We all know that our success in life largely depends on how good communicators we are. New immigrants often believe that just learning vocabulary and grammar makes them effective communicators in Estonia and solves all problems. However, in the long run they notice that they have misunderstandings and conflicts all over the place. Observing the cultural differences in the communication styles and practices of new immigrants in Estonia and other European countries, I have recorded several cultural differences that lead to conflict and misunderstanding instead of success.
We recently saw a case in the media where a group of Arabs tried to change their driving licenses in Estonia, however, they caused a media event by threatening the officials. The main reason for the conflict was that although the Arabs spoke Estonian, they used a totally different style of communication from Estonians. It was really interesting to see how the officials tried to explain the rules according to their own style of direct communication; however, since Arabs and Estonians have very different listening and speaking habits, the Arabs did not understand the message, but perceived it as hostile behavior and responded with threats. For Estonians, on the other hand, it is difficult to understand that speaking in a fickle and high-pitched manner can show sincerity in other cultures, and is therefore generally perceived as aggressive behavior.
There are huge cultural differences in low and high context communication, in how to approach other people, how to say what is relevant, in body language, in direct and indirect communication styles, as well as in values and norms. The officials who analyzed the situation claimed that the Arabs did not listen to them, that they talked about irrelevant things, did not obey the rules and threatened the officials. Customer servants usually claim that Arabs do not understand the meaning of the word “no”, do not understand that it really means that “something is not possible.” They seem to think they just have to explain more and come back the next day with a bigger group and talk louder. From my experience, Arabs tend to use the same communication behavior over and over again in different situations in Estonia, even though they never reach their goals.
Arabic and Estonian cultures can be distinguished in terms of direct and indirect communication styles. Estonia’s cultural preference is for clear and direct communication, as evidenced by common expressions such as “Ära keeruta!” (Don’t beat around the bush), “Räägi asjast! (Get to the point). As we see in these two examples, Estonians use even fewer words to express these phrases than English speakers, which means they really prefer to get to the point. pointing as quickly as possible without wasting time, as that’s how they feel when someone talks too much about “irrelevant” things.In high-context communication (such as Arabic), much of the “burden of meaning” seems to fall on the In low-context cultures (such as Estonian), the burden of accurately and fully conveying meaning in one’s oral or written message seems to fall on the speaker (Hall, 1976) of the indirect message and is perceived as a waste of time I have witnessed many conflicts that have arisen just because a person from another culture talks too much and for too long.
The direct style strives to represent the facts accurately and avoids emotional nuances and suggestive allusions. The indirect communication style, which is more common among Arabs, is instead ambiguous and emotionally rich. The desire for precision is not as important as creating emotional resonance. It is difficult for Estonians to understand that speaking loudly and in a raised tone can show sincerity in other cultures and therefore is generally perceived as aggressive and hostile behaviour.
Although Arabs consider themselves representatives of the indirect communication style, the Arabic language seems to be, in many ways, much more direct than English or Estonian. For example, in Estonian you can’t tell someone “I want this!” or “You must do this!”. Instead, it is often paraphrased as a question or the conditional mood “Ma sooviksin…” (I would like to have…) is used, “Kas oleks võimalik/kas ma saaksin…?” (Would it be possible?) Could it…?). In such cases, Arabs tend to use, according to the structure of the Arabic language, a rather direct approach that can shock officials, clients’ servants and everyone else in Estonia because it sounds aggressive. Also, just like in the German language, there are familiar and polite ways to say “you” (Sina – Du, Teie – Sie) and in the context of official communication between strangers, only the polite way is always used, as it allows keep your distance and show respect. This is definitely another reason why Estonians consider the communication style of Arabs to be aggressive.
Up to now we have been training only staff and customer service on these topics to reduce intercultural conflicts in Estonia; however, this does not make new immigrants more successful communicators. In ordinary language courses, language teachers are not aware of cultural differences in communication styles and cannot teach those skills. The Estonian language course books are not designed to teach intercultural communication or how to be successful in business and in life. That is why it is relevant to offer seminars and training materials for new immigrants to increase their cultural awareness and teach how to achieve their communication goals in Estonia.