Silence in English Cross-Cultural Interaction

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the use of silence during interactions in the English language, cross-culturally, to determine if it is as effective as speech. It seeks to shed light on how British, American, Irish, and Canadian interlocutors use and interpret different types of silence and the functions it fulfills. The hypothesis posits that silence is universally employed by all interlocutors in all cultures and enhances the dynamics of interaction. The data consists of conversations from fifteen video-recorded English TV interviews, adopting Saville-Troike's (1985) and Nakane's (2007) models of analysis. The study concludes that silence serves the function of speech in transmitting and receiving messages, facilitating the aim of communication. Moreover, interlocutors from different cultures within the same language employ silence universally. Verbal and nonverbal communications, including silence, are inseparable, each playing a significant role. Their combined usage enhances the power of communication. Silence serves various functions beyond mere acceptance and refusal; it also encompasses face-saving and face-threatening strategies. Regarding cross-cultural differences in using silence in English, British interlocutors recorded the highest use of silence, followed by Americans, then the Irish, and lastly the Canadians. In addition, the use of silence varies depending on the context of the situation, the conversation's topic, the personalities of the interlocutors, their age, and their level of education.