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Cultural Change among the Hmong were initially a minority
Cultural Anthropology
Valerya Quintanilla
Lonestar College Cy-FairCultural Anthropology
Cultural Change among the Hmong
The Hmong were initially a minority group in lowland Lao and are currently struggling with involuntary mass dispersal that has seen them scatter across the globe. For this reason, they have struggled to retain unconventionality and ethnic culture. Moreover, acculturation, diffusion, and diaspora among other factors have resulted in a significant change in their culture. This essay examines the various causes of cultural change among the Hmong in addition to an overview of various relevant general cultural terms including but not limited to worldview, symbolism, values, and norms.
Various key terms and concepts in anthropology provide direction on this etic perspective of the Hmong society. An etic perspective allows a researcher, like in this case, to study and obtain viewpoints of society as an outsider or from an observer’s perspective. This perspective includes social norms or simply norms that represent standards of behavior or rules that create conformity in how members of society conduct themselves. Values augment social norms and constitute things members of society perceive to be important in their daily operations and way of life. The Hmong’s worldview entails an interconnection of all the things in the world. “..the world is full of things that may not seem to be connected but actually are..” (Fadiman, 1998. P. 21). According to this culture, everything in the world may appear isolated but is actually connected to something. There is no event to a Hmong that happens in isolation.
Plasticity is the capability of a society to be easily molded or shaped. The Hmong society cannot be viewed in this light because they are extremely conservative and reserved. This attributes to limited interaction with other ethnicities, consequently limiting observation and imitation, which are the basis for cultural transmission. The functionalism theory in anthropology examines the different sects of society and their affiliation through organic analogy.
It is very clear that societal pressure has inevitably assimilated the Hmong to a different more dominant culture. Their current mode of dressing is a good indication of acculturation. Majority of the Hmong especially those in the United States dress in western-style and reserve their traditional wear for special occasions and festivities such as weddings and New Year’s. The women are a bit reserved and still wear Lao Sarong skirts but this can be attributed to the community’s gender roles that tend to have women kept back (Vang & Bogenschutz, 2014). Before, the Hmong had attires specific to the various subgroups. Today, as the community increasingly comes into contact with subgroups from Thailand, China, Laos, and Western Civilization, purchasing clothing has become easier than making their traditional attire. As a result, clothing is no longer an identity but rather a mark of wealth and fancy.
The Hmong’s long history of contact with various ethnicities through migration resulted in the adoption of new religions. Most recently is the assumption of protestant Christianity and the desertion of Shamanism and ancestor worship. Christian practices have influenced their response to Western biomedicine another addition to their culture. Western biomedicine is a new practice alongside herbalists in response to illness. The arrival of Hmong refugees to the United States where communication, technology, and transport is very advanced meant an enrichment to their culture through cultural diffusion.
In addition, the plight of the Hmong over the years is a good definition of diaspora. The Hmong people have been involuntarily dispersed for over a thousand years and in the past century fled persecution from Chinese forces to settle in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand (Pfeifer, Chiu, & Yang, 2013). Then came the United States conflict with South East Asia which resulted in 150,000 Hmong receiving refuge in the United States as Fadiman (1998.) indicates “Because the Lees are among the 150,000 Hmong who have fled Laos since their country fell to communist forces in 1975,..” (p. 13). As exiles, the Hmong created a fertile location wherever they relocated for the foundation of a hybrid culture incorporating the elements of western civilization and their home culture.
As much as the Hmong people have been exposed to different cultures in their response to persecution and calls to assimilate, they have conditioned themselves in a manner that avoids extreme exposure to alien world perspectives. However, the power of cultural innovation has seen them imitate the behaviors of the host culture. Lia’s parents in Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down seek western biomedicine for their daughter although they still maintain caution. The Hmong people are exposed to new ideas of disease causation and diagnosis that their traditional methods cannot explain or provide solutions.
References
Fadiman, Anne. (1998) The spirit catches you and you fall down :a Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures New York : Noonday Press,
Pfeifer, M. E., Chiu, M., & Yang, K. (2013). Diversity in Diaspora: Hmong Americans in the twenty-first century. University of Hawai’i Press.
Vang, P. D., & Bogenschutz, M. (2014). Teenage marriage, and the socioeconomic status of Hmong women. International Migration, 52(3), 144-159.
