“Context is primary.” It’s not an axiom limited to grammar. We know this, intellectually. I can say the same sentence in three different tones of voice or the same sentence in the same tone of voice with three different body postures and communicate vastly different messages with each combination. That’s to say nothing of the reaction evoked in my conversation partner.

Acronyms for communication tools are a nice technique, and when relationship becomes a technique we can be content to check the box for that online training module. Since a relationship (i.e., culture) also involves a felt experience with another person (I.e., emotion), we get to wonder how our emotional state contributes to the context.