German Culture

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that German culture is a "low context" culture where cultural messages are found primarily in the spoken or written word, with contextual information adding relatively little to the overall message, whereas Middle Eastern and East Indian cultures tend to be marked by meanings that are implicit and mediated by details of the situation, relationships, and non-verbal messages. The author points out that, compared to the French, Germans are famous for their direct and to-the-point speech and their insistence on following the letter of the social and legal code. The paper suggests that the Oktoberfest festival provides a temporary antidote to the strictness and formality of German culture in a specifically designed, celebratory space. .

From the Paper:

"However, Americans might be struck by the use of alcohol as a release from constraint, and the emphasis on sheer volume of beer consumed. Furthermore, the polka music and the emphasis on the cuteness of the lederhosen and attire worn by many of the Oktoberfest participants, another form of release from formality, might strike the eye as strange. The German release from social norms, therefore, is not simply alcoholically created. It is an entire experience that allows German individuals to be liberated from adult expectations and to enter an almost childlike, false historical world."

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