speech is silver meaning

The meaning and origin of the expression: Silence is golden

Silence is golden

What's the meaning of the phrase 'silence is golden'.

A proverbial saying, often used in circumstances where it is thought that saying nothing is preferable to speaking.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Silence is golden'?

"Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of Life, which they are thenceforth to rule. Not William the Silent only, but all the considerable men I have known, and the most undiplomatic and unstrategic of these, forbore to babble of what they were creating and projecting. Nay, in thy own mean perplexities, do thou thyself but hold thy tongue for one day: on the morrow, how much clearer are thy purposes and duties; what wreck and rubbish have those mute workmen within thee swept away, when intrusive noises were shut out! Speech is too often not, as the Frenchman defined it, the art of concealing Thought; but of quite stifling and suspending Thought, so that there is none to conceal. Speech too is great, but not the greatest. As the Swiss Inscription says: Sprecfien ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden (Speech is silvern, Silence is golden); or as I might rather express it: Speech is of Time, Silence is of Eternity."

That fuller version - 'speech is silver; silence is golden', is still sometimes used, although the shorter form is now more common.

The same thought is expressed in a 16th century proverb, now defunct - as many present-day feminists would prefer it:

"Silence is a woman's best garment."

Silence has in fact long been considered laudable in religious circles. The 14th century author Richard Rolle of Hampole, in The psalter; or psalms of David , 1340:

"Disciplyne of silence is goed."

Wyclif's Bible , 1382 also includes the thought - "Silence is maad in heuen". [made in Heaven]

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

silence is golden

• it is often better to say nothing at all
• keeping your mouth shut is a great virtue
• peace and quiet is to be enjoyed

Example Sentences

• Do not tell your mom that I broke her vase! Remember, silence is golden .
• This will stay between us, right? Silence is golden.
• My secretary is more than welcome to stay during the meeting, she won’t betray your confidence. Silence is golden .
• Are you still talking? It feels like it has been hours. Silence is golden .
• “How did you manage to keep quiet when he asked you about his horrible play?” “I didn’t say anything. My mom taught me that silence is golden .”
• I love it when my kids are at school. Silence is golden .
• We are going camping in the woods this weekend. There will be no one around for miles. Silence is golden .

The full idiom is “speech is silver, but silence is golden” meaning that words are important, but sometimes it is better to say nothing. The whole phrase is seldom used and the shortened version is now more well-known.

In 1831, the poet, Thomas Carlyle, translated it from German to English in his novel  Sartor Resartus . In the novel, it reads as “Sprecfienistsilbern, Schweigenist golden meaning “Speech is silver, Silence is golden”

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When you have so angry that time you stay silence, after pass some time your anger is controlled and dissolved. That time you think only positive.

‒ Gauri zagare August 3, 2020

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Gold , Silence

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Silence is Golden

Like many other phrases, the origin of this phrase also lies in the mist of time. It is reported that it has links with some other versions of the proverb , dating back to Egyptian history. However, its first example in English was its use by Thomas Carlyle, a poet who translated it from German to English in his novel Sartor Resartus  (“The Tailor Retailored”). In the novel, it reads as “Sprecfien ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden (“ Speech is silvern, Silence is golden”); or as I might rather express it: Speech is of Time, Silence is of Eternity.” One of the characters speaks these lines, by which he means that discretion could be more important than eloquence.

The meaning of this phrase is that silence needs authority of mind and a specific type of power ; to keep silent is not easier than expressing anger, love, happiness, and betrayal with words. This phrase is the part of a proverb, “Speech is silver, silence is golden.” We use it in such circumstances where it is considered that silence is preferable to speaking. Just like gold, in a right time and place, silence lends grandeur and charm to human lives. It is like an ornament, which is enduring and has unparalleled beauty .

These days, the fuller version of this phrase, “speech is silver; silence is golden” is frequently used, though the shorter form, “silence is golden” is more common. For instance, lovers prefer to speak in silence, as it is a more romantic and famous way of telepathy between those who share strong and powerful feelings of love. Sometimes silence can play a great role, like huge wars were stopped due to just a few words, avoiding unnecessary words that might have hurt others.

Similarly, when two close friends meet after a long time, they could say many things — sharing complaints, secrets, questions, and much more. However, the very first thing they often share is silence. Thus, it justifies that speech is less significant than silence, as it lets us know about our inner selves.

