0416 – Silence In Different Cultures

2022.02.20 – 0416 – Silence In Different Cultures

Silence for different cultures

In general, eastern cultures value silence more than word-rich western ones.

In their book ‘Communication between cultures’ Samovar and Porter, elaborate using an example: “In response to the question: ‘Will you marry me?’ Silence in English would be interpreted as uncertainty, in Japanese it would be interpreted as acceptance, in Igbo (Southeastern Nigeria) it would be considered as a denial if the woman was to continue to stand there and acceptance if she ran away.” [1]

And of course, if you are reading or presenting for those who have your first language as their second, they may need additional time to process what you are saying.

[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-silence-alok-vishwakarma-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AD%E3%82%AF-

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