of my HK friends are guys ...

[ChinaLama]

hmm reading the last few posts, i just thought of how my entire family is pretty loud and sometimes easily excited, and since only ppl in my generation were raised in America, that defeats the stereotype of the quiet FOB. Then again, there are some ppl in my family who aren't loud, and others who are almost scary. :cry: My friends used to, and still do occasionally, complain about how loud I am, but to me that's just a normal tone, although at times I can be way too quiet, too. In fact, maybe I'm more quiet now than when I was younger.

[mydnyht]

My friend Ashley is soft-spoken sometimes, but then again, she's Ashley... she moved away in second grade, so I can't remember how she sounds like in a classroom. I'll ask her... she's very intelligent and enjoys school, so knowing her, I'd think that she wouldn't be soft-spoken at all.

[nonamerasian]

how many of you have heard that phrase in classrooms? from white strangers? at work?

a friend of mine at law school recently pointed out that many of our professors immediately say, "can you speak up a little, please?" as soon as an Asian girl begins talking. my friend brought this to the attention of several other law students in the beginning of the year and every day they sat in their classes counting the number of times that this would happen. all types of professors did this. mean professors, nice professors, conservative professors, liberal professors, male, female, you get the point. but all were non-asian.

he believes this is a reflection of the stereotype that asian girls are timid and have soft voices.

i have been told to speak up since the very day i entered elementary school. i thought it was just because i have a soft voice. but when i am with my friends or family, they can hear me just fine. when i am in a comfortable work environment, i can always speak loudly and clearly. my belief is this: because i have been told all throughout elementary school to speak up, i have grown to believe that, in such formal environments, i have a problem speaking loudly. because of this belief, i subconsciously choose to speak softly. it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. maybe.

how many other asian girls have this problem? and why do you think it is so?

Sure it isn't a "foreign" female thing?

I've noticed that when females (mostly accented) in my family speak to non-immigrants, they are sometimes asked to repeat themselves before they even finish what they are saying or told that they are speaking low or mumbling (I haven't seen this happen to the guys.).

I think people get it in their heads that they aren't going to understand what is about to come out of the person's mouth so they don't, but end up blaming it on the person.

They also begin speaking louder as if the person they are speaking to is deaf.

Although I said foreign women, there have been times that I've been out with my mom and that stuff would happen. When I'd begin to speak, I'd get the same response, however, perhaps upon realizing that I'm American, I'm suddenly speaking alright. They also stopped speaking to me as if I were hard-of-hearing, but continued to spiel the same way with my mother, sometimes looking at me as a translater (My mother speaks English, by the way :rolleyes: ).

This has only happened to me twice, so it's really just a presumption I have based on those limited events.

Does it always happen by the same people?

[Tao]

Sure it isn't a "foreign" female thing?

I've noticed that when females (mostly accented) in my family speak to non-immigrants, they are sometimes asked to repeat themselves before they even finish what they are saying or told that they are speaking low or mumbling (I haven't seen this happen to the guys.).

I think people get it in their heads that they aren't going to understand what is about to come out of the person's mouth so they don't, but end up blaming it on the person.

They also begin speaking louder as if the person they are speaking to is deaf.

Although I said foreign women, there have been times that I've been out with my mom and that stuff would happen. When I'd begin to speak, I'd get the same response, however, perhaps upon realizing that I'm American, I'm suddenly speaking alright. They also stopped speaking to me as if I were hard-of-hearing, but continued to spiel the same way with my mother, sometimes looking at me as a translater (My mother speaks English, by the way :rolleyes: ).

This has only happened to me twice, so it's really just a presumption I have based on those limited events.

Does it always happen by the same people?
funny you should mention this, a couple of times on my way back home from high school, occassionally someone would ask me for directions and stuff. this one time I was listening to my walkman, and this late 40's early 50's white woman wanted to ask me what time it was. I of course didn't hear her because of the music, so i went "huh?" then after removing my earphones to get a better hear, she asks me "do you speak english?" to which I was quite puzzled, and it actually took me a while to respond, since most people would assume I knew english, even though i'm asian. so just goes to show some people have old biases that are hard to change.

[Faithless]

i have been told to speak up since the very day i entered elementary school. i thought it was just because i have a soft voice. but when i am with my friends or family, they can hear me just fine. when i am in a comfortable work environment, i can always speak loudly and clearly. my belief is this: because i have been told all throughout elementary school to speak up, i have grown to believe that, in such formal environments, i have a problem speaking loudly. because of this belief, i subconsciously choose to speak softly. it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. maybe.
Well, that's one way of reacting.

My daughter's 2nd grade teacher wants all the girls in the class to "speak up", no matter if they are Asian or not.

The teacher is female and feels that girls need to assert themselves, like the boys, and not be afraid to do so like the boys.

She feels that there are certainly realities in a male dominated world. And being passive and past-over may go hand-in-hand.

[mr. x]

oh man reminds me

in english class last thursday like we break up into groups right and the group next to us is just like chatty chatty but we just sit there like "um...so....then...." cuz the other group had that one girl i said who didnt believe in love and we are just the quiet asian group, not that im always quiet just that i hadnt much to say at the moment

but seriously back in JH and HS french there was a asian girl who was really good at french but if u had to pair off with her good luck getting her to say ANYTHING

[kasia]

Sure it isn't a "foreign" female thing?

sure, it could be. but this *is* YW, and the question was thus directed towards asian females =p

[mr. x]

sure, it could be. but this *is* YW, and the question was thus directed towards asian females =p

senior year of HS there was this german girl who came who was like super duper quiet. she smiled a lot but when she had to speak up in front of the class it was like a japanese girl kinda voice

turns out she was part asian, duno if that had anything to with anything

[Napoleon Chynamite]

There aren't very many loud and annoying girls in class, regardless if they are loud outside of class. Especially when you get to college, there aren't even very many loud and annoying guys in class. The most annoying guys in college are the ones who sit up front and always raise their hands cause they wanna show off how much they know...but...that's a different breed, they aren't really the trouble-making type.

[Tao]

senior year of HS there was this german girl who came who was like super duper quiet. she smiled a lot but when she had to speak up in front of the class it was like a japanese girl kinda voice

turns out she was part asian, duno if that had anything to with anything
nah, there was this exchange student from my high school, she was german too. and she also spoke softly....but she was damned cute :biggrin:

[mr. x]

nah, there was this exchange student from my high school, she was german too. and she also spoke softly....but she was damned cute :biggrin:

and u DIDNT spit her fire?!? whatswrongwityoo?

There aren't very many loud and annoying girls in class, regardless if they are loud outside of class. Especially when you get to college, there aren't even very many loud and annoying guys in class. The most annoying guys in college are the ones who sit up front and always raise their hands cause they wanna show off how much they know...but...that's a different breed, they aren't really the trouble-making type.

yah this dude in my art history class, not outright annoying i guess but he whispers answers even tho the prof cant possibly hear it

[dorkus malorkus]

In my social work classes, majority are women and about 1/4th of the class are vietnamese females with 2 vietnamese males. What I notice in these peers that they do speak very softly when they are put in the spot light and keep to themselves when it is open discussion. Outside the classroom enviroment, they are very loud and talkative. My professors tend to ask those students to speak up more and the professors tend to call on them more too.

[mr. x]

its weird cuz my brothers gf when we eat dinner together here she always whispers when she asks him for something. she's cantonese iono if that means anything. other than that she talks regularly