高低语境区别

In his work on cultural differences, Edward Hall (1977) drew a useful

distinction between ‘low’ and ‘high context cultures.’ In low context

cultures, communication is explicit, clear and unambiguous. Individuals

from such cultures come directly to the point and say precisely what

they mean. The US is a good example of a low context culture. In a high

context culture, much important information is conveyed beyond and

outside the words actually spoken. In order to understand fully what

is going on in a high context cultural setting, an individual needs to

be able to interpret body language and have a high degree of sensitivity

to ambiguity, an ability to read between the lines and a knowledge of

the unwritten or unspoken rules of communication. Many Asian countries

count as high context cultures. Problems can occur when individuals from

low and high context cultures come into contact within a business setting

or between individuals from different high context cultures with

different unwritten rules. For example, what is regarded as directness

and openness by individuals from low context cultures can be regarded

as abruptness or even rudeness by individuals from high context cultures.

Similarly, in certain high context cultures, it is virtually taboo to

say ‘no’ to a request: in the course of negotiations, individuals from

such cultures will adopt a variety of strategies to avoid a direct rebuttal

of a request. Unless an individual’s opposite number in the negotiation

process understands the cultural incapability of saying ‘no’ and that

a commitment to consider a request or consult further may not be a

‘perhaps’ but an outright negative response, the outcome for the

individual from a low context culture will be confusion and frustration.

Literally, low-context culture stands for those cultures that use direct

speech to express their opinions. On the contrary, high-context culture

hide a lot of things behind their speech, you have to think more.

For example, if you cooked a meal, and you asked a Dutch person, how

was it? He said: “yes, I like it.” That means he really liked it. But

once you had this answer from a person from high-context culture, such

as China, you have to think: “Does he really like my meal? Or just don’t

want me to lose face.” Such and such„.

Once my English teacher told me a story, a Chinese boy and girl came

to him and asked him to switch the class for them, because they want

to be in the same class. Then my teacher asked the boy: “Is she your

girlfriend?” The boy said surprisingly to the teacher: “Maybe.” But

later the Maybe turned out should be YES.

See, this is how it works. So, when I communicate with my Dutch, German, American or Asian fellow students, the first thing I ask myself is:

“Is he or she from low or high context culture?” Then I can reduce

the misunderstanding as much as possible.

Highcontext

 Less verbally explicit communication, less written/formal

information

 More internalized understandings of what is communicated

 Multiple cross-cutting ties and intersections with others

 Long term relationships

 Strong boundaries- who is accepted as belonging vs who is considered

an "outsider"

 Knowledge is situational, relational.

 Decisions and activities focus around personal face-to-face

relationships, often around a central person who has authority.

Examples:

Small religious congregations, a party with friends, family gatherings,

expensive gourmet restaurants and neighborhood restaurants with a regular

clientele, undergraduate on-campus friendships, regular pick-up games,

hosting a friend in your home overnight.

Low context

 Rule oriented, people play by external rules

 More knowledge is codified, public, external, and accessible.

 Sequencing, separation--of time, of space, of activities, of

relationships

 More interpersonal connections of shorter duration

 Knowledge is more often transferable

 Task-centered. Decisions and activities focus around what needs

to be done, division of responsibilities.

Examples:

large US airports, a chain supermarket, a cafeteria, a convenience

store, sports where rules are clearly laid out, a motel.

While these terms are sometimes useful in describing some aspects of

a culture, one can never say a culture is "high" or "low" because societies

all contain both modes. "High" and "low" are therefore less relevant