UNIVERSITY OF NATAL
4.2 VIGNETTES OF IMPOLITENESS
As explained in chapter three, a group of administrative staff and students was asked to note instances of impoliteness that they experienced or observed, and to record these. The administrators and student observers took notes about perceived impolite situations as they occurred. These observers were fully aware that they were taking part in the research project, and they accepted this role. However, no attempt was made to alert them to the possibility of bias in their reporting: rather, their own culture and ethnicity was intended to form part of their reporting, and to be available for analysis. As indicated earlier, this technique was specifically designed to give me access to different perceptions of politeness and impoliteness, of both those reporting and those reported on. The vignettes presented below, selected from these informal observations and transcribed from verbal reports, show that failure to follow accepted norms or behaviours is likely to be perceived as impoliteness, and that such non-adherence to accepted norms may emerge from and function as an assertion of power.
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1. Inconsiderate choice of language
(A white female student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving Zulu-speaking students)
We had a group assignment and there were some Zulu students in the group who kept speaking Zulu to themselves and laughing. It was rude because the rest of us didn 't understand what they were talking and laughing about.
2. Asking for Advice
(A black female student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving a white male academic staff member)
/ was registering for my BA degree so I had to make a choice of subjects and I was interested in teaching, so I took English as a major. I had to see this person to help me to see whether I made good or bad choices before I signed with the dean. Instead of encouragement what I got was that 'you are black, from such and such place and you think you are going to make it with English as a major. This is madness'.
3. Rude behaviour, and lack of apology
(Another black female student reports on a perceived impolite situation involving a white male staff member)
There was this senior person who asked me to do something; he was shouting at first and then what he said afterwards I didn't hear because I was still shaking from the initial reaction. Then I got what he requested from me and he shouted again and demanded that I find what he was looking for and when I did he still shouted, claiming it's not the right one, when only it turned out later that it was the right one. But no apology was made for this, and there was nothing I could do about it.
4. Request and impolite response
(A black female student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving a white female student)
/ needed to print out a few pages and there was this lady sitting on the computer reading her mails, so I asked please I need to print and she agreed but her action was like she didn't want to. She wants to read her e-mail despite that it was the only computer that was connected to the printer. She stormed out of the tearoom, you could she see that this person was clearly unimpressed by this request that I have made. Despite her knowing that it was the only computer that was used for printing and she wasn't doing something that may be she felt was being disturb, her academic work or something. Seeing that reaction I went and asked her again, 'Is it OK'! She responded in loud angry voice Noooo it's fine and she left the room.
5. Request and impolite response
(A black male student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving a female Indian student)
Someone walks into a student's room and asks 'Could you tell me where I can find X department'. I answered no and turned away, even though I could have directed her because she was rude. She didn 't greet and didn 't say please.
6. An unwarranted comment
(A black foreign male student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving a white student)
She asked, 'Where are you from?', and I introduced myself as X from Y and the next thing I hear is, 'Oh, you are from Y country where people are killing themselves, people die everyday from hunger, Aids'. The images they have about that particular place can be rude. It makes you feel so little.
7. An antisocial action
(A black foreign female student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving a Zulu female student)
/ have been sharing a fridge with my hall-mates who are Zulus. The problem is this: one of them puts a padlock or changes the padlock
and does not tell anybody that she's changed the lock, so when you go in... And she is my next door neighbour so it would have been easy for her to come and tell me you know like, 'Oh you know I had a problem - I have changed the padlock. She is not even bothered at all you know. I find her very offensive, she didn't leave a note there; I had to go knocking on every door to find the keys.
8. Disruptive behaviour
(A black female student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving white students)
There was a particular student in my tutorial class who made a lot of noise whenever the tutor is speaking. He interrupts like whenever.
9. Disrespectful behaviour
(A black female student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving male Indian student)
A student was smoking in my tutorial class. His aim was to be disrespectful to the female black tutor.
10. Asserting oneself in response to mockery
(A black female student reports on a perceived impolite incident involving a female Indian tutor)
There was this Indian tutor who was always asking me stupid questions and always picking on me. You know, always trying to make you the centre of the classroom especially if you don't know what she is talking about. It came to a point where one has to
discipline her, you know. You become rude to her so I come late to her class on purpose and talk in the class.