Euphemisms are expressions used by different speakers in a lighter tone to avoid offending others with whom they have social
Euphemism
AbstractEuphemisms are expressions used by different speakers in a lighter tone to avoid offending others with whom they have social interactions. It is a common linguistic practice across culture. In using it people are able to express themselves politely, without having to offend or make their audience unpleasant. As a pragmatic expression it also mirrors the culture of the one using it. This paper explores euphemism pragmatic functions including politeness, avoiding taboo and disguise. A contrast between Chinese and English euphemism is used to explore the cultural influence in use of euphemism. Across the two cultures there is convergence in use of euphemism to avoid taboos, disguise, and for politeness purposes. However, differences also exist because of the cultural values.
Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc380781036 h 1Introduction PAGEREF _Toc380781037 h 1Classification of Euphemism PAGEREF _Toc380781038 h 2Use of Euphemism PAGEREF _Toc380781039 h 3Similarities between Chinese and English Euphemisms PAGEREF _Toc380781040 h 4Dissimilarities PAGEREF _Toc380781041 h 5Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc380781042 h 6
IntroductionIt is misleading to believe that the words used by different people have similar meaning. Researchers in different disciplines appreciate the complex nature of choices of words and the dynamism of their meaning. This is even more common in the use of figurative language. This is because meaning is hardly derived from the dictionary, but instead depends on the context. This type of communication comes in different forms and is applied for varied reasons. This may be in the form of metaphors meant to entertain or surprise, political correctness whose aim is to avoid hurting others, or roundabout expressions, mostly used to uphold politeness and avoid disrespect.
Euphemisms are very important part of the language and are so engrossed in our everyday communication that it is difficult to avoid them. We use euphemism booth for emotional and social reasons, because so doing allow us to discuss sensitive or taboo issues like personal appearances, sex, or religion without causing anger, upsetting others and it acts as a control in ensuring politeness in communication (Linfoot-Ham, 2005).
Similarities have also been pointed out in some cultures because of the need to maintain politeness. This is particular between use of euphemism in Chinese and English. However, difference does exist because like it was highlighted euphemism largely depends on the culture. By conducting a pragmatic research on use of euphemism it is possible to have a deeper understanding of euphemism features in both Chinese and English. This can help us to understand how euphemism can be applied across different cultures. Therefore, this paper seeks to look at how societal traditions and values inform their pattern of euphamizing. To achieve this goal we shall explore use of euphemism in Chinese and in English.
Classification of EuphemismAccording to Qi, (2010) euphemism can be categorized into stylistic and traditional euphemism, conscious and unconscious euphemism, and sustained and Nonce euphemisms. The first one is a semantic classification of euphemism. It is broken into traditional euphemism, which encompasses indirect linguistic taboos expression. The purpose of these expressions is to discuss issues related to death, life, disease, secretions, and sex which were forbidden from being mentioned directly in certain cultures. People refrained from talking about these issues to maintain pleasantness and instead employed refined expressions giving way to euphemism. In both Chinese and English language the use of secretion for instance, was a taboo that gave in to a number of euphemistic terms such as ‘feel/answer to a call of nature’, ‘spend a penny’, ‘go to the bathroom’ among others (Qi, 2010). The use of this kind of euphemism reflects human desire to act like civilized beings and steer from being labeled as barbaric. Stylistic euphemism, on the other hand, refers to use of euphemism as a polite expression or for flattery. When people communicate they feel that addressing their audience directly is likely to hurt them or make them unease. To avert this people employ exaggerated or attractive connotations. For instance under-developed nations have been described as less developed nations.
Depending on whether people understand their original motivations either of the above classification can further be subdivided into unconscious or conscious euphemism. When words are used without understanding their original meanings this is unconscious euphemism. On the other hand people may use certain words which they understand have a different meaning to mean completely different thing. This is conscious euphemism. The last classification encompasses euphemisms that are both used on impulse and hardly repeated and those that are developed and reused for many years by people (Qi, 2010).
Use of EuphemismEuphemism has been defined as replacement for expressions that may offend or be unpleasant with an inoffensive or agreeable one (Hojati, 2012). Considered in a pragmatic perspective it is an important linguistic tool to maintain personal and social affairs among people (Lu, 2007). Euphemism is common in most of the world languages and fulfills particular functions. It is commonly used for politeness, taboo, and beautifying.
