A question of self
bababardwan
June 18, 2011, 10:33 AM posted in General DiscussionJust looking up the etymology of 自 and yellowbridge reckons this is meant to represent the nose and adds:
"Chinese people still point to their noses when referring to themselves"
..this seems to ring some old bells for me but I can't recall ever seeing in any recent time. How common is this to still see? Should we waiguoren adopt it? ...would that be strange?
bababardwan
thanks orangina. I don't think I've said this before but I've always loved your avatar. I wish it would now come to life and demonstrate the action for me, perhaps like a gif animation on a continuous repeat loop. Is it index finger to nose tip? [or can other fingers and nose parts get involved?] how long is there contact? [can you leave it there while on the subject of self...keep your audience focused and all that] or is it more like a fleeting swipe? Is orientation important? angle of approach? How often would this occur in a conversation?...is there a threshold beyond which you'd start to think they're a little self involved, or like the Jimmy? [as in when someone refers to themselves in the 3rd person all the time]
orangina
hehe... I will conduct a study of nose pointing and report my findings. I can recall a time it was used in a "who, me?" context. I don't believe there was actual finger to nose contact. And it was sustained, I'm gonna say, less than 2 seconds. I definitely believe there is a self-involvement threshold.
As for the giff, I will leave animation to the viewer's imagination. This is the interactive nature of art. ;-)
bababardwan
"I will leave animation to the viewer's imagination. This is the interactive nature of art. ;-)"
hehe , said like a true artiste. Very good. Talking of artists reminds me of an amusing scene I saw recently in a movie called dinner for schmucks. Have you seen it?
thanks for your further info on this. I can't wait to hear your research findings. I can tell you'll pay attention to detail including accurate timing. I'd appreciate a psychological profile on those who crack that threshold.
bababardwan
"I can recall a time it was used in a "who, me?" context"
..ah yes, I think I've seen that.
Is this more of a girly thing? Would it be a bit 娘娘腔 of a guy?
orangina
June 18, 2011, 10:45 AMI see it. I don't think it would be strange for a waiguoren because from Chinese people's point of view it is a perfectly natural thing to do. Maybe it would seem strange to a Chinese person who spends a lot of time with waiguoren, and knows it is not a perfectly natural thing for a waiguoren to do.