ABSTRACT

This chapter looks at culture-specific ways of communication together with some empirical examples. It addresses what culture-specific ways of communication are and why the ways of communication differ between cultures. In communication studies, anthropology and related fields, a number of dichotomies have been proposed to describe cross-cultural differences in communication styles. One of the most widely cited terms is high vs. low context, suggested by Edward Hall. As an anthropologist, Hall noticed that there were differences in the extent to which the meaning of a message primarily came from the context or the words themselves. In high context cultures, people usually maintain close relationships among family, and clients and therefore, 'for most normal transactions in daily life they do not require, nor do they expect, much in-depth, background information'. In low context cultures, people 'compartmentalize their personal relationships, their work, and many aspects of day-to-day life' and one cannot assume that the other party in the conversation shares background information.