photo by williamcho
Most of us have been living in Singapore for many years, and we should be very comfortable with our racial and cultural diversity by now. Although there are so many cultures in Singapore, are you finding it difficult to communicate with the people around you? Do you use explicit words to convey the meaning of your messages?
I will think that the answers to the above are no. After all, people of different races have assimilated very well into the big culture of Singapore. During communication, things are not spelt out explicitly for the listeners and the context in which the communication takes place at plays a critical role as well. We expect our listeners to get our message by placing it in the correct context. These are all indications of a high context culture.
We are also afraid to say no. For example, when a figure of higher authority tells us something, most of us will just obediently follow the instructions. Although we may not fully agree, we dare not voice out our disagreements and prefer to discuss the matter in a more subtle and roundabout way, otherwise known as verbal indirectness.
However, things are beginning to change. With a more pampered lifestyle compared to generations before us, we are more used to getting what we want. When things do not go our way, our dissatisfaction ring out loud and clear. We become more direct with our speech, stating definitively what we wish for and in turn, subscribing to a more low context culture.
Which one do you prefer? Are you for us moving towards the low context of the spectrum?
5 comments:
i personally feel that singapore is moving towards the high context society. it is a slow change but over time im sure our country will soon find herself standing with other high context societies. i personally am a very high context person i like visuals more than words. visuals let you interpret things different each time u view it. take high context advertising for instance, everytime i view something vague, i will see in according to how i feel at that moment and viewing it again will probably change the meaning. this kinda means that there is "more than one" advert and this will help people in singapore think out of the box more.
I guess living in the complex society we have, we tend to develop both ways. We tend to see the situation before choosing to voice out our displeasures or so. If the situation demands it, we will speak up. If the situation is something which we need to act in a more indirect manner, we will do it.
I still feel that everyone should know their own position, and know the right time or place to speak up. I do not think that any random person can raise their dissatisfaction or displeasure when and where they feel like. I agree with kai siang, it all depends on the situation. like we have always heard in class..."IT DEPENDS..." haha
Societies will change over time. This is inevitable due to the effects of globalisation.
The issue here is whether our society is changing for the better or for the worse? How will we be able to determine which is which?
For example, the young in the West are expected to leave the house once they turn 18 or 21. In Asian societies, they are expected to continue to live with their parents in order to support them.
There are different societies and therefore varying societal norms. The line between high context societies and low context ones will begin to blur. As some of you already pointed out, Singapore already exhibits traits from both types.
i think that we are slowly moving towards a low context culture, and i see that as a good thing because i think it's important for people to communicate their needs or dissatisfaction instead of keeping quiet. however, i don't think that singapore can ever fully be a low context culture, because we're still an asian country with asian values and culture ingrained in us.
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