4.2. The effect of culture on the communication process People in different cultures communicate among themselves differently. The major differences in how people from different cultures communicate with each other are language usage, verbal style, and nonverbal communication.
Two people may speak the same language but speak it quite differently. For example, people from the United States and England both speak English, but the meaning of certain words is quite different, sometimes even opposite, in the two countries.
Verbal communication styles are another way for cultures to vary in their communication patterns. In cultures employing a direct style, the speaker tries to convey his true feelings through the choice of words. In the indirect style, the speaker selects words to hide his real feelings. For example, North Americans using the direct style say, »No« or »I can't do that« if they are unable to make a particular deal. In contrast, a Korean speaker might say, »It might be possible«, or »It's interesting in principle«, rather say »no« directly. The direct style is common in individualistic, low-context cultures, and the indirect style in collective, higt - context cultures. The direct style allows the individualist to express his own ideas clearly. The collectivistic orientation is to maintain group harmony and concern for the feelings of other (Brislin, 1993)