“Philosophy and Humanities “(2010) suggests that English euphemism has five main functions. These include evasive purposes, indirect function, politeness function, defensive function, and cosmetic function. It also has four main characteristics namely cultural specificity, universality, diachrony, and obscurity. It should also observe three basic principle namely Cooperative principle, Face theory, and Politeness Principle. The cooperative principle dictates that people should speak with relevance, sincerity, and clarity and provide the necessary information. However, English euphemism violates these occasionally, to send indirect meanings and achieve its intended communication. The second principle is that of politeness, which goes together with the cooperative principle. The reason for people to negate some of the cooperative principle is to fulfill the need to be polite. It can thus be argued that euphemism results from deliberate violation of the cooperative principle and subsequent observation of the principle of being polite. However, overuse of euphemism may lead to communication breakdown. Therefore, to deriver intended meaning euphemism requires that people employ its strategies appropriately depending on the context. Accordingly, euphemism reflects people’s history, developments in economy and politics as well as changes in consciousness and culture.
Similarities between Chinese and English EuphemismsFrom the onset, euphemism reflects the social influences regardless of origin either Chinese or English. Many social influences determine euphemizing across culture. The most basic among these include disguising, avoiding taboos, and being polite. The basic principal for creating euphemism is to avoid taboos. In Chinese, taboo is one of the major reasons for using euphemism (“Taboos and Euphemism in Chinese”, n.d). In many incidents people try to avoid using these taboos. However, circumstances compel them to speak about these issues and they have to do it by employing round about or implicit ways. In so doing, people from different cultures revert to use of euphemism (China Papers, 2010). Euphemisms exist to be used in the place of the words that cannot be uttered in communication (Lee, 2011).
Secondly, euphemizing stems and cascades from politeness. People try not to hurt others or appear impolite in social interactions. This act of saving the face is considered an important element that maintains communication. This means that people must maintain their own self mage and that of the person they are interacting with. However, it is not possible to maintain the face because of the threat in many verbal interactions. As a result, interactors try to maintain the face by deploying a number of techniques including euphemism. This is common in certain career for instance instead of using undertaker euphemism expression like funeral director is employed. The purpose is to make those holding such positions in the society feel albeit respected.
Political euphemism on the other hand is meant to disguise. Its application in politics is to conceal the cruelty of truth and minimize thought precision in audience (Alhusseini, 2013). For instance, politicians prefer to use the words rescue mission as opposed to invasion when it comes to occupying a foreign territory with their military. Many academicians prefer to call these types of word cosmetic expressions. They merely refer to concealment of the truth (Qi, 2010).
Chinese and English Euphemism are also similar in their manner of formation. The linguistic patterns within which they are formed have certain similarities like understatement or use of foreign terms. Euphemizing in terms of the foreign words refers to use of distance in use of words. Since people are mostly unfamiliar with foreign language they use them in the place of native words to create euphemism. The word loo instead of lavatory for instance, is used in English, but it is borrowed from French and means a place of convenience (Qi, 2010). People also avoid stating words fully for politeness sake. For instance mad people are euphemized as soft in the head.
DissimilaritiesDissimilarities also exist between Chinese and English language which is as a result of the economic and geographic variations that precipitates different ways of dealing with things. For instance, in both the use of euphemism on old is common, but Chinese use of the term is honorific as contrasted with English who use it in a derogatory manner. In the west people do not like to be addressed as old and they take offense in it because they see something old as outdated, but Chinese are not offended. Therefore, this word is used differently in the two cultures.
The other field where euphemism is commonly used in is speaking about death. In both culture, death is a taboo and many words are used in its place. However, difference can be noted in the way they use euphemism in case of death of different people. In China, the clan system has a major impact in euphemizing death of ruling class as compared to the rest of the community. An emperor’s death is said to be a fall down of a big mountain, while that of ordinary people is plainly called death. In contrast, English do not have these obvious social stratifications of deaths, but instead they categorize them depending on the career. Take for instance ‘buying-a one way ticket’, which is euphemism derived from air travel (Qi, 2010).
Euphemism is also used in the West to conceal private matters as compared to China. The Westerners value privacy including income, age, political tendency, and religious beliefs and they do not like others to know about them. In contrast Chinese often speak openly in regard to these issues (Xialong, Meng, & Hailin, 2012).
