A Multimodal Approach to Silence as a Communicative Sign in the Novel “Suvashun”

Silence is a topic that has been widely investigated in recent decades, and researchers such as Jaworski (1997), Kurzon (1997) and Huckin (2002) have published studies on this topic. Silence is usually considered as complementary to speech, but scrutinizing its nature reveals two points: first, silence is not specific to language, it exists in other semiotic resources as well; second, the non-use of speech does not always mean silence. Sometimes information is communicated not through words, but with the help of other types of signs. Therefore, analysis of just language is not enough to study silence; it is necessary to employ a multimodal approach that takes into account all the modes involved in communication. The purpose of this study is to investigate silence with respect to the various modes involved in novel as a communicative act. The question this research aims to answer is how silence is manifested in different modes that form a novel, how it is involved in creating meaning and how it makes a difference to the elements of novel. For that purpose, silence has been examined in three modes, conversation (representation of speech), text (writing), and narrative in the novel "Suvashun" by Simin Daneshvar. It is worth mentioning that due to the lack of an articulate single theoretical framework, a mixed approach has been adopted. Results show that different modes create different types of silence with different functions, and these types, besides communicating meaning, affect novel elements by developing unintrusive limited omniscient narrator, theme, characterization, etc.



1. Introduction

In recent decades, the discourse and communicative functions fulfilled by silence have been emphasized in various fields such as linguistics, semiotics, psychology, etc. Silence has been traditionally considered as complementary to speech; however, scrutinizing its nature reveals two important points: first, silence is not specific to language; it exists in other semiotic modes as well; second, the non-use of speech does not always mean silence. Therefore, to study the function of silence in any kind of text, including novel, relying solely on linguistic data is not sufficient, and other semiotic modes must be taken into account as well. The present study aims to investigate silence with respect to the various modes involved in the Persian novel “Suvashun” as a communicative act. These modes include speech (conversation), writing (author's text) and narrative.

The questions this research aims to answer are threefold: first, how silence is manifested in different modes that form a novel; second, how it affects the different elements of the novel; and lastly, how it participates in creating meaning.



2. Literature Review

There is a considerable amount of research on silence, addressing its meaning, pragmatics, typology, semiotic function, social and political functions and of course, its relationship to speech. In this regard, the works of Jaworski (1992, 1993, 1998, 2006), Kurzon (1997, 2007), Huckin (2002), Nakane (2007), and Dinkler (2013) are noteworthy. Also, relevant to this research are previous works on multimodality and multimodal semiotics. Multimodality (which means the existence of more than one semiotic mode in a given context) has its roots in Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics, social semiotics, and conversation analysis (Jewitt et al., 2016). Kress and van Leeuwen (2001) and Kress (2010) are the works addressing multimodality and whose theoretical principles have been employed here.

It should be noted that due to lack of a proper unified approach enabling the study of silence from different angles and in different modes, we have developed and utilized a mixed analytic framework based on the aforementioned resources.



3. Methodology and Analytic Framework

Using the mixed approach mentioned above, identifiable instances of silence in the novel "Suvashun" were examined in three modes: speech (conversation), writing (author’s text) and narrative. In the mode of speech, the participants in the communication are the characters of the story, and silence is explored in terms of how it can occur in the conversations of the characters. In the text, the participants in the communication are the author and the reader, and silence that is examined is usually the author's silence. In narrative, the participants in the communication are the narrator and the narratee, and the silence of the narrator is investigated.

To determine the types of silence that can occur in conversations, we have adopted concepts discussed in Nakane (2007), who proposes four types of conversational silence, including pauses during turn-taking, non-participation in conversations, lack of speech on various topics, and lack of speech specific to interactive situations. Additionally, we have utilized concepts from Kurzon (2007), who identifies four types of conversational silence: pauses, silent answers to questions, silence by some participants in conversations involving three or more people, and silence during interrogations (usually by law enforcement officers, intelligence agencies, etc.).

To explore the types of silence that can occur in the mode of writing or text, we have adopted the concepts outlined in Huckin (2002). These types of textual silence include speech-act silence, presuppositional silence, discreet silence, genre-based silence, and manipulative silence. Finally, to identify the types of silence in narrative, we have referred to the classifications provided by Dinkler (2013), who discusses two types of silence: narrator’s silences and those related to point of view.



4. Results

The results obtained from the novel show that the silences in the mode of speech or conversations are not limited to those mentioned in literature. We should also consider instances of irrelevant answers to questions, and discreet silence in conversations. Therefore, the identified types of silence were pauses, silent answers to questions, non-proportion in conversations, irrelevant answers to questions, and discreet silence in speech. Excluding pauses as they lack communicative value, the other types of silence were examined and analyzed. These silences often belonging to Zari (the main character), play an important role in plot progression and characterization.

In the mode of text, instances of discreet silence and genre-based silence were examined. In the novel “Suvashun”, the whole story can be considered as a type of discreet silence, as the author, out of caution, uses myths and historical events to indirectly criticize the country's state of affairs at the time of writing the novel. Also, bearing in mind that genre-based silence is unmarked and only its violations can be determined, it should be noted that in this novel no instance of its violation was found.

In the mode of narrative, instances of narrator silence and the types of silence related to the point of view were examined. The narrator’s silences mainly involve providing insufficient information and silencing some characters by summarizing their conversations. The types of silence related to point of view also include cases of ideological silence, as well as silence related to phraseology and psychology of the characters. By providing insufficient information, the narrator adopts a limited omniscient point of view. Additionally, silence at the ideological level of point of view help to form the theme of the novel, and silence at the phraseological level of the point of view aims to avoid the challenges of representing a specific dialect in Persian abjad writing system (Shirazi dialect in this case). In addition, silence at the psychological level of the point of view has helped to create an unintrusive narrator.

The findings of the present research show that investigating silence as an active and impactful element in discourse cannot be limited to linguistic data; and it is necessary to examine all modes involved in the novel as a communicative act. Silence can be manifested in different modes and in each mode, it has its own functions and meanings. It is the concurrent function of these silences across different modes that, along with the function of other elements, form the overall meaning and the reader's experience of the literary work.