Western communication has what linguists call a "transmitter orientation"--that is, it is considered the responsibility of the speaker to communicated ideas clearly and unambiguously. Even in the case of the Air Florida crash, where the first officer never does more than hint about the danger posed by the ice, he still hints four times, phrasing his comments four different ways, in an attempt to make his meaning clear. He may have been constrained by the power distance between himself and the captain, but he was still operating within a Western cultural context, which holds that if there is confusion, it is the fault of the speaker.

But Korea, like many Asian countries, is receiver oriented. It is up to the listener to make sense of what is being said.

--Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

Communication has never been my strong point. It's snowing in April.