ConclusionEuphemisms are a set of expression used by people of the same cultural backgrounds to replace others that may be offensive or unpleasant in verbal interactions. People are social being and they need each other. One way of interaction is to communicate. People from the same cultural background have a particular language which they use to communicate. However, there are certain words that cannot be said in these verbal interactions because they are taboos, impolite or likely to offend others. Euphemism acts as pragmatics in such context by offering ways through which people can avoid these taboo, disguise, or act in a polite manner. Euphemism in these principles share similarities across culture, but there are certain differences due to geographic and economic variations.
References
“China Papers”. (2010). A Contrastive Study of English Euphemism and Chinese Euphemism. retrieved on July 5, 2013 from: http://mt.china-papers.com/2/?p=177317“Philosophy and Humanities”. (2013). Pragmatic Study of English Euphemisms. Retrieved on July 5, 2013 from: http://www.p-papers.com/109353.htmlAlhusseini, H. (2013). Euphemism in English and Arabic: A Contrastive Study. Retrieved on July 5, 2013 from: http://academia.edu/3052823/Euphemism_in_English_and_Arabic_A_Contrastive_Study
Hojati, A. (2012). A Study of Euphemisms in the Context of English-Speaking Media. International Journal of Linguistics, 4(4), pp 552-562.
HU, Yonghong (2001). On English and Chinese Euphemisms. Journal of Mianyang Teachers College, (8), 53-54
Lee, A. P. (2011). Metaphorical Euphemisms of Relationship and Death in Kavalan, Paiwan, and Seediq.
Linfoot-Ham, K. (2005). The Linguistics of Euphemism: A Diachronic Study of Euphemism Formation. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(2), pp 227-263.
Lu, L. (2007). An Analysis of English Euphemism in Pragmatics perspective. Vinshan Academic Journal(Social Science Edition).
Taboos and Euphemism in Chinese. (n.d). retrieved on July 5, 2013 from: http://education.imextrade.ru/review/kaleidoscope-of-culture/taboos-and-euphemism/?lang=en
Xialong, W., meng, Z., & Dong. (2012). Cross-Cultural Contrastive Study of English and Chinese Euphemisms. Cross-Cultural Communication, 8(6), pp 66-70.
Eugene Henri Paul Gaugin
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Eugene Henri Paul Gaugin
Eugene Henri Paul Gaugin was born in Paris, France, to parents Clovis Gaugin and Aline Chazal. Gaugin was a post-impressionist artist. Post-impressionism is a French art movement that was developed roughly between 1886 and 1905. In some ways, it was a rebellion against impressionism which focused on the naturalistic elements of light and shade. In direct contrast, post-impressionism focused mainly on line color and form. This new technique allowed an artist to bend the rules of composition and create from a more vibrant color scheme. In 1850, his parents left Paris for Peru. His father had hoped to continue his journalistic career by virtue of his wife’s South American relations, but he died of a heart attack.
After attending a couple of local schools, Gaugin attended the prestigious catholic school, Petit Seminaire De La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmini, where he spent three years. At age fourteen, he joined the French Naval Academy. Finally, he signed on as a pilot’s assistant, in the Merchant Marine. In 1871, Gaugin returned to Paris, where he secured a job as a stockbroker. In 1873, he married a Danish woman, Mette-Sophie Gad. Over the next ten years, they had five children. He moved to Copenhagen Denmark with his family, where he pursued a business career as a tarpaulin salesman. After eleven years, his middle-class family and marriage fell apart. He was then driven to paint full time. In 1885 he returned to Paris after his wife and her family asked him to leave after he had renounced their values. The last time he saw his family was in 1891.
Eugene’s friendship with Van Gogh has been an area of interest for many people. Their friendship was fraught with challenges and later turned sour, the cause of which prompted a lot of speculation among different people. The origin of their friendship between after Gaugin’s Martinique paintings were displayed at Arsene Poitier’s gallery. Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo attended the exhibition, and Gaugin’s paintings immediately attracted their attention. Theo van Gogh was an art dealer whose firm Goupil & Cie had done business with Poitier’s gallery before. Theo immediately bought three of Gaugin’s paintings and had them displayed at Goupil’s. This action introduced Gaugin’s work to Theo’s wealthy clients. Through this process, Gaugin and Vincent struck up a friendship. The two artists would collaborate on art projects, and their work together formed the basis of Gaugin’s art philosophy. Theo kept up his arrangement between Goupil’s and Gaugin, and this went on even after Theo died in January of 1891.
