Page 18 - Silence in Intercultural Communication

chapter 2

A review of silence
in intercultural communication

2.1 Overview

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the role of silence in com-
munication in the field of linguistics (cf. Jaworski & Stephens 1998). Researchers
have indicated that silence is not simply an absence of noise but constitutes a part
of communication as important as speech (e.g. Blimes 1994; Jaworski 1993, 1997;
Sacks et al. 1974; Tannen & Saville-Troike 1985). Yet, since silence is such a multi-
faceted and ambiguous phenomenon, it is a challenging task to study. This chap-
ter begins with an overview of the forms and functions of silence. Next, literature
on silence from intercultural and cross-cultural perspectives, including silence in
multicultural classroom settings, will be discussed. This is followed by a review of
existing studies in silence in Japanese communication. Finally, I will introduce a
model for interpreting silence in intercultural classroom settings as a framework
for my data analysis and discussions in the ensuing chapters of the book.

2.2 Preliminaries: Silence in communication

2.2.1 Forms of silence

Silence takes various forms. Silence at a macro level may involve a total with-
drawal of speech at a communicative event; for example, the unanimous silence
of the participants in ritual or religious events such as in American Indian or Af-
rican tribal communities (e.g. Basso 1972; Nwoye 1985; Maltz 1985). It can also
include silence of individuals while others are talking as in classroom (e.g. Jawor-
ski & Sachdev 1998) or courtroom interaction (e.g. Eades 2000). There is also the
temporary silence of a whole participating group or certain individuals during a
certain speech event. In ordinary conversation, some participants remain silent
for a certain period of time while others engage in conversation.