High context culture

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High context culture (and the contrasting ‘low context culture’) are terms presented by the anthropologist Edward T. Hall in his book Beyond Culture. It refers to a culture’s tendency to cater towards in-groups. An in-group being a group that has similar experiences and expectations, from which inferences are drawn. In a high context culture, many things are left unsaid, letting the culture explain.

High context cultures are more common in the eastern cultures than in western, and in countries with low racial diversity. Cultures where the group is valued over the individual promote the in-groups and group reliance that favor high context cultures. Co-cultures are also conducive to high context situations, where the small group relies on their common background to explain the situation, rather than words. A low context culture explains things further, because those in a low context culture have a wide variety of background

High context cultures have a strong sense of tradition and history, and change little over time, such as ‘primitive’ tribal societies, and native societies (such as the Māori of New Zealand and the Native Americans.). The static culture keeps the high context throughout different generations. Low context cultures change drastically from one generation to the next, like the United States.

[edit] Humor

High context cultures (and co-cultures) provide many opportunities for humor. However, a high context culture’s jokes will not translate well to someone of a different culture. An example comes from Star Trek jokes: “Why did LT Worf change his hair color? Because it was a good day to dye.” To an outsider, the language is grammatically coherent, but the humor is lost. LT Worf hails from the Klingon alien society, and often repeats a Klingon proverb: “It is a good day to die.” The pun goes unrecognized by those unfamiliar with Star Trek.

A lower context joke comes from a (possibly apocryphal) interaction between IBM and a Japanese hardware manufacturer. IBM requested parts from a trial project, with the specification “We will accept three defective parts per ten thousand.” The Japanese manufactured the parts, and sent them with a note: “We, the Japanese people, had a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts per 10,000 have been separately manufactured and have been included in the consignment. Hope this pleases you.” The humor is inherent in the narrative, instead of from a common background.

[edit] High and low context cultures co-existing

An individual from a high context culture has to adapt, and/or be accommodated when shifting to a low context culture. High context cultures expect small close knit groups, and reliance on that group. Professional and personal lives often intertwine. A low context culture demands independence, and expects many relationships, but few intimate ones. A high context individual is more likely to ask questions rather than attempt to work out a solution independently, and the questions are likely to be asked from the same few people.

[edit] References

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