VDM Ting Rachel Sing-Kiat: Who Am I Talking to?

This book tells about a study on bilingual Chinese in America, who have dual cultural identities and dual voices. By altering the language they use, the author demonstrated that bilingual Chinese would express themselves differently according to the cultural schema they internalize via the specific language. It is found that when using English, bilingual Chinese tend to identify with more independent self-descriptions than those who use Mandarin. In contrast, when using Mandarin, bilingual Chinese tend to express their sadness through interpersonal sensitivity than those who use English. These results were analyzed using a discrete language analysis program called Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). This study confirms the cultural hypothesis that Eastern culture, especially Chinese, value interdependence and collectivism more than Western culture. In addition, language could serve as a primer or access to those cultural constructs, such as self-concept and emotion. This book has various implications to social psychology and applied psychology, especially the mental health professions, as it taps into the multiculturalism and cross-cultural counseling.