3 - Verbal Silence

Summary

This chapter presents a systematic linguistic classification and analysis of the forms of verbal silences. While verbal silences cover unarticulated verbal signifiers chosen by the addresser (holding the floor) as a verbal means of expression (in place of particular articulated speech) signifying meaningful content, the forms of verbal silence are identified and determined by the speech grounding it. These speech forerunners are grammatical or lexical stumps signalling the location, category and content of the verbal silence in the specific utterance. These ruptured words, grammatical or lexical particles that are articulated without their required complementation, or intertextual spaces are overtly fragmented and so perceived as complete only once the verbal silence component is assumed. Verbal silence as a signifier is studied and presented from the level of a single phoneme to the level of a complete discourse or text, in line with the conventional division of linguistic into phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics-lexicon. Incorporating the study of absence as something (rather than nothing) in linguistic exploration compels us to refine notions such as ‘the zero sign’ and ellipsis, and sheds new light broadening linguistic phenomena such as suppletion and onomatopoeia.