High : 매우 높은 (수준의)
Context : 맥락 (문맥, 그 말의 분위기)
Culture : 문화
- 어떠한 말의 단어 뜻을 그대로 이해하기 보단, 그 문맥에 맞추어 구사하는 말과
글이 많은 문화 어떠한 말이 굳이 필요없는 경우도 많음, 화자가 명확히 말하는 것
보다 청자가 스스로 알아서(Context에 맞춰서)해야 하는 경우가 많은 문화.
언어적 특성에서도 고스란이 반영되어 있음. 영어는 Specific한 반면
한국어는 굉장히 rhetorical(수사적)언어 특성을 가지고 있음.
- 쉽게 예를 들자면 비즈니스 상황에서 문제가 생겼다고 하자, 이때 상사는 "알아서 잘해" 라고 말한다면, 이걸 잘 알아들을 수록
그 사회는 고 맥락문화를 가진 사회라고 볼수 있다. 여러분은 어떠한가 대단한 고맥락문화를 가진 대한민국에서 이러한 말을 자주 하며
자주 이해하는것이 좋은 가 그렇지 않은가?
고맥락사회의 장단점은 충분히 예측을 할 수 있다. 비즈니스 상황에서 이러한 문화적 차이를 이해못한다면 그의 비즈니스는
백전백패일것이다.
개인적으로 굉장히 거부감이 드는 문화이며, 이러한 문화가 팽배한 곳에서는 내 힘을 발휘하기가 힘든 상황에도 노출이 쉽게 되는것
같다.
역시나 예상했겠지만, 암묵적인 동의가 있는 문화이므로 단결력이 뛰어나 보임(내부적으로 숨어서 나오지 않으니), 단기간의 성과
지향주의에는 굉장히 유용함. 한 방향으로 가야 할 때, 그 길이 틀리더라도 일단 맞으면 대박이 날 확률이 높음.
그러나 장기적 창의적 요소가 필요한 분야에서는 지속성이 떨어질것 같다. 앞으로의 사회는 Low context culture문화가 더욱 지배
하지 않을까? 개인화가 그 대표적이니, 개인화는 결코 집단의 이해관계를 문맥에 맡기기 보단, 스스로 주체성을 가지고 흑백을
가려야 하는 것이 곧 자기방어의 기본요소가 될 것이니 말이다.
아래의 Wikipedia의 reference를 참고해서 잘 이해해 보길...
High context culture
High context culture and the contrasting "low context culture" are terms presented by the anthropologist Edward T. Hall in his 1976 book Beyond Culture. It refers to a culture's tendency to use high context messages over low context messages in routine communication. This choice of communication styles translates into a culture that will cater to in-groups, an in-group being a group that has similar experiences and expectations, from which inferences are drawn. In a high context culture, many things are left unsaid, letting the culture explain. Words and word choice become very important in higher context communication, since a few words can communicate a complex message very effectively to an in-group (but less effectively outside that group), while in a lower context culture, the communicator needs to be much more explicit and the value of a single word is less important.
Context as a relativistic metric of culture
A cultural context does not rank as "high" or "low" in an absolute sense because each message can be presented on a continuum from high to low. Likewise, a culture (French Canadian) may be of a higher context than one (English Canadian) but lower context than another (Spanish or French). Likewise, a stereotypical individual from Texas (a higher context culture) may communicate more with a few words or use of a prolonged silence, than a stereotypical New Yorker who is being very explicit, although both being part of a culture which is lower-context overall.
While the milieu of individuals in a culture can be diverse, and not all individuals can be described by strict stereotypes, understanding the broad tendencies of predominant cultures of this world can help us inform and educate ourselves on how to better facilitate communication between individuals of differing cultures. The following spectrum of levels of context in various cultures was determined in 1986 by Copeland & L. Griggs (1986)
Lower Context Culture
American
Australian
English Canadian
English
German
Irish
New Zealand
Scandinavia
Higher context Culture
African
Arab
Brazilian
Chinese
Filipinos
Finnish
French Canadian
French
Greek
Hungarian
Indian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Latin Americans
Persian
Russian
Spanish
Thai
Turkish
How higher context relates to other cultural metrics
Diversity
Higher context cultures are more common in the eastern cultures than in western, and in countries with low racial diversity. Cultures where the group/community is valued over the individual promote the in-groups and group reliance/support that favour higher context cultures. Co-existing subcultures are also conducive to higher context situations, where the small group relies on their common background to explain the situation, rather than words. A lower context culture tends to explain things further, and it is thought that this may be related to the need to accommodate individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds.
Tradition and History (Time-Orientation)
Higher context cultures tend to correlate with cultures that also have a strong sense of tradition and history, and change little over time.[citation needed] For example, the Native Americans is a higher context culture with a strong sense of tradition and history. The focus on tradition creates opportunities for higher context messages between individuals of each new generation. This is in contrast to lower context cultures in which the shared experiences upon which communication is built can change drastically from one generation to the next, creating communication gaps between parents and children, as in the United States.
Humor
A high-context joke from a high context culture will not translate well to someone of a different culture, even another high-context culture. Humor is very contextual, as a joke may not be considered very funny if it seems like it is over-explained using only low-context messages.
Adaptation
An individual moving to a higher or lower context culture may need to adapt and/or be accommodated in ways different than moving within cultures of similar context.
High to Low
An individual from a higher context culture may need to adapt and/or be accommodated when shifting to a low context culture. A lower context culture demands more independence, and expects many relationships, but fewer intimate ones. A high context individual is more likely to ask questions rather than attempt to work out a solution independently, and the questions are likely to be asked from the same few people. The high context person may be frustrated by people appearing to not want to develop a relationship or continue to help them on an ongoing basis. The term 'Hand-holding' might be used in an unintentional derogatory sense.
Low to High
An individual from a low context culture needs to adapt and/or be accommodated when shifting to a higher context culture. Higher context cultures expect small close-knit groups, and reliance on that group. Groups can actually be relied upon to support each other, and it may be difficult to get support outside of your group. Professional and personal lives often intertwine. A lower context individual may be more likely to try to work things out on their own and feel there is a lack of self-service support or information, rather than ask questions and take time to develop the relationships needed to accomplish the things that need to be done.