Meaning of high-context culture | Babel Free

Definitions

A culture in which communication relies heavily on context, leaving many things implied rather than explicitly put into words.

Examples

“These social and environmental cues need not be direct and easily observed; high-context cultures use the nuances of social interaction — its content and symbolism — to understand a given situation.”

“Persons socialized in low-context cultures (Americans, many Europeans) are more open and expressive and may find it difficult to take the perspective of their team members from high-context cultures”

“To the observer, an unknown high-context culture can be completely mystifying, because symbols that are not known to the observer play such an important role.”

CEFR level