Literary Source

This phrase is used by Thomas Carlyle in his novel, where he tells about virtues and of silence. It goes on as, “Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together, into the daylight of Life… Speech too is great, but not the greatest. As the Swiss Inscription says: Sprecfien ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden (“Speech is silvern, Silence is golden”); or as I might rather express it: “Speech is of Time, Silence is of Eternity.”

( Sartor Resartus )

Literary Analysis

When we are silent and waiting, something great inside us keeps on growing, and silence gives birth to creativity, moreover the more we keep ourselves silent, the less our hearts will be hurt. In the past, silence would be a great way of communication, and more effective than speaking. For instance, often, a silent but angry look from our parents is enough to communicate their disapproval or fury; and it can make us behave in a much better way than harsh scolding. It simply tells us that, when we remain silent and wait, something great keeps us growing, and gives us creativity.

Literary Device

• Metaphor : Gold is used as a metaphor for silence.

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Speech is silver, silence is golden

This page is about the saying "Speech is silver, silence is golden"

Possible meaning: Speaking is good but saying nothing is better. Discretion can be worth more than even eloquent words.

If it's true that "speech is silver, silence is golden", then words can be

See Saying of the Day today

Contributor: Josef Essberger

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speech is silver, but silence is golden  

proverbial saying, mid 19th century; meaning that discretion can be more valuable than the most eloquent words (see also ... ...

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Speech is silver, silence is golden., related proverbs, similar proverbs in the same language,  english.

• He that speaks sows, and he that holds his peace gathers.  
• Silence is Wisdom, when speaking is Folly.  
• From hearing, comes wisdom; from speaking, repentance.  

Similar proverbs in another language

 latin.

• Nulli tacuisse nocet, nocet esse locutum.   It harms no one to be silent, it harms to be spoken.
• Tacere numquam, saepe paenituit loqui.   He was never silent, he often regretted speaking.
• Tacere utilius est, quam loqui temere.   It is more useful to be silent than to speak at random.
• Silentii tuta praemia.   The safe rewards of silence.

 French

• La parole est d' argent, le silence est d'or.   Speech is silver, silence is gold.
• Il vaut mieux se taire que de parler mal à propos.   It's better to keep quiet than to speak out of turn.

 German

• Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold.   Talk is silver, silence is gold.
• Eine gezähmte Zunge ist ein seltener Vogel.   A tamed tongue is a rare bird.
• Lerne schweigen, so kannst du am besten reden.   Learn to be silent, that's the best way to talk.
• Schweigen und Denken kann niemand kränken.   Silence and thinking cannot offend anyone.

 Czech

• Mluviti stříbro, mlčeti zlato.   To speak is silver, to keep silent is gold.
• Kdo se nechceš mrzeti, uč se jazyk držeti.   If thou wilt not be angry, learn to hold thy tongue.
• Mlčením člověk mnoho řečí odbude.   Silence will take away much talk.
• Dobře jazyk za zuby míti.   It is good to hold your tongue.

Speech is silver, silence is golden

Gold is more precious than silver, and there are times when it is better to be silent than to speak.

• He cannot speak well that cannot hold his tongue
• There is a time to speak and a time to be silent

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Speech is silver, silence is golden

" Speech is silver, silence is golden " is a proverb extolling the value of silence over speech . Its modern form most likely originated in Arabic culture , where it was used as early as the 9th century.

Origins and spread

"Speech is silver, silence is golden" has been described as "perhaps the best known of the proverbs concerned with silence". [1] :   239   Similar proverbs in English include "Still waters run deep" and "Empty vessels make the most sound." [2]

There have been like proverbs in other languages, for example the Talmudic [1] :   241   proverb in the Aramaic language , "if a word be worth one shekel , silence is worth two", which was translated into English in the 17th century. Praise of silence can also be found in much older works, including the Bible , for example, "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise." ( Proverbs , 10:19). [1] :   239–240  

In 1932 Richard Jente described the "silver"–and–"gold" proverb as being "of Eastern origin". [3] In 1999 David J. Wasserstein remarked that the "Eastern origin" mentioned by a number of earlier writers was most likely the Aramaic "shekels" proverb, as it connects speech, silence, and monetary value. [1] :   241   Wasserstein argued, however, that the Aramaic "shekels" proverb – which had been already published in English by John Ray in a 1678 Collection of English Proverbs – was related, perhaps sharing the same ancient origin, but differed from the version in European culture that uses the terms "silver" and "gold". [1] :   240–241   Wasserstein traced the latter version to Arabic culture , observing that it had been widely used in Arabic for centuries, having been recorded in the writings of the 11th-century Muslim scholar Al-Raghib al-Isfahani and the 9th-century writer Al-Jahiz (the latter wrote that, "if speech were of silver, then silence would be of gold"). [1] :   244–247   The "silver"–and–"gold" proverb was also known in Islamic Spain , where it was recorded in the 11th century by Ibn Hayyan of Cordoba . [1] :   254  

