Brief Analysis on the High—context Culture and Low—context Culture in Intercultural Communication

【Abstract】The rapid development of globalization and the further openness of China have made intercultural communication activities more frequent and significant. At the same time， the communicative obstacles brought by the differences caused by high-context culture and low-context culture has also become more and more distinct. In order to have a better understanding of different cultural background and promote communication among countries， more analyses on high-context culture and low-context culture should be made. This article aims to provide more instructions and possibilities for intercultural communication through clarifying the definitions and characteristics of high-context culture and low-context culture as well as the analysis on deep reasons for the differences.

【Key words】Intercultural Communication； High-context culture； Low-context culture

【作者簡介】孫展（1993-），女，滿族，吉林長春人，吉林大學碩士研究生，研究方向：外國語言學與應用語言學。

1. The Definition of High-and Low-context culture

The notion of high- and low- context is firstly proposed by Edward. T. Hall（1976）， an American anthropologist. Later， it is widely recognized as one dimension of cultural variability utilized in the study of culture and communication. According to Edward T. Hall， culture are categorized as being either of high context or low context， depending on the degree to which meaning comes from the settings or from the words being exchanged： the high-context message hides the meaning within the context of the communication and relies on the relationship between the individuals， while the low-context message has information invested in the words themselves， and the meaning is expressed in the explicit code.

The assumption underlying Halls classification is that “one of the functions of culture is to provide a highly selective screen between man and the outside world. In many of its forms， culture， therefore， designates what we pay attention to and what we ignore（Hall， 1976）”. Halls theories are quite indispensable for us to grasp interaction rules and distinguish different communication patterns in intercultural communication. The contrast between high-context and low-context cultures will， therefore， offering us some insights into what people pay attention to and what they ignore.

2. The Characteristics of High-context and Low-context Cultures

According to Hall（1976）， high-context culture involves the characteristics of indirect communication， listener-oriented and high degree of reliance on nonverbal communication， while low-context culture concludes the characteristics of indirect communication， speaker-oriented and low degree of reliance on nonverbal communication.

2.1 Indirect Communication versus Direct Communication

According to Hall（1976）， people form high-context culture tend to use more indirect communication， and this communication style depends on subtleties indicated by contextual cues rather than words to convey the true message. Care is taken to establish and maintain appropriate personal relationships at the same time as trying to achieve a separate objective（Gao&Tim-Toomey，1998）.

The low-context culture， on the other hand， contains more direct verbal communication. People from this cultural background states reveal the speakers intentions clearly through the statements and they express themselves in a forthright tone of voice. Thus the directness emphasizes values of openness， honesty and forthrightness.

2.2 Lister-oriented and speaker-oriented

The listener and speaker are two important components of the communication process. Speakers are defined by what message they send and how they send it， listeners are defined by their ability to understand and interpret the message received（Gao&Ting-Toomy，1988）.

In high-context communication， the listener of the message assumes the responsibility to infer the hidden or contextual meaning of the speakers message. As a result， high-context communication relies on the listeners message-decoding ability. While in low-context communication， the speaker is to be responsible for constructing a clear， persuasive message that the listener can decode easily.

2.3 Degree of Reliance on Nonverbal Communication

In high-context culture， greater confidence is placed on the nonverbal aspects of communication rather than verbal communication. Therefore， effective communication depends greatly on the development of sensitivity to nonverbal cues. On the contrary， the people from the background of low-context cultural background， who has more self-disclosure through direct communication relies lightly on nonverbal communication.

3. A Case Study and Reason Analysis

3.1 A Case Study

Scene1

Foreign affairs officer： Foreign teachers ask me about a lot of information before they come to China.

Foreign Teacher： What do you tell them？

FAO： I tell them that they will find out everything that they need to know when they get here.

FT： Oh.

FAO： Yes， my officer and the academic department arrange everything for them. Every foreign teacher has a contact person to help with problems of teaching and their daily life.

