At UnTours, along with sending you on trips that are especially good for living like a local, we also like to provide you with a handy ‘roadmap of the culture’. We think if we can provide you with a few rules of thumb, we can fast forward you into a place where you understand the locals and they understand you a bit more easily. And the trips you never forget are those that connect you to the people. One of the most helpful culture clues of all is the concept of “high and low context” which was formulated by the famous anthropologist, Edward T. Hall. in the mid-20th century. Over time, this concept has proven itself to be a useful way to explain a whole host of differences between cultures that can trip up the traveler. To put context, as a cultural concept, in a nutshell: does this culture have a poker face, or does it wear its guidelines on its sleeve?
Hall’s idea of context asks:
- Does a culture tells its rules explicitly or implicitly?
- Could a careful newcomer figure out what the courtesies and taboos were, or would they need to be a part of the general cultural framework for a long time?
- Are the do’s and don’ts fairly easy to decipher, in written laws, or common sayings, for example, and available to all (low context) or, on the other hand, more likely to be communicated by example, nonverbally (high context)?
Asia, Africa, much of the Middle East and South America are usually considered high-context cultures . It takes more time in those culture to figure things out. North American and Western Europe are considered lower context. Villages are almost always more high-context than cities. Immigrant cultures (US, Canada, Australia and other countries where the largest percentage of the population were immigrants at one time.) are usually the lowest context of all — the rules are more easily discerned. This makes sense! If your country has a big flood of newcomers immigrating over a relatively short period of time, it’s easier if newcomers can learn the rules and adapt quickly. In contrast, countries where the population is stable and little immigration occurs. (Japan is a good example.) often have slower and subtler way of communicating the “do’s and don’ts”. Low-context promotes stability. High-context promotes easy access. It’s easier to be an outsider in a high-context culture….you’ll crack the culture code sooner. Although that being said, every culture has its secrets; every culture has layers, and nearly every culture will take a lifetime (or more) before you truly feel an insider. It’s just that some will take generations, while others only a lifetime!
Someone once said every culture is like an onion….it has it’s layers. A high-context culture will be one where the meaning lies down in the deeper layers.
A Japanese business man said, contrasting his culture with the US, “When we say one word, we understand ten, but here you have to say ten to understand one”. That’s a good one sentence summary of the difference between high and low context cultures. The history, the background, the larger societal structures and the relationships are the background against which you can understand the meaning of any particular event. When a great deal of meaning lies in this background, this context, it is a high-context culture. When most of the meaning is in just what is actually said, then you are in a low-context culture.
So context is a helpful concept for creating a “roadmap for a culture” and we’ll try to mention that each month, when we offer a cultural overview of our featured country on the first Wednesday of the month (Wednesday’s are our Culture Clue days.).
The good news is that Germany (our featured destination) and the U.S. are both relatively low context countries. So the culture gap, in that instance, is not too broad. Rules are more formal, and explicit; both cultures are fairly quick to show newcomers the “rules of the road”. People’s meaning lies, in good measure, in exactly what they say.
For example, last week, in our culture clue, we mentioned that, in Germany, asking ‘How are you?’ is usually taken literally. Most Germans will give you a full answer, if you say “How are you?” and will be disconcerted if you don’t stop to hear the answer. In America, most people, if asked, “Do you expect a literal reply to the question, ‘How are you?'” would probably say, “It depends.” What does it depend on? The situation, the two people in the conversation, the tone of voice. etc. In other words, it depends on the context.
So when you head off for your German Untour (In the Castle, or on the Rhine) as a newcomer, you’ll probably be relieved to know that the country, in general, wears its guidelines on its sleeve. Moreover, the straightforward nature of a high-context culture means that it is usually more accepted to ask direct questions. Indeed, Americans (often thought of as some of the most straightforward folks on the planet) can sometimes be taken aback by the ability of Germans to ask very direct questions. But as a visitor, this means, when in doubt, just try the direct approach. (Add a smile, plenty of please and thank-you’s;those work in ANY culture!)
Sidenote: We mentioned that urban areas are usually lower-context than rural ones. Triple that for a big city airport. Big city airports are truly the poster children for low context. They’re designed so that you need no insider knowledge; pictures often replace words. So, as you arrive at the airport, take a minute to notice that you can instantly get the ‘feel’ of things in the Frankfurt airport. But accessibility isn’t everything and no one would rave about the richness of the culture of a big city airport! You’ll know what’s going on at the airport instantly, much more quickly than you will in St. Goar, one of our wonderful small villages, who has many many centuries of history behind it. St. Goar for example, will have many cultures: German village culture, a river town culture, and a wine-making culture, just to name a few. One of the nice things about an Untour is that you can venture into the spots where the do’s & don’ts aren’t so very plain. You’ll always have an insider near at hand; our onsite staff love sharing ‘insider stuff’ about their particular Untour spot.