Theo seemed to be the glue that held together Vincent and Gaugin’s friendship. One example of this is the nine weeks the two artists spent painting together at Vincent’s house in the South of France in 1888. Theo set up this meeting, hoping to create a better relationship between the two. Despite Theo’s best efforts and intentions, the relationship between Vincent and Gaugin quickly deteriorated, and Gaugin ended up leaving. Later, Gaugin explained the events that had caused his early departure. Gaugin claimed that Vincent van Gogh confronted armed with a razor. Some time later that evening, van Gogh cut off his own ear to Gaugin’s surprise. Vincent then wrapped the severed ear in some newspapers, and gave it to a brothel worker, instructing her to keep it carefully in his memory (Freitag 44). The next day, van Gogh was taken to hospital, and Gaugin departed. The strange event marked the last time the two artists saw each other, though they continued to correspond.
Another point of controversy between van Gogh and Gaugin was the fact that Gaugin claimed to have influenced van Gogh’s development as an artist. In some ways, this statement was true. For a brief period, van Gogh explored Gaugin’s style of painting from the imagination. However, van Gogh found that this style of painting did not suit his art, and he then went back to his practice of paintings inspired by nature. In the year 1889, Gaugin made a sculptural self-painting called the ‘Jug in the form of a Head, Self-Portrait,’ which many believed to represent the troubled relationship between him and van Gogh (Salvesen 23).
The island of Martinique is significant in Gaugin’s life history because it was there that he created his most remarkable works of art. He spent six months on the island in the year 1887, in the company of his friend Charles Laval. Accounts of how Gaugin came to stay on the island vary. When he first arrived, he stayed in a hut, and he found it fascinating to watch the island’s residents go about their daily activities. The hot and wet summers led to Gaugin contracting dysentery and marsh fever. One of Gaugin’s most essential interactions in Martinique was with Indian immigrants, which later influenced his work (Freitag 45). He finished about twelve paintings while on the island.
In 1891, Gaugin visited the island of Tahiti as one of his artistic destinations. Before setting off on the journey, Guaigin visited his family in Copenhagen, and it would be the last time he ever saw them. He explained that one of the reasons for going to Tahiti was to escape the artificial and conventional way of life in Europe. Despite this claim, he still took with him some prints and drawings that would inspire his art. He encountered his first difficulty in the Tahitian capital of Papeete; he could not afford the lifestyle of pleasure he sought. He moved to another town forty-five kilometers away and worked on many paintings. Some of Gaugin’s notable paintings in Tahiti include ‘Suzanne Bambridge’ and ‘Woman with a Flower.’ Gaugin took a thirteen-year-old girl for a wife in the year 1892, and she bore him a child in 1893. Gaugin left the island in July 1893, never to see her or their child again. He went back to Europe but returned to Tahiti in 1895, where he continued his work (Freitag 47). He also began to make ceramics, though a lack of suitable clay became quite a challenge. He took another female partner who bore him two children. He lived in different areas of Tahiti, working on his art despite the many difficulties he faced. He got in debt, and his health began to falter.
In conclusion, Gaugin lived an interesting life both in his art and his personal life. One of the significant areas of controversy is his relationships with underage girls in the island of Tahiti. His complicated relationship with renowned painter Vincent van Gogh is another area of interest for many people. Gaugin chose to settle in the Caribbean island of Martinique, hoping that it would be inspirational for his art. He spent his life moving between Europe and Tahiti. Eventually, he chose Tahiti, where he encountered challenges with the gendarmes of the island. His health began to falter on the island, and he died on the 8th of May, 190. Gaugin is remembered not only for his outstanding art but also for his colorful life.
Works Cited
Freitag, Wolfgang M. “Paul Gauguin: a bio-bibliography, by Russell T. Clement.(Bio-Bibliographies in Art and Architecture, no. 1). New York, Westport; London: Greenwood Press, 1991. xxii, 324p. ISBN 0-313-27394. $47.05.” Art Libraries Journal 18.2 (1993): 44-47.
Salvesen, Britt. Gauguin. Harry N Abrams Incorporated, 2001.