A Dissertation by GRACE HUI-CHIN LIN Submitted to the Office of ...

not signal the others about our bafflement of a difficult topic in an apparent
way.
Ling Mei shared with the researcher in one of several member checks about
her reasons why she needed to have a sense of politeness and morality during
conversation with people. She said that she was very much affected by her family
and relatives. She tried to have the same temperament of courtesy in talking as her
parents, uncles, and aunts. She expected herself to be a cultivated lady who can talk
in a mature and proper way. Ling Mei perceived “keeping silence” showed she did
not care for the speaker. This sometimes made her lose face because people would
think she was not knowledgeable in the ongoing topics.
Pei Pei Hu
Pei Pei reflected how the strategy of topic avoidance safeguarded her from
answering personal questions. Besides, she argued that polite language had to be
applied when suggesting the topic to be changed. Similarly, she said that “keeping
silent” made her feel guilty when interacting with the others. In Pei Pei’s first
interview, she agreed that topic avoidance was useful:
As to topic avoidance, it was useful. When I was not clear about what my
interlocutor was talking about, I suggested changing the topics. After
changing the topic, I was able to respond, and the talk could be continued.
Like Cheng Chih, Jian Guo, Tien Long, Pei Pei also believed that selecting the right
topic according to the right individuals in advance was important:
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