Hello everyone,
In my previous post, I provided a logical explanation of the Four Worldviews and Two Styles.
Today, I’d like to explore some relatable examples by examining familiar phrases and everyday situations, analysing how these concepts play out in real-life contexts.
If you haven’t had a chance to read the Thinking Edition yet, feel free to check it out [here].
Elements with a Strong Low-Context Nature
– Academic Papers
Academic papers serve as a medium for researchers to systematically present their findings and explain them in a logical manner.
To ensure that readers can accurately understand the content, elements such as background, methodology, results, and discussion must be clearly and thoroughly described.
Another key feature is the inclusion of evidence at pivotal moments to strengthen the reliability of the arguments. This ensures that the reasoning is consistently developed in a low-context manner.
Similarly, readers are expected to engage with the content in a straightforward manner, interpreting it without relying on assumptions or implied meanings, consistent with a low-context approach.
– Debates
A debate is a platform where individuals with differing opinions or perspectives engage in discussion, reinforcing their arguments or countering opposing views.
In debates, the speaker’s intentions heavily rely on the explicit meaning of their words, rather than on implied meanings or contextual cues. It is essential to communicate points directly and clearly.
Incomplete arguments are rarely supplemented by high-context assumptions or interpretations from the opponent or audience.
As a result, it is fundamental for the speaker to present their arguments explicitly from a low-context perspective, while the audience or opponent interprets them in the same low-context manner.
– Laws
Laws, as the rules that govern society, prioritise eliminating ambiguity and ensuring they can be interpreted in the same way by everyone.
By their very nature, laws require universal and clear expressions that do not rely on context or individual interpretation.
If laws were high-context, frequent misinterpretations could arise, potentially leading to disorder in society.
As a result, laws are a prime example of something that must exist in a low-context format, free from influence by individual feelings, emotions, or subjective interpretations.
– Regulations
Regulations are written rules or standards established within organisations or workplaces.
They are clearly defined to ensure that anyone who reads them can understand and implement them without difficulty.
There is no need for contextual interpretation or assumptions, and they are not influenced by emotions, moods, or personal interpretations.
As with laws, regulations possess a strong low-context nature.
– Contracts
Contracts serve to clearly document agreements between parties, providing a reliable foundation for both sides.
By avoiding ambiguity and explicitly outlining specific terms and responsibilities, contracts ensure that the agreed-upon conditions can be executed accurately.
Like regulations, contracts must inherently have a strong low-context nature.
– Commands
Commands are a direct form of communication used when giving instructions or guidance. They eliminate ambiguity and the need for interpretation, clearly specifying the actions the listener is required to take.
As such, listeners are expected to accurately understand and execute the instructions without interpreting them in a high-context manner.
While suggestions or advice allow room for interpretation, commands do not, making them inherently highly low-context in nature.
– News Articles and Programmes
The essence of news articles and programmes lies in delivering information accurately, and their content must be based on facts.
To ensure that viewers or readers can understand the content without needing extensive knowledge of context or background, concise and low-context expressions are frequently used.
It is also important for viewers to recognise and interpret the information with this low-context nature in mind.
When incorrect information is reported, swift corrections are made, reflecting the inherently low-context nature of news reporting.
– Serious Conversations or Situations
In serious conversations or situations, it is crucial to choose words carefully to avoid unnecessary assumptions or misunderstandings between the speaker and the listener.
Light-hearted jokes or subtle implications are avoided, and direct, specific expressions are used, resulting in a strong low-context nature.
In such serious settings, introducing elements of humour or a sense of variety—topics I will discuss later-can create an inappropriate atmosphere or even upset the other party. Therefore, caution is required.
– Attitudes of ‘Linguistic Divergence’
Linguistic divergence refers to communicative behaviours where individuals distance themselves or fail to adapt to the other person. Strictly speaking, this behaviour itself is not inherently low-context.
However, I feel that individuals who adopt a stance of linguistic divergence tend to interpret the other person’s statements in a low-context manner. They do not attempt to apply assumptions or predictions and make little effort to understand the other person.
While such behaviour may also be influenced by emotions or mood, I believe examples and instances of linguistic divergence can often be observed in our daily lives.
Elements with a Strong High-Context Nature
– Novels
Novels use written words to convey worlds, characters’ emotions, and the depth of their stories.
The context, background of the characters, and implicit meanings or symbols embedded between the lines are crucial, allowing for diverse interpretations depending on the reader’s perspective.
This makes novels inherently high-context in nature.
