Nader Sammouri

OSAKA: The Japanese language contains numerous enigmatic expressions and as a result communication is left ambiguous. As for the MENA region, ambiguity exists in another form, in the sense of time.

“Ambiguity in language aims to create harmony with other people, putting them before the self. This act forces cultivation of emotional intelligence (EQ),” said Almoamen Abdalla, an Egyptian Professor at Tōkai University of Tokyo, with a doctorate in contrastive linguistics between Japanese and Arabic from Gakushūin University.

This explains why Japan is considered one of the highest context cultures—whereby communication relies on context– in the world due to its ambiguous structure. This differs from low context cultures that are more verbally direct.

“Aimai (曖昧)” is a Japanese concept that refers to “Ambiguity,” which is interwoven in Japanese culture and language.

 “I meet this mystery and ambiguity daily in my life in Japan. Adjusting to that made me a professional player in this game of deciphering vagueness in communication or what they call reading the air (空気読める). Nonetheless, many of our MENA cultures can slightly relate to ambiguity in communication.”

Abdalla recalls a quote by philologist and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein that says: “the limits of my language mean the limits of my world,” and explains it by saying that “the linguistic rules that are followed in arranging words and phrases have subconscious effects that shape the people who speak that language.”

Japanese is an implicit language, while English is an explicit language with its speakers leaning towards extroversion.

Saying “suki desu, (好きです)” which translates to “I like it, you, him, her, or them” in front of someone, for example, is a vague expression of liking an unspecified subject that requires a context to identify. The subject could be any nearby person, the design of the building in front, or even the sandwich in the other’s hand.

“When I was a fresh university student in Japan, I was having a chat with one of my classmates, when he suddenly commented, ‘I feel cold,’ which was his way of politely requesting if it was possible to turn up the air-conditioning,” Abdalla said.

These kinds of subtle insinuations in expressing ideas or in asking for something are continuously displayed in Japan, requiring attention and sensitivity to body language.

“When discussing disagreeable ideas with my Japanese counterparts, I receive a lot of nodding, and they appear to be listening exhaustively until the end of my speech without any interruption. In the end, they don’t submit any feedback and leave no clues to their thoughts. They don’t grant the discussion any conclusion, and may keep nodding or giving you the impression of someone approving,” Abdalla said, and goes on to explain the origin of that aspect in Japanese culture.

“The Japanese concepts of ‘Hairyo’ and ‘Enryo’ drives people to be careful of not being a bother for the people around them to the extent that they begin to cultivate a barrier, a hesitant manner, and a passive approach to communication.”

Ambiguity in expressing personal opinions also bruises connections with foreigners that may not be fully aware of communication practices in Japan.

There is one crucial matter that many countries in the MENA region are ambiguous about, and that is timing or punctuality. Opposed to the Japanese protocol concerning time, where punctuality is key.

Generally, time is somehow miss-calculated, devalued, or underestimated by many, causing delayed promises and postponed schedules. Therefore, one of the highest ambiguous forms in many countries in the Middle East is the perception of time.