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Ambiguity In Japanese Communication

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Weakness of Japanese Ambiguity
Japanese people have a unique characteristic in communication, which is ambiguity. It is clearly reflected on their way to communicate. A foreign student who was studying abroad in Japan was surprised with hearing the conversation of two Japanese people that was succeeded only the two word, dozo and domo (Nakata et al. 47). This is one of the Japanese represent of ambiguities. Japanese people often talk omitting especially the most important part of the sentence. In this conversation, dozo just means “please”, and domo means “very”. Not only the verbal expression, you can also see Japanese ambiguity in their communication, which is a cultural spirit of sassuru in Japan. It means guessing or sensing, they pay …show more content…

Collectivism is also a big part of Japanese sense, which has been dominated Japanese sense. It is said that the start of Japanese collectivism is an ancient culture of agriculture because people who live in the agricultural area have to live helping each other as a group for the big purpose, harvesting in contrast with nomadic culture prompts autonomous individuals (Hayasaka 111). Therefore, it might be true that because of such a closed environment, Japanese people had been cultivated the strong sense of community, and it leads to cautiously care about their behavior, so it can be interpreted Japanese ambiguity has a historical bond. Also, it will be said that it is essential for Japanese people even today. It is formed as an effective method of getting along in a community in Japan, and it is used in many situations today. Those ambiguous expressions are considered to be a more polite way to express in Japan, and it is rather a manner in their communication. However, recently Japanese society is getting more and more westernized, and also it is tends to change into individualistic. Ambiguity is formed to keep social balance in early community, but it is not that important at this time. Even if it is significant for their historical background or as a matter of courtesy, it can be conveyed only among Japanese people. The current environment of communication is more intercultural, and people should beware of how they convey their intention accurately negotiating language and cultural differences. Also among Japanese people, because they are gathering from many parts of Japan, there might be cultural differences. It was closed community long time ago, but it is not today. In such a recent situation, it is better that ambiguous expression should not be

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