Page 41 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

28 Silence in Intercultural Communication

self-expression and direct negotiation are more common (Kunihiro 1974; Miller
1994b; Pritchard 1995).

2.6.5 Underelaboration

Underelaborated speech of the Japanese is another type of silence which often
comes under attention. Although in the literature on Japanese and their commu-
nicative style, there are numerous comments on values like taciturnity, such as “a
man of few words is trusted more than a man of many words” (Lebra 1987: 345),
specific accounts of underelaborated communication by Japanese are again
discussed in their communication in English with native speakers of English.
Neustupný (1985) states that one of the problems in Australian-Japanese con-
tact situations is avoidance of communication by Japanese, which includes “lack
of elaboration” (p. 54). In relation to this, he reports a study by Marriott (1984)
which found that one of the reasons Japanese speakers of English were negatively
evaluated by native speakers of English was that they did not manage to supply
enough topics or expand and elaborate on topics introduced by native speakers.
Asaoka (1987) also reports that Australian participants at a party found Japanese
participants uncooperative, and says this can be explained by the Japanese par-
ticipants’ avoidance and insufficient provision of suitable topics. However, pro-
ficiency may again be playing a role in these studies, as Japanese participants’
inability to comprehend or formulate propositional content of communication
was reported in both Marriott (1984) and Asaoka (1987).
Another instance of underelaboration by Japanese speakers of English is re-
ported by Ross (1998), who examined Japanese interviewees’ underelaborated
responses in oral proficiency interviews in English. The underelaboration was
described as “the minimalist approach” and a strategy “in which they transfer
the pragmatics of interview interaction from their own culture” (Ross 1998: 339,
drawing on House 1993; see also Roberts & Sayers 1987; Tannen 1993b). Fur-
thermore, Ross (1998) notes that the underelaboration is perceived as a marked
behaviour and can be negatively evaluated by the interviewer as an inappropriate
response in these interview situations. Drawing on Barnlund (1975) and Lebra
(1987), Ross (1998) goes on to say that in Japanese, interviewees are not expected
to provide “superficially trivial factual information,” since “appearing superfluous
or verbose” has a negative impact in Japanese culture (p. 339). Moreover, he sug-
gests that questions which address personal issues may receive minimal responses
as Japanese interviewees are likely to be sensitive about discussing or exposing
personal matters in formal occasions such as language proficiency interviews.
Similarly, Young & Halleck (1998) discuss their study of language proficiency in-