Which countries have low context cultures?

These are cultures that use very precise verbal and non-verbal forms. Negotiators basically say what they mean. They are typical of Anglo-Saxon countries such as Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Austria or Switzerland or Scandinavian countries. Also, when working with people from such countries as Belarus, Ukraine or Kazakhstan it is better to use direct messages.

Low-context cultures: American, Australian, Canadian, English, Danish, German, Israeli, New Zealand, Scandinavian, Swiss.

High Context Cultures: Afghan, African, Arabic, Armenian, Brazilian, Chinese, Filipino, Franco-Canadian, French, Greek, Hawaiian, Hungarian, Indian, Indonesian, Italian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Latin American, Nepali, Pakistani, Persian, Portuguese, South American, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Russian.

Which countries have low-context cultures quizlet?

Countries such as the USA, Germany and Denmark are low context, while others such as Japan, China and Arab countries are closer to high context. Spain is, rather, a high-context culture. Our communication is based on more codified messages compared to low context cultures. Because of this and almost unconsciously, we read between the lines or interpret the words of our interlocutor, often through non-verbal language and even silences.

This gives rise to very common situations in which we can clearly see how communication fails. For example, in the Spanish cultural context, a foreigner from Northern Europe could go crazy trying to decipher what a Spaniard means when he answers an invitation by saying “we’ll see you” or “one of these days”.

Will this be understood?

Not surprisingly, these same problems that occur naturally when communicating also arise when interpreting or translating.

For example, a case of two men in which one says to the other, pointing to his clothes “how am I doing”. Both understand that the man is asking if he is wearing the right clothes. The translator or interpreter, in such a case, will have to know the context in which they are in order to identify the non-explicit message and get the receiver of the translation in the target culture to understand the meaning.

Another example would be a situation in which one person says to another on the way out the door: “the umbrella”. In this case it is understood that what the person means is something like “remember to take the umbrella, it’s raining”; however, the translator or interpreter will have to make sure that the meaning is maintained when translating the message.

This theory between high- and low-context cultures is logically related to all situations in which people from different cultural contexts communicate. Among them, and as an example strongly related to interpreting, would be the business world. The attitudes and circumstances in which negotiations take place are often more important than what is conveyed verbally. It is therefore important for interpreters to be aware of the context in which the communication takes place and thus avoid missing the point by not recognizing these communicative failures.

In conclusion, through this short introduction we can see how the context is essential for good communication and, therefore, for good interpreting and translation work.

We hope that this article has been of interest to you and that it has given you an insight into the world behind this profession. We also hope that it will be useful for you to avoid future misunderstandings and embarrassing moments, as well as to reflect on situations in which you have been involved in the past.

Where is low-context culture?

Low-context cultures are those that communicate information in direct, explicit, and precise ways. This is in contrast to high-context cultures, which communicate in ways that are implicit and rely heavily on nonverbal language.

Example

In a low-context culture, communication occurs through explicitly spelled out and defined words, and listeners just have to interpret spoken or written words as they are. Germany, Sweden, and the United States are generally classified as low-context cultures.

Germany

Germany is one of the so-called “low-context” cultures. All details are transmitted explicitly. This means that Germans tend to pay more attention to the literal meaning of words than to the context surrounding them.

United States

The U.S. is generally a low-context culture, while countries like France and Japan have high-context cultures. In American business speaking, a good rule of thumb is to get straight to the facts.

Australia

The USA and Australia are typically low-context, highly individualistic cultures, where transparency and competition in business are prized.

New Zealand

As a rule, cultures with western European roots rely more heavily on low-context communication. These include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, as well as much of Europe. The rest of the world tends toward high-context communication.

What is an example of a high-context culture?

High-context cultures will use communication that focuses on underlying context, meaning, and tone in the message, and not just the words themselves. Countries that fall into this categorization are Japan, China, France, Spain, Brazil, and more.

Italy

Italy is mostly considered a high context culture. Most of their culture communication is accentuated on physical signs.

France

France is a high-context culture.
A high-context culture is one in which communication may be more unspoken rather than explicit – for example, much attention is paid to body language, facial expressions, and other non-verbal cues in order to discern a speaker’s meaning.

Russian

In terms of communication, Russia is considered a high-context culture (Hall, 1976), where face-to-face communication and the closeness of human relationships are emphasized.

Greek

The Greek Culture as a High-Context Culture: Communicating Without Words. In a past video it was mentioned that Greeks place non-verbal communication at a higher level than others. We could safely say that Greek people are masters at decoding indirect speech and body language.

Thailand

Thailand is high-context culture. Therefore, when considering the implications of this for business practice, the cultural dimension is significant.

Philippines

Filipinos have what is called a high context culture. It means that when it comes to communicating with Filipinos, a lot goes on beneath the surface. Contrasted with low context cultures where communication is explicit and straightforward, high context cultures come off as ambiguous and not outsider-friendly.

Spain

Spain. Spain has a high context culture because any verbal interaction occurs through the lens of who said it, where they come from, how they’re saying it, and the emotions and motives behind the words.

Brazil

Brazil is what is called a high context culture. This means that Brazilians place a strong emphasis on how a message is said rather than on the words used alone.

Nigeria

Like Morocco, Nigeria is defined overall as a high context culture. But with over 250 ethnicities, marked differences exist within individual cultural beliefs. However, common expectation among the different ethnicities is that neighbors resolve simple communal disputes.

Japan

Japan is generally considered a high-context culture, meaning people communicate based on inherent understanding.

India

India is a high context culture where communication is generally more indirect than in most Western countries. What is said may have multiple interpretations based on the context of the interaction, as well as the body language, tone and words used.

China

China is considered a high context culture as communication tends to be indirect and the real message needs to be interpreted according to the context. If you neglect the importance of context in China, you increase the chances of misunderstanding, confusion and even conflict.

Mexico

Mexico is generally considered to be a “high-context” culture, meaning one in which connections have developed over years of interaction and a shared understanding of expectations. In high-context cultures like Mexico, mobility teams should be prepared to invest time in establishing relationships.

Latin America

As you can see from the chart below, European and North American cultures are generally more low context cultures, whereas Latin American, Middle Eastern and Asian cultures tend to be high context. In general, Mexico is considered to be a high context culture.

South America

However, many Latin American cultures, including those in Mexico, are comprised of “high context” communicators. A high-context listener determines meaning by correctly reading contextual clues such as non-verbal communication, and the status or the age of people involved in the conversation, among other factors.