Uchikura & Co., LLC

Language Is Not the Real Barrier — Thinking Is

 

People often say language is the biggest barrier in international business. I do not think that is true. Language is only the surface.

 

Understanding the words is one thing. Understanding how people think is something entirely different.

 

Even if you understand the language and culture, you may still fail to understand how the other side builds their logic. Different countries organize ideas differently. The way people explain a problem, build an argument, or reach a conclusion can be completely different.

 

I see this very often on social media.

 

I write blogs and posts in English, and I receive many comments from people around the world. Some of them are thoughtful and interesting. But to be honest, sometimes I read a comment two or three times and still have no idea what the person is trying to say.

 

It is not necessarily bad English. The grammar may even be correct. But the way the idea is constructed, the logic behind the argument, or the cultural assumptions behind the words make it very difficult for me to understand the real point.

 

This is exactly the challenge in international business.

 

If you want to sell products in Japan, it is not enough to understand what Japanese customers say. You must understand why they say it that way. Sometimes “we will consider it” means no. Sometimes silence means disagreement.

 

The same problem exists when Japanese companies try to sell to the United States or other countries. The explanation may be clear in Japanese thinking, but confusing to someone who builds logic differently.

 

Many people believe translation solves the problem. It does not. Translation converts words, but it does not translate thinking.

 

In global business, the companies that succeed are not the ones that speak the most languages.

 

They are the ones that understand how people think behind the language.