High and Low Context Communication
In low and high context cultures, the style of communication is regulated by the proximity of bonding between societal members, powerful behavioral norms, and degree of social hierarchy structuring. In high context communication, the information is typically embedded with internal meaning; hence, everything is not articulated in speech or writing clearly. The recipient of information is supposed to look for implied meaning in the message communicated, and grasp the unsaid part of the message, using their background knowledge. Hall (1976, 91), emphasizes such percept stating that high-context messages/communication are characterized by a majority of information being internalized in whichever individual receives the message or being present in the physical form of the communication -- the coded, transmitted, or clearly-stated message components contain very little information.
Research objective
This paper's aim is critically analyzing low/high context communication taking place between an individual whose native tongue is not English (i.e., speaks the language as L2) and a police official (Native English speaker); it intends to ascertain the challenges posed by cultural inconsistencies or differences.
Statement of the problem
A number of things remain unarticulated in a scenario of high context communication; for instance, the context of the message gets filled with the individual's grasp of their culture. It is reasonable to presume that a majority of police officers employ this communication style within their circles. However, use of such style poses difficulties and communication issues arise between individuals whose first language...
Discussion
Culture plays a major role in the context of communication. Communication defines an individual's behavior while exchanging information. For communicating, one needs to translate meaning into some behavior. That is, the sender of the message needs to transform his/her feelings, views, or information into gestures, words, or facial expressions for the recipient of the message to comprehend its meaning fully. Following encoding of the meaning into behavior, a decoding process takes place at the receiving end, for retranslating the sender's behavior into meaning. Therefore, communication invariably depends on how one perceives, interprets, and evaluates another's behavior, a process known as encoding and decoding of a message (Adler 1997, p.68). The process relies heavily on an individual's cultural background that decides the meanings he/she attaches to specific behavior and words (Adler 1997, p.69). Often, cross-cultural communication is rife with misunderstandings, which arise for the following three reasons:
i. Misperception
It was explained that patterns of perception are inconsistent and governed by one's culture (Adler 1997, p.72). That is, cultural background influence meanings perceived by an individual, also, such perceptions do not necessarily reflect real understandings, indicating that one's perceptions are highly vulnerable to misunderstandings based on culture.
ii. Misinterpretation Misinterpretation is another reason behind intercultural misunderstandings. Adler (1997, p. 74) states that interpretation happens when people ascribe meaning to their observations,…
