34.1402, Review: Applied Linguistics, Pragmatics: Chepinchikj (2022)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-1402. Thu May 04 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.1402, Review: Applied Linguistics, Pragmatics: Chepinchikj (2022)

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Date: 23-Mar-2023
From: Neda Chepinchikj [neda.cepincic at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics, Pragmatics: Chepinchikj (2022)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/33.3071

AUTHOR: Neda Chepinchikj
TITLE: Silence as Language
SUBTITLE: Verbal Silence as a Means of Expression
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2022

REVIEWER: Neda Chepinchikj

SUMMARY

Rarely is silence the object of analysis in linguistics. Silence as a
means of expression on a par with language is given its due attention
and focus in a little over 300 pages in this book. However, it is not
all kinds of silence that this volume addresses but merely those
instances where silence acts like language, i.e. verbal silence, as
the author refers to it. After delineating the bounds of verbal
silence as well as the scope of the volume, the author discusses in
great detail the forms of verbal silence, from phonetic to lexical,
followed by its functions, based on Jakobson’s (1960) communication
model.

What makes verbal silence a linguistic means of expression is that it
has to be purposeful, i.e. it needs to be a deliberate choice of the
speaker or writer to communicate specific content, which is otherwise
communicated by language and, even more so, expected to be conveyed by
verbal means. Since verbal silence is characterised as being the
absence of language but within the same realm, it is positioned within
the form plane, which is verbal, together with speech. As such, it is
meaningful, treated as part of language and subject to the same
linguistic rules and concepts for describing speech. Ephratt defines
verbal silence as “[u]narticulated verbal signifiers chosen by the
addresser, that is, the speaker (holding the floor) as a verbal means
of expression (in place of particular articulated speech) signifying
meaningful content” (p. 37). The speaker or writer uses their
surrounding words to point to the coming silence and these verbal
signals are qualified as forerunners of verbal silence. Forerunners
can be grammatical or lexical and they signal the various forms of
verbal silences, which the author discusses and exemplifies in detail
in the first part of the book.

The forms of verbal silence are classified along the same lines as
language is. Thus, the author exemplifies and discusses phonetic
verbal silence, where phonemes in words have been deliberately removed
to make meaning. The next level is morphology, where morphological
verbal silence is connected to intentional leaving out of an expected
morpheme or a verbal particle, which carries the meaning of that
morpheme or particle. The author further discusses morphosyntactic
verbal silence, which includes leaving out of function words, such as
articles, as well as the non-articulation of the agent in passive
voice utterances. While this categorisation is supported by the
syntactic functions of the morphemes that are not articulated, the
syntactic verbal silence is a separate form of verbal silence, where
syntactic components are left out or unarticulated as an intentional
means of expression. This category is further subdivided into a few
sub-categories, depending on which syntactic element is absent from
the sentence: the subject, the predicate, the entire verb phrase or
just its head, auxiliary or modal verb, the verb complements or
adjuncts, parts of the prepositional phrase, parts of the adjectival
or adverbial phrase, the prepositions and connectives, or the conjunct
of a coordinating or subordinating clause. Finally, this part of the
book concludes with a discussion of the lexical verbal silence, which
refers to the lexical components that indicate intentional silence.
The sub-categories discussed and exemplified are speech and silence
words signalling verbal silences, intertextuality as verbal silence,
verbal silence indicating taboo, proper names and part-whole relations
involving verbal silence. The examples the author uses to exemplify
all the forms of verbal silence covered in this volume come from
spoken, written and sign language, as well as from a range of genres,
such as prose, poetry, advertisements, speeches and everyday
conversations, in English and in other languages. This shows the
ubiquity of verbal silence as a means of expression permeating all
spheres of language use.

