论会话中沉默的交际功能及文化特性

Communicative Functions and Cultural Features of Silence in Conversations

对人们日常会话中沉默所具有的交际功能及其在不同文化背景中所显示的特性进行分析,认为日常会话中的沉默并不意味着交际的失败或中断,相反它表现出多种交际功能。此外,沉默行为在不同的文化中具有不同的内涵,不同文化群体的人并不总是能很好地理解对方的沉默所蕴涵的意义。在此基础上,指出研究沉默的交际功能的目的,在于帮助交际者更好地理解会话中的言外之意及未言之意,从而使交际更加顺畅有效地进行。

This paper tries to analyze the communicative functions of silence as well as its features in different cultural backgrounds. Silence does not necessarily mean the failure or stop of communication. In different contexts it can convey various meanings and have different functions. Besides, since silence has different meanings in different cultural contexts, misunderstanding is likely to occur in intercultural communications. The study of silence in different cultures can help us to understand what is beyond words and thus facilitate communications between different cultures.