The Analysis of Silence in Conflict Talk with Face Theory

罗丹

【Abstract】Silence and noisy speech can be functionally equivalent in the conflict. Sometimes the more serious the problem is， the more likely that conversationalists will use silence in the utterance because silence stops conflict evolving into violence. In the context of potentially explosive arguments， pauses or silences prevent the conflict from exploding and destroying the possibility of continuing the relationship. Thus the participants face will be saved.

【Key words】Silence； Conflict； face

Conflict and Face

Wall and Callister （1987；517） put forward a concept of conflict： process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. Conflict is a process in which participant expresses their incompatible opinions. So the outburst of aggressive words is common in conflict talk. But in this thesis I will examine the manifestation and significance of silence in conflict talk with face theory. The concept of face originates from China which is equal to honor. In conflict， ones face will be threatened inevitably.

Silence

Speakers can say whatever they want in any conversation， which may uphold self-face or threaten other-face. There are many strategies that speakers can exploit in dealing with face issue in the conflict. Speakers can also use silence or pause as another kind of strategy. Silence is the absence of audible sound or the presence of sounds of very low intensity. Saunders （1985） investigates the role of “silence and noise as emotion management styles” in an Italian village. He suggests that “exuberant noise and grim silence are in some respects functional equivalents” as they both “may be used in the management of strong but problematic emotions…”. Silence and noisy speech can be functionally equivalent. Sometimes the more serious the problem is， the more likely that conversationalists will use silence in the utterance because silence stops conflict evolving into violence. Silence is method the interlocutors use to save both faces since if not， both faces would possibly be damaged if they attack each other with long outburst of words.

Realization of Silence

I will use an example taken from the drama script of the Joy Luck Club to illustrate the realization of silence.

Ted： Are you okay？ Honey？ Are you Ok？ Honey？

……（pause）

Rose： Get out of my house… You heard me， get out.

……（pause）

Ted： Honey， it is our house. We agreed to sell it， thats why I am here.

Rose： Youre not taking my house， you are not taking my daughter， youre not taking any part of me. Cause you do not know who I am. I … I… Now get out of my house.

……（silence）

Ted： I am listening.

Rose： Its none of your fault， none of it. …I was the one who told you that my love wasn't good enough…I was so full of shit.

……（silence）

In the example above， two pauses and two silences are used respectively when Ted comes to their common property to discus the divorce issue. In the first turn between the husband Ted and the wife Rose， the pauses allows her time to think about the serious question of why their marriage comes to an end. Then comes the second pause from the husbands part. Here， the pause is used by the husband to ease the tension when he sees that his wife is emotionally instable. The husband takes a tumble because it seems that for the first time he comes to know who his wife really is. Thats why we see a long pause and silence come before the third turn. Rose continues confiding whats really on her mind about her value regarding the marriage， which proves to be absolutely touching. When things comes to this stage， there is no necessity to argue any more about divorce because they begin to find the true value of their marriage. Therefore the husband sinks in silence at the end of this conversation. Silence does not necessarily mean speakers can not find words to express what they are feeling. Instead， they do not want to speak it out for the concerning of other-face as well as self-face. In a sense， speakers show whats in their mind by saying nothing at all. Therefore， like the last silence in the example， silence does not mean the end of the movement but the climax of emotion. Or in other case， in the context of potentially explosive arguments， pauses or silences prevent the conflict from exploding and destroying the possibility of continuing the relationship by saving self-face and other-face.

References：

[1]Saunders， George R.“Silence and noise as emotion management styles： an Italian case.”Perspectives on silence （1985）：165-83.

[2]Tan， Amy. The joy luck club. Ivy Books， 1990.

[3]Wall， James A.， and Ronda Roberts Callister.“Conflict and its management.”Journal of management 21.3（1995）：515-558.