The Cultural Implications of Silence Around the World (2020)

Re:The Cultural Implications of Silence Around the World (2020) by psychomugs on Sunday July 11, 2021 @02:06PM (#27803163)

Cue DFW's rant on silence and Pulp Fiction's uncomfortable silence scene [1, 2].

The author mentions Japan but doesn't mention aizuchi, a constant backchanneling that signals attentiveness that I'd classify as the opposite of silent pontificating [3].

[1] https://youtu.be/iGLzWdT7vGc?t=1794

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnVX-uv-QPc

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aizuchi

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Re:The Cultural Implications of Silence Around the World (2020) by Clewza313 on Sunday July 11, 2021 @08:50PM (#27805790)

Aizuchi are a universal phenomenon. "Yeah, uh-huh, exactly, I know right" serve the same function in English.

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Re:The Cultural Implications of Silence Around the World (2020) by psychomugs on Sunday July 11, 2021 @09:18PM (#27805938)

Backchanneling is not exclusive to Japanese, but overuse in other languages can be perceived as rude and a sign of inattentiveness. You need to experience a casual Japanese conversation to realize how prevalent it is [1]. After my stint there, people noticed how much I backchannel even in my other languages.

[1] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/...

"The findings reveal that backchannels of several types are displayed far more frequently by Japanese listeners."

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