In some Arabic works the proverb has been attributed to King Solomon , but Wasserstein writes that there is no verifiable evidence for such an origin, as no ancient Jewish version of the proverb using the terms "silver" and "gold" has been found. He also notes that some other Arabic works, again with no verifiable evidence, have attributed the "silver"–and–"gold" proverb to Luqman the Wise , and Wasserstein concludes that the real origin is likely lost to history, while the oldest surviving sources have simply attributed the proverb to "wise men of old". [1] :   247–248  

According to Wasserstein, the proverb, in its "silver"–and–"gold" version, most likely entered Western culture through the work of a 14th-century Spanish Jew , Santob de Carrion , also known as Shem Tob ben Isaac Ardutiel, a Hebrew writer and translator of Arabic texts; and over the next centuries came to be used in Spanish and eventually also in other European languages. [1] :   257–258  

According to Jente, the proverb became popular in Germany in the early 19th century, then spread to the English language, possibly through German immigrants in the United States . [3] Wasserstein writes that its first recorded use in English was the novel Sartor Resartus (1833–34) by Thomas Carlyle , who for reasons unknown attributed it to a " Swiss inscription". [1] :   239   A similar saying, however, "discourse is silver, silence is gold", and attributed as a "Greek proverb", was printed in English as early as 1818 in a collection that reprinted material from the Researches in Greece (1814) of William Martin Leake . [4]

The proverb's origins and history of its earliest English-language appearances were already of interest to the English public by the second half of the 19th century, when the matter was discussed in a series of exchanges in the literary journal, Notes and Queries , in which several contributors commented on the question in the context of Carlyle's book. [1] :   242  

Related Research Articles

The Book of Proverbs is a book in the third section of the Hebrew Bible and a book of the Christian Old Testament. When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms: in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) it became Παροιμίαι ; in the Latin Vulgate the title was Proverbia , from which the English name is derived.

A proverb is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore.

Spanish proverbs are a subset of proverbs that are used in Western cultures in general; there are many that have essentially the same form and content as their counterparts in other Western languages. Proverbs that have their origin in Spanish have migrated to and from English, French, Flemish, German and other languages.

Tens of thousands of Polish proverbs exist; many have origins in the Middle Ages. The oldest known Polish proverb dates to 1407. A number of scholarly studies of Polish proverbs (paremiology) exist; and Polish proverbs have been collected in numerous dictionaries and similar works from the 17th century onward. Studies in Polish paremiology have begun in the 19th century. The largest and most reputable collection of Polish proverbs to date, edited by Julian Krzyżanowski, was published in 1970s.

Shekel or sheqel is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly 11 grams —and became currency in ancient Tyre and ancient Carthage and then in ancient Israel under the Maccabees.

A literary language is the form (register) of a language used in its literary writing. It can be either a nonstandard dialect or a standardized variety of the language. It can sometimes differ noticeably from the various spoken lects, but the difference between literary and non-literary forms is greater in some languages than in others. If there is a strong divergence between a written form and the spoken vernacular, the language is said to exhibit diglossia.

The Alphabet of Sirach is an anonymous text of the Middle Ages inspired by the Book of Sirach and written in a Muslim country between 700 and 1000. It is a compilation of two lists of proverbs, 22 in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and 22 in Medieval Hebrew, both arranged as alphabetic acrostics. Each proverb is followed by an aggadic commentary. Adolf Neubauer and Abraham Epstein argued for a satirical character, which reading was rejected by Louis Ginzberg.

The mina is an ancient Near Eastern unit of weight, roughly equivalent to a pound, which was divided into 60 shekels. The mina, like the shekel, was also a unit of currency.

The three wise monkeys are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle " see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil ". The three monkeys are

Phoenicianism is a form of Lebanese nationalism adopted by a section of Lebanese people, at the time of the creation of Greater Lebanon. It constitutes identification of the Lebanese people with the ancient Phoenicians.