The discussion of the functions of verbal silence follows Jakobson’s
(1960) model of communication, with its six components, but also
includes one more function, not covered by Jakobson. This is the
circumstantial function of language and verbal silence. Similar to the
discussion of its forms, the functions of verbal silence are aligned
with the ones of language. Ephratt delves into all these various
functions separately and illustrates them with examples from both
writing and speech. The functions discussed are the referential, the
emotive, the conative, the phatic, the poetic and the metalinguistic
functions (as per Jakobson, 1960), as well as the circumstantial
function, which was not included in Jakobson’s communication model.
Each of these functions explores the role and significance of verbal
silence as it pertains to the content of the message, the addresser,
the addressee, the channel of communication, the aesthetics of the
message, the code of the message and finally the cultural or ritual
environment of the message.

EVALUATION

This volume represents a systematic and exhaustive account of silence
as a means of verbal communication and is quite unique in the way it
organises and discusses the matter at hand. As such, it is a very
welcome addition to the linguistic literature, as very few authors
have dealt with verbal silence in a theoretical manner so far (e.g.
Adler, 2007; Arlow, 1961; Baker, 1955; Basso, 1972; Bilmes, 1994;
Blackmur, 1957; Jaworski, 1993). Thus, it is a very useful read for
both theoretical linguists and applied linguists, as well as for
writers, dramatists and other language practitioners – in short, for
anyone who has an interest in learning more about verbal silence and
its affordances and uses.

The author skilfully approaches the topic and guides the reader
through the extensive study, thereby achieving the aim set forth in
the Introduction: to present the “realised forms in language in
general, and in specific languages in particular, by focusing on and
hence elucidating this unique verbal means” (p. 1). The discussion of
verbal silence throughout the volume demonstrates that it is by no
means an empty tool, but a meaningful means of expression and, as
such, no less significant or useful than language. Silence as an
instrument of communication, as this study shows, is a vast and
largely unexplored domain of human activity, so it deserves more
attention and examination in scholarly work.

By setting the goal of this study, which, as already stated above, is
providing a systematic and detailed examination of verbal silence as a
means of communication within the linguistic domain of enquiry, the
author not only succeeds in her endeavour, but also calls for filling
in the gap in this area through more research into verbal silence.
Ephratt also skilfully builds the argument for the significance of
verbal silence and its equal status to language through a rigorous
review of relevant studies of both verbal silence and linguistic forms
and functions, pointing to the contribution of all these to the
development of theoretical linguistics.
Speaking of contribution, it is imperative to emphasise the
significance of this volume to not only the study of verbal silence
but also, more broadly, to the advancement of linguistics. The enquiry
into verbal silence, as the author suggests, is indispensable for a
holistic approach to linguistic enquiry. While Ephratt explicitly
recognises the primacy of language, it becomes more obvious against
the canvas of verbal silence, which, by complementing language, brings
forth the variety and meaning of linguistic forms and functions.

While this book does not purport to answer all the questions
surrounding the concept of verbal silence, be those theoretical or
empirical, it does identify the issues connected to it, such as its
definition and position with respect to language and other types of
silence that cannot be used as means of communication. The author also
presents the implications of not having any detailed investigation of
verbal silence as a lack and a serious omission in the linguistic
scholarship. Therefore, this book makes a valuable contribution to
linguistics and opens the path to further research in the realm of
silence as an instrument of human communication and expression. Since
the study is predominantly theoretical in nature, further studies
looking at verbal silence from an empirical standpoint would be very
welcome. Even though the analysis includes examples from a wide range
of written and spoken language, it is predominantly based on literary
language use. Thus, future research could explore verbal silence in
everyday conversations or other personal, public or professional
contexts where spoken language is used. The presentation of the
discussion and analysis is clear, well organised and strongly
evidenced, but it requires some knowledge of the linguistic
terminology on the part of the reader, as well as of the various
levels of linguistic study, such as phonetics, morphology, syntax,
semantics, pragmatics and semiotics. The study could also benefit from
a concise conclusion that summarises the key points of this study.
Nevertheless, it is an invaluable read for all linguists.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Neda Chepinchikj is a linguist and a researcher in the areas of
discourse analysis, multimodal conversation analysis and
sociolinguistics. She has taught English as an additional language,
English for academic purposes and linguistics subjects for over twenty
years. She currently works at the University of New South Wales in
Sydney, Australia.



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