Scene 2

A Japanese businessman was planning to meet his business partner in Germany， who was also Japanese， but she has been working in Germany for a long time. He wanted to meet her in Munich. When he asked for directions from the airport to the center of town， she sent an e-mail with precise details of how to get there by public transport. He asked for more details. She wondered what else she could send. Only after talking to her mother in Japan did she realize that what he really wanted was for someone to meet him at the airport. （Beamer&Varner，2003：63-64）

3.2 Analysis of the Case

The above dialogue shows that low-context communicators look for， trust and use impersonal sources of information while high-context communicators prefer personal sources of information. Low-context communicators appreciate the personal help they receive， but they also want low-context information to help them plan， act and adjust to a new situation. High-context communicators need the low-context messages they receive， but without human helpers they experience their new cultural situation as cold and lack of human care.

4. Analysis on the Root of Differences in High-context Culture and Low-context Culture

The deep root of the differences in high-context culture and low-context culture can be explained through the angle of social cultures in three aspects： religious-philosophical systems， rhetoric philosophy as well as social and historical causes.

4.1 The Influence of Religious philosophical systems on culture and Communication

The study of religion not only offers insight into the spiritual and psychological needs of people， but it also gives us clues into the social aspects of a culture（Samovar，Porter&Stefani，2000：91）. The religious-philosophical systems have the greatest impact on the social， behavioral， and communication patterns of the society. For example， in China， they are Confucianism， Buddhism， and Taoism. Buddhism approaches the understanding of people through the understanding of the mind， Confucianism through human nature， and Taoism through the understanding of feeling. Whats more， they affects all aspects of culture including language， minds and further forms high-context culture. Therefore， the root of high-context culture finds its proof in Buddhism and Confucianism.

On the contrary， Christianity has great effect on low-context culture. The Western concept of the importance of the individual can be linked partially to Christianity. The Christian tradition begins with the assumption that the world is real and meaningful because God created it. And God has a special relationship with each person in that God sees and hears， rewards， and punishes. In a culture that values individualism， the concept of “self” is important as well as the belief in ones individual value. Therefore， they just express what they need to God and make their life meaningful， which forms their low -context culture.

4.2 The Influence of Rhetoric Philosophy on Culture and Communication

According to Okabe（1983：45）， the goal of Western societies， including the U.S.， is a civilization of the dialogue and public speaking. The spirit of Western civilization is the spirit of inquiry. Nothing is to remain undiscussed. As a result， everybody speaks their minds eloquently and persuasively. While by contrast， in the tradition of rhetoric and communication， China stands out in marked contrast to much of the world. People value smooth interpersonal relations. Therefore， China is a communicative-inactive society.

4.3 Social and Historical Causes on Culture and Communication

The most essential origin of Chinese high-context communication in daily life， however， is the historical fact that they subjected themselves to restraint during a long fedual era and to the regulation of speech under totalitarian regimes. For example， there is a traditional saying that “He who talks errs （言多必失）”， “Disaster finds its way out through the mouth（禍從口出）”. Speech in Chinese Culture thus is constantly exercised with caution and， consequently， perceived as less important.

In western countries， the strong underline verbal communication skills can be dated back to ancient times. In Ancient Rome， the are of speech is even employed by elocutionists and politicians to defend their nations （Akria，1987：121）. In the same way， Ancient Greek citizens are empowered by the authority to deliver a speech for their proper interests（Hu， 2001：13）. In a country like the U.S.， freedom and democracy have long been advocated. Any common citizen is allowed to say whatever they want. Therefore， countries from low-context culture tend to express more in verbal communication.

5. Conclusion

Culture is dynamic and subject to change. The urbanization are very important factors that influence the amount of context people use when they communicate with each other. In order to better international communication among countries， people from different countries should consider the differences caused by different cultural context， form the sensitivity of cultural differences， and reduce the contradictions brought by the differences between high-context culture and low-context culture.

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