The English language expression silver spoon is synonymous with wealth, especially inherited wealth; someone born into a wealthy family is said to have "been born with a silver spoon in their mouth". As an adjective, "silver spoon" describes someone who has a prosperous background or is of a well-to-do family environment, often with the connotation that the person does not fully realize or appreciate the value of their advantage, its having been inherited rather than earned.

Many Chinese proverbs exist, some of which have entered English in forms that are of varying degrees of faithfulness. A notable example is "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", from the Dao De Jing , ascribed to Laozi. They cover all aspects of life, and are widely used in everyday speech, in contrast to the decline of the use of proverbs in Western cultures. The majority are distinct from high literary forms such as xiehouyu and chengyu, and are common sayings of usually anonymous authorship, originating through "little tradition" rather than "great tradition".

An anti-proverb or a perverb is the transformation of a standard proverb for humorous effect. Paremiologist Wolfgang Mieder defines them as "parodied, twisted, or fractured proverbs that reveal humorous or satirical speech play with traditional proverbial wisdom". Anti-proverbs are ancient, Aristophanes having used one in his play Peace , substituting κώẟων "bell" for κύων "bitch, female dog", twisting the standard and familiar "The hasty bitch gives birth to blind" to "The hasty bellfinch gives birth to blind".

Paremiology is the collection and study of paroemias (proverbs). It is a subfield of both philology and linguistics.

Across Afghanistan, proverbs are a valued part of speaking, both publicly and in conversations. Afghans "use proverbs in their daily conversations far more than Westerners do, and with greater effect". The most extensive proverb collections in Afghan languages are in Pashto and Dari, the two official languages in Afghanistan.

Physician, heal thyself , sometimes quoted in the Latin form, Medice, cura te ipsum , is an ancient proverb appearing in Luke 4:23. There, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, 'Physician, heal thyself': whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country." Commentators have pointed out the echo of similar skepticism in the taunts that Jesus would ultimately hear while hanging on the cross: "He saved others; himself he cannot save". The shortened Latin form of the proverb, Medice, cura te ipsum , was made famous through the Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, and so gained currency across Europe.

Shem Tov ben Isaac Ardutiel a 14th-century Spanish Jew, Hebrew writer and a translator of Arabic texts. His best known works include Proverbios morales .

The Proverbia Grecorum is an anonymous Latin collection of proverbs compiled in the seventh or eighth century AD in the British Isles, probably in Ireland. Despite the name, it has no known Greek source. It was perhaps designed as a secular complement to the Hebrew Bible's Book of Proverbs .

• ↑ Charteris-Black, Jonathan (1995). "Still Waters Run Deep' Proverbs about Speech and Silence A Cross-Linguistic Perspective" . De Proverbio . 1 (2).
• 1 2 Jente, Richard (1932). "The American Proverb". American Speech . 7 (5): 342–348. doi : 10.2307/452956 . ISSN   0003-1283 . JSTOR   452956 .
• ↑ The Classical Journal . A. J. Valpy. 1818. p.   40.

speech is silver, silence is golden

• 1.1 Alternative forms
• 1.2.1 Related terms
• 1.2.2 Translations

English [ edit ]

Alternative forms [ edit ].

• speech is silver, but silence is golden
• speech is silver, silence is gold

Proverb [ edit ]

speech is silver , silence is golden

• ( idiomatic ) Not saying anything is often better than speaking too much or saying something inappropriate.

Related terms [ edit ]

• silver tongue
• golden silence

Translations [ edit ]

• English lemmas
• English proverbs
• English multiword terms
• English idioms

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Silence is Golden - Meaning, Origin and Usage

Are you looking for a way to tell someone to be quiet? If so, you could use the proverbial saying, " silence is golden ." This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this phrase.

The proverbial saying "silence is golden" means that we all need to appreciate silence, and it pays dividends to keep quiet from time to time. The phrase places importance on the value of silence and its role in our lives. The saying can imply that it's better to say nothing at all than open your mouth in some situations.

The phrase implies that "silence is a virtue," and we should all enjoy the peace and quiet we get in our lives because it doesn't come along very often. You can use "silence is golden" in social and professional situations with family members, friends, and colleagues.

Example Usage

"Gosh, Timmy didn't your mother ever teach your silence is golden . Be quiet and eat your lunch."

"You know what they say; silence is golden . This time here out on the lake is so still and peaceful."

"Stop talking, Tarryn. Silence is golden , and you're interrupting a moment here."

