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Silent Pauses

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Disfluency and Proficiency in Second Language Speech Production

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Abstract

Silent pauses may be defined as stretches of silence within the speech stream (Cucchiarini et al., 2002) or an unvoiced delay, a temporary suspension of speech activity (Clark, 2006: 244). Historically, interest in silent pauses (SPs) predates that in other markers of disfluency, starting in the 1940s and becoming a notable area of investigation with Goldman-Eisler’s publications in the 1950s and 1960s. Thereafter, researchers expanded interest in SP location, frequency, and length. It was early recognised that the unmarked position of SPs was before a finite clause and their marked, i.e. disfluent position mid-clause. More frequent pauses indicated problems with speech production, as did their duration. As well as indicating production problems, SPs were acknowledged to serve a multitude of functions, from physiological, e.g. breathing, to psychosocial, e.g. speaker affect.

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    Simon Williams

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Williams, S. (2022). Silent Pauses. In: Disfluency and Proficiency in Second Language Speech Production . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12488-4_2

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