[thelist] [OT] Naming of platforms [was: Your favourite site backup utility?]

VOLKAN ÖZÇELİK volkan.ozcelik at gmail.com
Tue Nov 15 00:12:14 CST 2005


> One remarkable thing with human communication is, that much of the
> meanings a message carries are actually not present in the message, but
> come from the context. When we speak we often leave words out without
> any damage to the intelligibility of the sentence.

Just to deviate the flame a little.

The means of communication also depends on cultural context. The
cultures context may be divided into two (not so clear-cut)
categories: high-context cultures and low-context cultures (being any
of them is not a bad thing don't worry)

In low context cultures (like Sweden or the States) words -generally-
do not have side meanings. non-verbal behavior (i.e. body language)
and non-written context of the text is often ignored. There is a high
reliance on rules and legal paperwork. When communicating with these
kinds of cultures, one should give direct messages and be as clear as
possible. Because words carry all information, no additional meanings
are bound to them.

On the other hand, in high-context cultures (such as Saudi Arabia,
Japan and Turkey) people depend heavily on the situation, the context
of the message, non-verbal behavior in creating and interpreting
communications. In high context culture special emphasis is given on
background, (undocumented, non-verified by an independend third party)
personal reputation, and basic values. As you may guess, legal
paperwork is given least emphasis.

Contrary to low-context cultures, the best approach to give messages
to a high context culture is to give "indirect messages", taking
senses and feelings into account. (For instance japanese commercials
show beautiful scenery on the background most of the time). There,
words do not carry all info, and the whole "context" of the
communication is important.

HTH,
--
Volkan Ozcelik
+>Yep! I'm blogging! : http://www.volkanozcelik.com/volkanozcelik/blog/
+> My projects/studies/trials/errors : http://www.sarmal.com/



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