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Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Orientation

 

The anthropologist Edward Hall categorizes cultures as being either high or low context depending on the degree to which meaning comes from the situations (settings) or from the words being exchanged. The assumption underlying Hall’s classifications is that “one of the functions of culture is provide a highly selective screen between man and the outside world. In its many forms, culture therefore designates what we pay attention to and what we ignore.

The word context needs to be understood if one is to appreciate the link between context and communication. Hall and Hall define context as “the information that surrounds an event; it is inextricably bound up with the meaning of the event.”

Although all cultures contain some characteristics of both high and low variables, most can be placed along a scale showing their ranking on this particular dimension (see Table 5). To call your attention to the fact that there are degrees of high and low context various cultures have been placed on a continuum. The Halls define high and low context in the following manner:

A high context (HC) communication or message is one in which most of the information is already in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicitly transmitted part of the message. A low context (LC) communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code.

 

Table 5.Cultures Arranged Along the High-Context and Low Context Dimension

High-Context Cultures

Japanese

Chinese

Korean

African American

Native American

Arab

Greek

Latin

Italian

English

French

American

Scandinavian

German

German-Swiss

Lower-Context Cultures

(Source: E. T. Hall. Beyond Culture. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976.)

High Context

Inhigh-context cultures (Native Americans, Latin Americans, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean), people are very homogeneous with regard to experiences, information networks, and the like. High-context cultures, because of tradition and history, change very little over time. These are cultures in which consistent messages have produced consistent responses to the environment. "As a result," the Halls say, "for most normal transactions in daily life they do not require, nor do they expect, much in-depth, background information." Meaning, therefore, is not necessarily contained in words. In high-context cultures, information is provided through gestures, the use of space, and even silence. High-context cultures tend to be more aware of their surroundings and their environment and can communicate those feelings without words.

In high-context cultures, so much information is available in the environment that it is unnecessary to verbalize everything. For instance, statements of affection, such as "I love you," are rare because the message is conveyed by the context.

Meaning, in high-context cultures, is also conveyed through status (age, sex, education, family background, title, and affiliations) and through an individual's informal friends and associates.

 

Low Context

In low-context cultures (German, Swiss, and American), the population is less homogeneous and therefore tends to compartmentalize interpersonal contacts. This lack of common experiences means that each time they interact with others they need detailed background information.

In low-context cultures, the verbal message contains most of the information and very little is embedded in the context or the participants. This characteristic manifests itself in a host of ways. For example, the Asian mode of communication is often vague, indirect, and implicit, whereas Western communication tends to be direct and explicit — that is, everything needs to be stated, and if possible, stated well.

Differences in perceived credibility are yet another aspect of communication associated with these two orientations. In high-context cultures people who rely primarily on verbal messages for information are perceived as less credible. They believe that silence often sends a better message than words, and anyone who needs words does not have the information. As the Indonesian proverb states, “Empty cans clatter the loudest.”

OTHER PATTERNS OF STUDYING CULTURE

Informality and Formality

These two dimensions are also influenced by culture. Cultures tend to range from very informal to quite formal.

Informality. The United States is an informal culture: in North America people tend to treat others with informality and directness. They avoid the use of formal codes of conduct, titles, honorific and ritualistic manners in the interactions with others (Javidi & Javidi). The above statement is reflected in the greeting “Hi”, using first names when meeting strangers, standard of dress (wearing jeans almost everywhere), using idiomatic speech, body language.

Although "Americans pride themselves on their informality, people from Asia and most other places in the world do not see this as a virtue." Steward and Bennett offer some examples to buttress this important point: The degree of informality found in American communication patterns is uncommon in other cultures. In most Latin American and European societies, for instance, there are levels of formality attached to status difference. In Asian cultures, formal communication may be demanded by greater age as well as by higher status. In Japan, formality is also extended to strangers with whom a relationship is demanded. This formality is no joking matter, since failure to follow appropriate form may suggest to others a severe flaw in character.

Formality. There are, of course, many specific examples of cultures that highly value formality. In Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, the student-teacher relationship is very formal. This may be seen in the Egyptian proverb "Whoever teaches me a letter, I should become a slave to him forever." In these countries, when the teacher enters the room, students are expected to stand. When students meet their teachers on the street, they are expected to bow to them. Contrast this with the relaxed, informal student-teacher relationships found in the United States.

The degree of formality in Germany is, from an American perspective, extreme. Germans address others and conduct themselves in a very formal manner. It is important for Germans to dress well even if just visiting friends or going to school, but especially when attending church. Formality is also evident in how cultures use forms of address. Not knowing these differences can cause problems. American informality and the habit of calling others by their first names make Germans acutely uncomfortable, particularly when young people or people lower in the hierarchy address their elders or their superiors by their first names.

The use of personal titles is yet another way the Germans mark formality. They use titles extensively to identify people and their positions in the social structure. If, for instance, a person is both a professor and a physician, he is referred to as Herr Professor Doktor Kaempfer. And because Germany has a male-oriented culture, women are not addressed by their surname, such as Frau (Mrs.) Kaempfer, but always by their husband's title. The wife of Herr Professor Doktor Kaempfer, for example, would be addressed as Frau Professor Doktor Kaempfer. Germany is not the only place where forms of address are directly linked to perception and values (see: Hall & Hall).

 

The significance of informality and formality in communication goes well beyond a culture's use of language. The number of friends you have and what you tell those friends are also affected. Germans tend to be formal and private even when dealing with their friends. There is even a German proverb that states, "A friend to everyone is a friend to no one." Americans tend to disclose much more about themselves than do members of cultures such as the Japanese, who value formality.

 

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