– Art
Art expresses messages and emotions that cannot be conveyed through words, using visual or auditory elements. It heavily depends on the viewer’s cultural background, sensitivity, preferences, and interpretation.
As there is no single definitive answer, and it allows for diverse interpretations, art can be considered highly high-context in nature.
– Works of Art
Many “works” reflect the background, intentions, and cultural context of their creators, and their full meaning is often conveyed only when the audience understands these elements.
Even with the same piece, perceptions can vary depending on the viewer’s knowledge, sensitivity, and interpretation, making such works inherently high-context in nature.
Moreover, interpreting a “work” in an overly low-context manner can create a significant gap between the creator’s intent and the audience’s understanding.
In recent years, we’ve seen many online comments criticising certain content, such as fake videos, on social media. However, viewers should consider the possibility that these might be artistic creations rather than real events (except in cases where the intent was deliberately deceptive).
– Metaphors and Idiomatic Expressions
Metaphors and idiomatic expressions are forms of communication that convey meaning indirectly by comparing one thing to another, which naturally gives them a high-context nature.
When metaphoric expressions are used in conversation, we don’t interpret them literally, do we?
From the perspective of the speaker, it would be highly problematic if their metaphors or idiomatic expressions were taken at face value in a low-context manner.
– Romance
Romance is built on emotions and relationships that rely heavily on context and implicit understanding.
It requires reading the intentions and feelings behind a partner’s expressions, gestures, and words. Non-verbal communication often plays a more significant role than direct speech.
Mood is key, and surprising a partner to bring them joy is a common element. As such, relying solely on a low-context approach is unlikely to work well.
Romance involves many intuitive and emotional elements that go beyond logic, doesn’t it?
– Emotions
Emotions are deeply personal and internal, making them difficult to fully explain through words alone.
To understand someone else’s emotions, it is often necessary to consider the situation, context, and their past experiences.
Comprehending another person’s feelings requires a high-context approach, where intuition and inference play a vital role in effective communication.
– Humour
Humour, including jokes and other high-context nuances, has the power to create a sense of familiarity and shared understanding.
In casual or non-serious situations where humour is appropriate, approaching the conversation with a low-context attitude could disrupt the atmosphere.
It is therefore important for both the speaker and the listener to adopt a communication style suited to the situation.
– Variety Shows
News programmes prioritise delivering accurate information, and their content must be based on facts. Variety shows, however, are the complete opposite in nature.
Viewers enjoy these shows by understanding the humour and interpreting them through a high-context lens, which allows them to laugh and have fun.
The existence of a script, which is present in most programmes, is a low-context element. However, in variety shows, the script is not always based on factual events and often has more in common with creative works.
As such, interpreting variety shows in a low-context manner can lead to confusion.
For instance, watching a skit or comedic act and taking it seriously is something we typically wouldn’t do, would we?
– Attitudes of ‘Linguistic Convergence’
Linguistic convergence refers to communicative behaviours where individuals adapt to others or seek to reduce distance between themselves and their conversation partners. However, strictly speaking, this behaviour itself is not inherently high-context.
I feel that individuals who adopt an attitude of linguistic convergence tend to interpret the other person’s statements in a high-context manner. They rely on intuition and inference to understand not just the words being spoken, but also the intentions and emotions behind them.
While this behaviour may also be influenced by emotions or mood, I believe there are many examples of linguistic convergence in our everyday lives.
In Conclusion
Throughout this post, I have discussed the fundamental nature of the Two Styles, along with practical examples. I believe that understanding these concepts can significantly transform the way we interpret things.
Differences in one’s approach to interpreting certain attributes or situations can often lead to discrepancies in understanding. Similarly, when the communication styles of the speaker and the listener differ, it can create challenges in effective communication—something we frequently observe in everyday life.
As human beings, we tend to adopt a high-context approach towards things we find interesting, appealing, or that we feel positively about. Conversely, we are more likely to take a low-context approach towards things we are uninterested in, dislike, or even feel negatively about.
This tendency is often referred to as selective empathy. From a communication perspective, I believe that high-context styles often reflect the “human” elements of our preferences and emotions—such as dependence on emotions, personal relationships, or non-verbal cues. Meanwhile, low-context styles complement areas where such “human-ness” is insufficient, by focusing on eliminating ambiguity, ensuring universality and fairness, and prioritising efficient information delivery—essentially adding a more “mechanical” aspect.
Given the considerable amount of information covered here, I plan to explore practical examples of the Four Worldviews in my next post.
Thank you very much for reading to the end.
Note : This article is based on my own thoughts and has been refined with the support of ChatGPT.
