Recall the principle of SCAN (Avinoam Sapir) that the "statement is alive, but the subject is dead"; that is, we are not analyzing the person, but this statement.
Analysis is in bold type.
I’m out by myself and I go into a store…shall remain unnamed and I say to the woman, uh excuse me, may I, may I see that that uh bag right above your head… and she says to me no, it’s too expensive. And I said, no no no, no see you see the black one the one that’s folded over the la and she said no no no , you don’t want to see that one. You want to see this one because that one costs too much you won’t be able to afford that. And I said, well no, I really did want to see that one. And she she refused to get it. She refused to get it. And she started to show me these other little bags and um, I said uh one more time, I tried, I said, but I really do just really want to see that one. And she said uh I don’t, I don’t want to hurt your feelings and I said okay, thank you so much, you’re probably right, I can’t afford it and I walked out of the store.
Here is the same statement with emphasis added:
I’m out by myself and I go into a store…
This is the re-telling of an event, and where the subject begins the statement is very important; often revealing the purpose of the statement. It should be in the past tense.
1. It is in the present tense, which reduces reliability
2. The additional word "myself" is added here to emphasize that she was alone. Being alone means that we have to take her word for the account, and that she is acknowledging, up front, that she does not have an eye witness to corroborate her account.
Note "I'm" and "go into" are both present tense. Story telling is often present tense, but in a factual statement, we expect to see past tense verbs from anyone over the age of five (5).
shall remain unnamed
We analyze what one says, and what does not say. Here she reports that she will not name the store, making this sentence a sensitive, important one for the subject.
One may want to ask, "Why won't she name the store?"
This is the kind of statement that causes the reader/listener to ask a question.
and I say to the woman, uh excuse me, may I, may I see that that uh bag right above your head…
First note that she continues in the present tense. She does not say, "I said..." Present tense is not reliable.
We next note that she calls the salesperson a "woman", gender specific.
Next we notice anything that is repeated as sensitive:
The words "may I" are repeated.
People do not normally stutter on the pronoun "I" since, as humans, it is one of the most used (therefore, most proficient) word in the English language.
The phrase, "may I" should be, therefore, considered sensitive in the statement. One may want to question if the subject spoke this politely or not.
We note that the item is called a "bag" and it is "that" bag (not "this" bag) which may indicate its distant proximity to either the subject or the salesperson.
and she says to me no, it’s too expensive.
The subject continues to report in the present tense. If the subject will not commit to a statement, in the past tense, neither shall we make the commitment for her. The subject is our guide.
Please also note: it is reported as "...no, it's too expensive." This uses the word "no" once, which will be important:
And I said, no no no, no see you see the black one the one that’s folded over the la
From the word "expensive", to the word "And" (beginning a new sentence), there is missing information, as confirmed by the word "And."
One might want to know what was said after the words "it's too expensive."
Next note that the word "no" is repeated four times, making it extremely sensitive to the subject.
Note that "see" is present tense= unreliable. Note its use and any possible repetition.
Note the introduction of the word "black" here as the color of the item. ("bag")
and she said no no no , you don’t want to see that one. You want to see this one because that one costs too much you won’t be able to afford that.
Here, she again quotes the salesperson but now changes from "no", to "no" three times.
Note that she attributes the reason with the word "because"; not only is it "too much" (no longer "too expensive") but she adds in the unnecessary words "you won't be able to afford it."
And I said, well no, I really did want to see that one.
Note the change from present tense to past tense at this part of the account.
Note that the sentence begins with the word "And" indicating that there is more information here (in the subject's mind).
Note: "I really did want to see that one" is also in past tense.
One may want to learn what has caused the change of language for the subject.
And she she refused to get it. She refused to get it.
"And" indicates missing information.
"She refused to get it" is repeated. One should wonder why the subject has the need to repeat this phrase.
Please note that it continues in the past tense.
And she started to show me these other little bags and um,
Note, again, the beginning of a sentence with the word "And"
Note also that she reports something that "started"
Note that the "black" bag is different from "little bags", which she adds the word "other", indicating that the black bag was also "little."
I said uh one more time, I tried, I said, but I really do just really want to see that one.
"I said" is past tense, and it is repeated here, making it sensitive, but it also has a broken sentence (broken sentences = missing information) with "I tried."
Please note that when someone uses "I tried" in the past tense it may indicate attempt but failed.
We note that this is in between "I said", indicating that something was attempted but not completed. We take this in proximity to "I said", and take it with the repetition (sensitivity) and question what the subject actually said.
And she said uh I don’t, I don’t want to hurt your feelings and I said okay, thank you so much, you’re probably right, I can’t afford it and I walked out of the store.
The subject continues in the past tense. It should be considered very important where the verb tense changed for the subject, within the statement.
Note "I don't" is repeated, making it sensitive to the subject. Why would not hurting someone's feelings be sensitive?
Note "thank you very much" is often found in statements where a subject wishes to portray herself in the highest (polite) manner.
Note "I walked out" ends the statement.
"The" store is not named.
There is enough unreliable information here to question Oprah's account, which makes sense, therefore, that she would not name the store, the clerk, nor even seek to right the 'wrong' by speaking to the store manager. It appears to be a fabrication and a twisting for publicity purposes.
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment