Differences in Communication

DIFFERENCES IN COMMUNICATION

“I was talking with a guy who is pretty Americanized.” His mother was still very influenced by Japanese traditions. He was telling me that his mother was still influenced by Japanese traditions. He was telling me that his mother was worried that his brother was not going to come to the wedding of a family friend. He wasn’t even going to send a wedding gift. This guy said, “Mom kept saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to gift. This guy said, ‘Mom kept saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ and I kept saying, ‘Well that’s how he is. You know how he is , so don’t worry about it.’ However, she kept saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ Why do think my mom wouldn’t give it up?” I said, “Well, she is very traditionally Japanese, she is telling you indirectly that she wanted you to tell your brother that he should send a wedding gift.” This guy said, “Oh, is that what she was saying?! Now it makes sense. No wonder why she kept repeating herself.”

Jeremy, 30 +-Year-Old Japanese Student.

There are different ways of communicating, and it seems that in some countries, overt, direct communication is required. Issues of communication can differ across cultural groups and genders.

Conversational Rules

There are 6 maxims that guide people’s conversations. We all engage in the cooperative principle; that is we strive to communicate with one another sincerely and effectively.

Quality: the maxim that suggests that we tell other the truth when we engage in a conversation. E.g. honest opinion, not telling lies.
Quantity: the maxim that suggests that we contribute an appropriate amount of talk when we engage in a conversation. E.g. domination of conversation.
Relevance: the maxim that suggests that our discussion is relevant to the conversation. E.g. strive to remain “on-topic”
Manner: the maxim that suggests that we are clear in our language and that we pay attention to normal standards of conversation, such as not shouting at someone who is right in front of us. E.g. speaking in a respectful manner to someone in a position of authority.
Relations with conversational partner: the maxim that suggests that we use our previous relationship with our conversational partner so that we do not have to repeat shared experiences. E.g. inside joke with unfamiliar people.
Rule Violations: the maxim that suggests that we signal our conversational partners when we are about to engage in a violation of one of the other maxims. E.g. “The Experts” say that you should do…” and draw quotation marks in the air with their fingers when he says “experts,” which means that you should disregard the advice that the experts are giving.

Non Verbal Aspects of Language

One of the greatest differences among cultures is the way in which non verbal communication is used. Nonverbal communication is usually understood as the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly visual) messages. Messages can be communicated through gestures and touch (Haptic communication), by body language or posture, by facial expression and eye contact. Meaning can also be communicated through object or artifacts (such as clothing, hairstyles or architecture). Speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress.

Proxemics: is the study of how people use and perceive the physical space around them. The space between the sender and the receiver of a message influences the way the message is interpreted. In addition, the perception and use of space varies significantly across cultures and different settings within cultures. Space in nonverbal communication may be divided into four main categories: intimate, social, personal, and public space.
Kinesis: is how people communicate through posture, hand gestures, stance, facial expressions, eye contact and movement. E.g. Smiling.

3. Paralanguage: (sometimes called vocalics): is the study of nonverbal cues of the voice. Various acoustic properties of speech such as tone, pitch and accent, collectively known as prosody, can all give nonverbal cues. Paralanguage may change the meaning of words, for example, from sincere to sarcastic. E.g. Silences, loudness of voice, pauses mean quite different things in different cultures. Asian cultures view silence as a sign of respect for elders. Russian and Spanish cultures view silence as agreement among the conversational partners. In the U.S silences are often signals for the receiver of the message to contribute to the conversation.

High-Versus Low Context Communication

A daughter from a higher-class family (in Malaysia) fell in love with the son of lower-class family. The son approached his parents and told them that he wanted to marry the girl from a higher-class family. His mother said she would approach the girl’s family to see if it were acceptable to them. She made an appointment with the girl’s mother and went to the home on the proper day. She was greeted by the mother and was shown into the sitting room. Refreshments were brought in consisting g of tea and bananas. The two mothers talked about the weather and other things, but they never mentioned their children. After a period of time the boy’s mother thanked her hostess politely and left. Upon returning home she told her son that he marriage was unacceptable and, therefore, not possible.

How did the mother from the lower-class family know that the mother from the higher-call family disapproved of the marriage?

In a high context culture, many things are left unsaid, letting the culture explain. The context conveys much of the meaning. Words and word choice become very important in higher context communication, since a few words can communicate a complex message very effectively to an in-group (but less effectively outside that group), while in a lower context culture, the communicator needs to be much more explicit and the value of a single word is less important. E.g. African, Arab, Brazilian, Chinese, Filipinos, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin Americans &Thai.

