Cultural Differences between Slovenians and Latvians

Each country is an individual entity and the more distant the countries are, the more differences can be spotted. This time, I will take a look at the cultural differences between Slovenians and Latvians, mainly in the work attitude and everyday life.

Slovenia is located next to the Adriatic Sea and it is a country in the Central Europe with rather mild climate and quite welcoming and open people, meanwhile Latvia is located next to the Baltic Sea and is a northern country with a harsher climate and more closed people. Between the two capitals, there is around 1380 km air distance and 1728 km driving distance. The location and the distance suggest that cultural differences are the result of natural circumstances that cannot be avoided.

Source: Loner Wolf

One of the first differences you can spot between the residents of both countries is that Slovenians are more open. People from northern European countries tend to be more reserved and value as well as need more private space. The American anthropologist Edward T. Hall divided personal distance between people into zones. His division has been accepted  in America as well as outside its boarders and has also been widely used in business and other spheres. According to his theory, the personal space zone is from 0.45 m to 1.22 m and intimate space ranges up to 46 cm. The personal space is mainly reserved for friends and acquaintances. The intimate space is mainly reserved for very close friends, family and pets. Invading one’s personal space can lead to misunderstandings, discomfort and other unpleasant incidents. It’s worth noting that one’s comfort zone can be interrupted rather easily, for example, when riding in a public transportation etc. In Latvia a light hug or kiss are considered rather inappropriate in the workplace and sometimes, in a more conservative environment, can be considered suspicious. In Slovenia, coworkers can give a brief hug when meeting or saying goodbye. In Latvia, workers in most cases only exchange a handshake, but most often they simply greet each other verbally. In Latvia, not interrupting someone’s personal space in a business context is showing respect for that person.. In an informal setting, Latvians are still more reserved than Slovenians and hold at least the previously indicated 45 cm personal space when talking to friends, which makes everybody feel comfortable.

There’s also a significant difference in the way people in Slovenia and Latvia verbally communicate in the public space. In Slovenia, even unknown people greet and say goodbye to each other, for instance in lifts, markets etc. I am not trying to say that these simple words are considered rude in Latvia, but there is almost no place where you would have to address strangers except if you would want to get in contact with them. It’s common practice to pass strangers without giving them a second glance. In the markets and shops, you get greeted only when you are at the cash desk. In Slovenia, you often get addressed straight after entering the shop. Slovenians also say that if you want something, you can just ask, especially when living in shared living space. This can involve for instance asking a complete stranger for some simple things like cooking utensils. This might seem as an ordinary thing for Slovenians, but Latvians are less likely to ask even a close neighbor if they need something. For me personally asking for something still is a challenge as from my perspective it seems that you should be independent and be able to figure out things yourself or let it stay the way it is.

Slovenians don’t seem to be intimidated by strangers and one of the possible reasons is the low crime level. According to Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide, the level of crime index in Slovenia is very low - 17.07, the crimes described also include offences such as being insulted, attacked, mugged or robbed, getting a car stolen and alike. The overall safety index of Slovenia is 72.58, for which it is considered a safe country. However, in Slovenia corruption and bribery are very much present and cause problems (71.84). The crime index in Latvia is 39.23 and the safety index is 60.77, which is quite moderate. The most frequent offences are theft of personal belonging prom parked cars, assault, armed rubbery and property crimes. The corruption and bribery index is 64.58, which means it’s quite high there, as well. As the statistics show, due to a rather high petty crime level, people in Latvia tend to be suspicious and avoid strangers. It is especially noticeable during the night time, which is when most thefts and attacks happen. It is most likely that people will rather avoid making eye contact so that you wouldn’t draw additional attention. In Slovenia, a brief greeting is also not that common during the night time, but there is no feeling of avoidance. For Slovenes, greeting is more about a simple acknowledgment of other people’s existence and indicator that he or she has been noticed. Latvians generally don’t see a point in that, especially in cities. The Latvian capital is more hectic than Ljubljana and people are more likely to accidentally bump into you than say ''hi''.

Differences can also be spotted in the body language. For Slovenes, smiling and eye contact are quite important. For Latvians, they are toned down and thus people are more reserved. In professional and other environments, they don’t show emotions and attention in such a direct manner, especially to the people whom they are not well acquainted with. If some stranger smiles and greets them, many Latvians consider that person is not in his right mind or that he has bad intentions. On the other hand, Slovenes find a situation when someone does not greet and smile back as awkward. They might think that the person is sad or even angry (at them). But that is not always the case, especially in Latvia. It is quite a struggle that is still a problem to me as some behavior patters are part of your personality. Some non-formal happenings like going on trips with who were unknown first have had some positive impact also on my behavior in Slovenia. The process took approximately two months for me. At the beginning of my stay in Ljubljana I attended some events organized by the student organization ŠOU and the University of Ljubljana and then it proceeded from there. On the other hand, a person can be stuck just doing his own things like studying, working and being alone after these things are done so you would keep yourself busy as much as possible. The part of socializing is valuable. This is also how you can get to know the Slovenian culture, for example, through the Slovenian movie evenings that were organized and hopefully will still be organized by the students of the University of Ljubljana.

The concepts of social behavior are shaped by one’s nationality and the society as well as other circumstances each person faces. You can get lucky and meet the people you feel safe around or you can be left alone and look with suspicion towards everything around. I don’t mean that each Latvian or Slovene is as described above. It must be kept in mind that you can spot big differences even among family members. On the other hand, Slovenians and Latvians are Europeans, who are influenced by the West, thus it is not that hard to adapt. You can change your body language, but the private space, insecurity regarding unknown, and other things are not that easily changed, sometimes they’re even near to impossible. Therefore, for other people it is essential to know and accept the cultural differences that some person still might reveal despite the time he or she has had to accustom to the new environment, even when that new environment is friendly and there are some other factors that should help the person fit into the society.

Distance Between the Cities Places on Map (Accessed: http://www.distancefromto.net/)

Personal Distance – Divided by Zones (Accessed: http://www.study-body-language.com/Personal-distance.html)
Crime Rates in Slovenia (Accessed: http://www.numbeo.com/crime/country_result.jsp?country=Slovenia)
Crime Rates in Riga (Accessed: http://www.numbeo.com/crime/city_result.jsp?country=Latvia&city=Riga)