Verbal Issues

Chapter 5 in Experiencing Intercultural Communication: An Introduction is about Verbal Issues in Intercultural Communication. It is interesting that different cultures place emphasis on either the context of the verbal communication, or the verbal message of the verbal communication. Placing emphasis on the information from the physical context or if it is internalized in the person is called high-context communication (Martin & Nakayama, 135). When communication places the majority of meaning and information in the verbal message it is called low-context communication (Martin & Nakayama, 135). Our text points out that people in long-term relationships often use the high-context communication style. I believe that my family also uses the high-context communication style. My fiancé’s family, on the other hand, uses a low-context communication style. Their message is typically clear when they are communicating verbally. For example, when my future mother-in-law is having a get together, and she needs help putting things away, she will say "Can you please put the vegetable dip in the refrigerator?" The message is clear in her verbal communication.

One Sunday, my dad and step mom had the family over for dinner. It came time for clean up, and my step mom said "Is there anything that needs to go in the refrigerator?" When what she really meant was "Someone please put the vegetable dip in the refrigerator." Well, my fiancé was not used to the high-context form of communication and when she asked the question, he responded "The vegetable dip needs to go in the refrigerator." He thought she was using low-context communication, and that what she said was what she meant. I got up off of the couch and put the vegetable dip away. On the way home from my dad's I explained that sometimes you have to read between the lines with my family. He has since gotten much better at recognizing the high-context communication style that my family uses. It is interesting how different groups of people communicate in such different ways!