Okamoto: Do ​​you know about high-context and low-context culture? Japan is an island country, and even if we talk about the same thing, we have the same background, so it has the highest context. It is said that the most low-context country is Switzerland, where the background and language are different.

David: I thought America was the low context.

Okamoto: That's right. But the scholar who advocated it, Edward T. Hall, said so. When you think about it, Swiss people explain everything. For example, if you say you are going shopping, what will you buy and where will you go? It's a long story (laughs).

David: You speak too slowly. time consuming.

Okamoto: That's right. However, since Swiss culture also places great importance on harmony, there are times when I wonder if we can understand each other without doing that.

David: There are many similarities between Switzerland and Japan. Swiss people speak because they want to convey information or because they need to have a discussion when something happens.

Okamoto: People in Switzerland think about the future. If you don't properly convey information to the person you're talking to, you'll be in trouble if something happens.

David: The Swiss especially don't like ambiguity. It's logical, so I'm not good at not being able to explain something, and there's no waste in talking. Be discreet, indirect, polite, and avoid conflict.

Okamoto: What do you do when faced with something that you cannot explain logically? For example, when I encounter something very natural and beautiful.

David: It's difficult. That may be a weak point of the Swiss. For example, if you say something like "because you're beautiful" or "because I like you" at school, you're out immediately. So maybe Switzerland is strong in graphics and architecture.

Okamoto: That seems to be related to why Davi didn't feel utopia in Switzerland.

Acquiring a new language is also a tool to get closer to utopia

David: The Japanese culture of being able to understand something without having to say it was rather utopian, wasn't it? When I first came to Japan, I thought that the ability of Japanese people to read the atmosphere was amazing. I always thought I was good at it, but in Switzerland it wasn't accepted at all. But in Japan, people who can't read the atmosphere are considered useless people, right? Now I think it's a hassle sometimes, but at first I thought it was really beautiful.

Okamoto: That's right. In Japan, there is a saying, "Okagesama de". This means that the person you are talking to is not a shadow, nor is it anyone's shadow, but appreciates the shadows of various things. From those words, I think Japan is a country that sees the invisible.

David: Words themselves have a lot to do with thoughts and actions. As I studied Japanese and gradually became able to speak it, I suddenly became able to express things that had been in me for a long time but could not be grasped. When you can say it, it becomes a reality. Even if it is there, you can't grasp it without the language, and since you think in the language in the first place, you can't think about it without the language of the country. Therefore, when you understand a language that is completely different from your mother tongue, your thoughts will naturally increase.

Okamoto: That's interesting.

David: On the other hand, Switzerland seems to have no grammar, so you can speak very freely and you can make up your own words. That's something you can't do in Japan, and it was pretty fun.

Okamoto: The German used in Switzerland is colloquially called Swiss-German. The typeface uses standard German, which is called High German.

David: Yes. That's why I can play with words, or rather, I think about words because there's no mistake, and if the wording is interesting, other people pick it up and the word gradually becomes mainstream.

Okamoto: It's a flexible language, isn't it? When I'm in Switzerland, I feel comfortable with the mix of languages. For example, although German is the main language in Bern, it is also located between German and French-speaking countries, so French and German are used for communication between people from different language regions, with occasional English. It is The feeling of being allowed to not stay in one place is also utopian.

David: I have the same feeling when I'm talking to my daughter. Because German and Japanese are mixed in the conversation.

Okamoto: Switzerland speaks French, German, Italian and English. Also, although they may not speak much, they also speak Romansh. So when I'm in Japan, I think "Swiss is a genius!", but when I come to Switzerland, I think I have to be able to speak not only German, but also French and Italian. It makes me feel more free. It's different from smooth communication. I've come to really think about the origins of words, and I really feel that communicating in one language is not the concept of words.

David: You have more tools.

Okamoto: In terms of grasping something in yourself, I think that the way to reach people in English, Japanese or French, is completely different from the concept of the language. In that sense, concepts and ideas that have never been output before can be used in multiple ways by using various words, and you may feel more free.

Utopia is something that is shared with others and becomes a reality

David: I think that utopia cannot be created by one person alone. First, we need two people. It's not a reality yet, so I can't see it even if I imagine it alone. But if you have two people, you can share it with someone. By doing so, I think it will become a reality for the first time.

Okamoto: Utopia is fluffy like heaven, and when other people enter, it may become a reality that it's here.

David: Writer Jorge Luis Borges, who said that “most memories are created by forgetting,” depicts a “labyrinth” world that emerges between dreams and reality, but now he is with his daughter. I feel that sometimes. She's still a child, so the world seems completely different to her, but I also vaguely remember my childhood, and there's our little utopia.

Okamoto: It's fun to dream, but it's even more fun to make it concrete. I'm the type of person who wants to make it happen.

David: I'm pretty satisfied with my imagination. Therefore, it will be realized by changing the environment. A friend told me that before. "You can always choose, but you can't control it." You can't control your environment (towards your utopia), but you can choose the environment you want to live in and make it fit your imagination.

Okamoto: I think it would be good for more people in Japan to do the work of changing their environment, meeting various people, and not giving up on realizing their own utopia. .

David: That's very important. There are individual utopias, but there are also societal utopias. So is design fiction.

Okamoto: Design fiction and speculative design have recently become standard ideas. Design is basically reality, but when you think of it as fiction, it becomes an object and becomes closer to art. By doing so, it is a design that spreads hints of the future toward reality.

David: Yes. With so many science fiction movies coming out in the 80s, everyone was able to create a vision for the future.

Okamoto: Surprisingly, sometimes fiction becomes reality.

David: I would like to do a workshop like that.

Okamoto: The design fiction approach is a way of thinking that seems a little far-fetched to the general end user, but when I was a student, I liked seeing that kind of design, and it was stimulating, so I decided to use it for young people. I think it's great. It will give you an opportunity to reconsider and improve your thinking.

Written by Tomoko Ogawa

Photo by Simon Bcc ( https://www.smnbcc.com/ )