Returning to a Familiar Culture: Are you being sarcastic...?

Danielle Taylor
Oct. 1, 2014
Cross-Cultural Prep
Dr. Kirsten Sheppard 

Returning to a Familiar Culture

          As a person who is considered low-context that will be studying in a country of the same nature, one of my greatest strengths is going to be my ability to communicate with residents of my host country directly and effectively.  One of the things I will be able to understand and, ultimately, appreciate because of this is that the blunt attitudes that others consider rude and even passive aggressive are common where I am from and where I am going.  There is no ill intent behind answering a question directly, and I want to be able to make a point of ensuring that people I meet are aware that I won't beat around the bush with them, whether it be in Germany, the United States, or another country.  Business is based on communication, and it is important that one can lay out the goals and milestones necessary to reach what they are working towards.

          However, the language barrier I will be facing may take away from some of that directness, so I need to be able to ask myself, "How can I say what I want without wasting time trying to come up with a round-about way to say it?"  I need to be able to focus on the goal and choose two or three descriptive words to portray what I want to say if I cannot think of how to say it directly.  As for my own culture, I hope to learn also the nuances behind what we say as compared to what someone in Germany might say.  Since they are more direct, I'm hoping that the bluntness I notice there will enable me to be more sensitive to the subtle differences in the way an American speaks to me.