{"id":183,"date":"2016-01-15T15:05:20","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T09:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ulatus.com\/blog\/?p=183"},"modified":"2024-12-04T20:09:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T14:39:31","slug":"translation-issues-associated-with-high-context-and-low-context-cultures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ulatus.com\/translation-blog\/translation-issues-associated-with-high-context-and-low-context-cultures\/","title":{"rendered":"Translation Issues Associated With High-context and Low-context Cultures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Translating and interpreting language is a challenging endeavor, but it becomes increasingly more complex when you need to translate what is not said. In many cultures, there is as much meaning to nonverbal cues as verbal ones, and in other cultures you never jump right into business without formality.<\/p>\n

When presenting your work, research, or business information, a direct translation may technically relay the information, but did your readers understand it the way you meant it? Did the information fit within the reader’s culture; was the presentation glorious or, heaven forbid, offensive.<\/p>\n

Are You Translating for a High-context or Low-context Culture<\/a>?<\/h2>\n

In the 1970’s, anthropologist Edward T. Hall coined the phrases “high-context culture” and “low- context culture.” In his work, “Beyond Culture”, Hall described these two different types of cultural relationships as they applied to information.<\/p>\n