Low-context communication is language dependent communication, in which the words carry most of the meaning and context plays a lesser role. E.g. American, Australian, Canadian, English, German, Irish, New Zealand, Scandinavia.

I went to Australian when I was 15 years old. It was my first time leaving my own place (Hong Kong), and I had no experience of talking with people from different cultures. In Australia, people talk to each other in a very direct way just like Australians do. I did not feel comfortable when they talked that way. For example, I lived with a host family when I first arrived in Australia. My host family usually went to bed very early. One day, I took a shower around ten, and I did not know it was noisy when I took the shower. The next day my host family told me not to take showers so late. They could not fall asleep because of the noise the shower made. I felt they talked to me in a very direct way, and they made me feel embarrassed. I also felt they were rude because I thought they could tell me this in a more gentle, unobvious, and subtle way. However, I still kept saying sorry to them. Moreover, I thought they were angry with me. I finally realized it was not true after years of contact with people from low-context societies. It is their culture that leads them to communicate in a very direct way. I felt uncomfortable because I was raised in a collective culture, and we never communicate in such direct way. People who communicate directly in my culture would be labelled as impolite and not well raised. I think the major reason is they do not save others’ faces. Therefore, people in my culture do not like such direct people. I finally understand there are two types of communication, and this concept will help me in my real life when I communicate with others.

Li-Chiang, 20+-Year-Old Honk Kong Student

Direct versus Indirect Communication

Related to high-versus low –context communication is direct versus indirect communication. Direct communication is blunt communication that is literal and to the point. E.g. “close the window.” Indirect communication is that which relies upon context and the receiver’s ability to draw inferences. E.g. “Are you cold?” Qualifiers like "maybe" or "perhaps" are employed to avoid hurting the feelings of other in-group members. Also a direct "no" is mostly circumscribed.

Comparisons between the North American and East Asian Orientation to Communication patterns

East –Asian Orientations / North American Orientations
Process orientation
Communication is perceived as a process of infinite interpretation / Outcome orientation
Communication is perceived as the transference of messages
Differentiated linguistic codes
Different linguistic codes are used depending upon person involved and situations / Less differentiated linguistic codes
Linguistic codes are not was extensively differentiated as in East Asia.
Indirect communication emphasis
The use of indirect communication is prevalent and accepted as normative / Direct communication emphasis
Direct communication is a norm despite the extensive use of indirect communication
Receiver centred
Meaning is in the interpretation
Emphasis is on listening, sensitivity, and removal of preconception / Sender centred
Meaning is in the messages created by the sender
Emphasis in on how to formulate the best message how to improve source credibility, and how to improve delivery skills

Bilingual Communication

Most people in the world are bilingual or multilingual. There are various ways in which people can become bilingual.

“It’s the language. People at work place speak ‘Tagalog’ and English is only a foreign language. In school when interviewing people for assignments with a Filipino partner the interviewee talks only to the Filipino though he/she can speak fluent English. At school, teachers respond to students who talk in Tagalog though the instructional language ought to be English. I got used to it and understand that the local language is truly ‘Tagalog’ not English.”

Bella Li, 20 +-Year-Old Chinese Student

Addictive bilingualism: the acquisition of a second language that does not replace the native language.

Subtractive bilingualism: the acquisition of a second language that replaces the native language.

Native bilingualism: the ability to speak two languages from birth, acquired because both languages are spoken in the household.

 Studies indicate that bilingual children actually performed better on various measures of intelligence.

 Older learners may be more fossilized in their native languages, so accents from their first will persist in their second languages.

 Speaking multiple languages has an effect upon one’s identity. It helps to feel an instant connection with someone else who speaks that language.

 Those who were proficient in English language had higher self-esteem than those who did not have such knowledge and abilities.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Do you consider yourself a high-context or a low-context communicator? How have your conversation gone with those who tend to be the opposite of you in using context?

2. Do you tend to have a direct or an indirect communication style? How does it feel when you are in conversation with someone who uses the opposite style of communication?

3. When you are in a conversation with someone from a different racial or ethnic group, are you aware of different styles of communication?

4. Seek out people who have learnt English as a second language. To what extent did they feel that English replaced their native language or to what extent did they feel that they were able to retain their native language?