Bücher der Reihe Language and Language Behavior

This book provides a theoretical account of a variety of different communicative aspects of silence and explores new ways of studying socially-motivated language.A research overview shows the influence of related work in the fields of media studies, politics, gender studies, aesthetics and literature. The author argues that in theoretically pragmatic terms, silence can be accounted for by the same principles as those of speech. A later, more applied section of the book explores the power of silencing in politics. A concluding chapter shows the importance of silence beyond linguistics and politics in terms of artistic expression. The approach is intentionally eclectic in order to explore the concept of silence as a rich and powerful tool of communication and to explain how it works. The theories of Brown and Levinson (politeness), Leach (taboo), Rosch (prototypes) and Sperber and Wilson (relevance) are incorporated.

This volume is a comprehensive analysis of research and theory on verbal communication and social influence. It examines a variety of empirical studies, theoretical positions, methodological matters and substantive issues pertaining to the use of language for generating influence and control. It moves from the basic concept of monological speech and the achievement of power to the increasingly complex and subtle cases of conversational control and linguistic depoliticization.Topics such as linguistic signs of power, language as a resource for creating power and social causes of verbal power are examined in contexts ranging from informal conversations to newspaper headlines. The research scrutinized ranges from qualitative analyses of social interaction to quantitative analyses of message effects.