The
Whorf hypothesis
A hypothesis holding that the structure of a
language affects the perceptions of reality
of its speakers and thus influences their
thought patterns and worldviews.
Communications
have multiple
meanings interpreted by
reading the situation
Asian and Arabic languages are
among the most high context in
the world
The
words provide most of the
meaning
Most northern European
languages including German,
English, and the Scandinavian
languages are low context
E X 3 .1 H ig h C o n te x t a n d
L o w C o n te x t C o u n tr ie s
H ig h C o n te x t: M e a n in g
Im p lic it L a n g u a g e s
Japanese
A ra b s
S u rro u n d in g
L a tin A m e ric a n s
In fo rm a tio n
Ita lia n s
N e c e s s a ry fo r
U n d e rs ta n d in g
B ritis h
F re n c h
N o rth A m e ric a n s
S c a n d in a v ia n s
G e rm a n s
S w is s
L o w C o n te x t: M e a n in g
E x p lic it in L a n g u a g e
Basic communication styles:
Direct communication = comes to the point and lacks
ambiguity.
Formal communication = acknowledges rank, titles, and
ceremony in prescribed social interaction.
Nonverbal communication:
 Communication without words
 Includes array of behaviors that enhance/supplement
spoken communication
includes kinesics, proxemics, haptics, oculesics, and
olfactics…
Kinesics:
Communication through body movements:
 eg. facial expressions, body posture.
 Most Asian cultures use bowing to show respect.
 Caution: can be easy to misinterpret gestures.
Proxemics:
Use of space to communicate:
 Each culture has appropriate distances for
communication.
 The personal bubble of space may range from 9 inches to
> 2 feet.
 North Americans prefer more distance than Latin and Arab
cultures.
Haptics (or touching)
Shaking hands, embracing, or kissing when greeting one
another
 No touching
(eg. Japan, US, England)
 Moderate touching
(eg. Australia, China, India)
 Touching
(eg. Italy, Greece)
Oculesics:
Communication through eye contact or gaze
 US and Canada:
people are very comfortable and expect eye contact to
be maintained
 China and Japan: eye contact is considered very rude &
disrespectful
Olfactics: use of smells as a means of nonverbal
communication
 U.S.: find body odor offensive
 Arab: consider body odors natural
 Provide
simultaneous translation of a foreign
language
 Require greater linguistic skills than speaking a
language or translating written documents
 Insure the accuracy and common understanding
of agreements
 Use
the most common words with most common
meanings
 Select words with few alternative meanings
 Follow rules of grammar strictly
 Speak with clear breaks between words
 Avoid
“sports” words or words borrowed
from literature
 Avoid words that represent pictures
 Mimic the cultural flavor of nonnative
speaker’s language
 Summarize
 Test your communication success
 Attribution
- process by which we interpret the meaning
and intent of spoken words or nonverbal exchanges
 Attribution errors