"Ann asked me if her dress made her look fat. I told her that it looked a little tight, and she went crazy on me. Sometimes, it's better to realize silence is golden ."

"I didn't realize silence is golden until I moved to the noisy city."

"I confronted Maggie about the problem, and she said nothing. Her silence is golden , and I'm sure she gets the picture now."

The origin of the proverbial phrase, " silence is golden ," comes from Ancient Egypt. Language experts are unsure of the exact origin of the saying, but most agree that its roots in the Ancient Egyptians. The first appearance of the expression in English goes to poet Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle translated the work " Sartor Resartus " from German in 1831. In the story, a character talks about the virtues of silence.

The full idiomatic expression is " speech is silver, but silence is golden ." However, the full version of the saying never gained traction, with people preferring to use the shortened version in language.

The earlier origins of the phrase trace back to the 14th century. The author Richard Rolle of Hampole wrote the following in "The psalter" or " Psalms of David ," in 1340.

" Disciplyne of silence is goed ."

Wyclif's Bible , published in 1382 , has the saying as follows.

" Silence is maad in heuen " (Made in Heaven).

Phrases Similar to Silence is Golden

• Peace is precious.
• Silence is better than speech.

Phrases Opposite to Silence is Golden

• Make some noise.
• Rock around the clock.

What is the Correct Saying?

• Silence is golden.

Ways People May Say Silence is Golden Incorrectly

Silence is not a visible object. The proverb means that silence is precious, and we don't get enough of it in a noisy world. So, using the saying to describe the value of silence is more valid than its color because it doesn't have any color.

Acceptable Ways to Phrase Silence is Golden

You can use " silence is golden " when you're telling someone to stop talking or making a noise. The phrase suits professional and social use, and you probably hear it all the time. At home, you could use it to tell your kids to stop making a noise and turn off the TV. At work, you could use it to tell someone to stop saying something that might get them in trouble. There are several applications for this proverb, and the saying can have proverbial or sarcastic meanings, depending on the situation .

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speech is silver, silence is gold ( English)

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This is the meaning of speech is silver, silence is golden :

speech is silver, silence is golden ( English)

Alternative forms.

• speech is silver, but silence is golden
• Not to say anything is often better than speaking too much or saying something inappropriate.

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speech is silver, silence is golden : speech is silver, silence is golden (English) Alternative forms speech is silver, but silence is golden speech is silver, silence is gold Proverb speech is silver, silence is golden Not to say anything is often better than speaking too much or saying…

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If Speaking Is Silver, Then Silence Is Gold

How strategic silence is better than gratuitous disclosure.‎.

Posted March 19, 2023 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• A recent study demonstrates how “strategic ‎silence” often yields good values and positive rewards. ‎
• Choosing the right time to communicate is just as important ‎as the content of the message itself. ‎
• The principles of “strategic silence” can be applied in ‎workplace and personal communications. ‎

Michael Parke, an assistant professor of management at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrated in a study (co-authored with Subrahmaniam Tangirala, Apurva Sanaria, and Srinivas Ekkirala) published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes that “strategic silence” can garner positive values and rewards for employees. This study challenges the conventional wisdom that speaking up at any moment is more valued than silence. It alternatively suggests that “strategic silence”—withholding information intentionally—often yields better results.

The implications of this study are threefold.

First, silence is not always bad; as the old wisdom has it, if speaking is sliver, then silence is gold. This study casts doubt on the old wisdom that scorns silence and always exhorts speaking up, under any circumstance. It highlights some of the negative consequences of speaking up indiscriminately and demonstrates the positive benefits of strategic silence.

Second, what the study terms “strategic silence” is a better course of action because it often yields positive results. It does this by allowing the person time to think through the existing problem, from all perceived angles. It allows them to invite the thought of others and to iterate, through trial and error, different strategies to move forward.

Third, speaking up all the time, without taking into consideration a number of factors, often yields negative results. When people speak up, they are on the record, which will shape how events unfold. Sometimes it is better to leave the water undisturbed.

Even so, the study has limitations, two of which merit attention .

First, although silence, and strategic silence in particular, is valued, chronic silence is bad; eventually, we have to speak up, but the question we ought to consider is when we raise our voice .

Second, in the intervening times, we ought to do our homework, research all facets of the problem, think of potential solutions, and consider anticipated rebuttals—so when we eventually speak up, we are armed and ready when the necessary information.

This study has been conducted in workplace communication but its conclusions could shed light on personal communication. Airing our personal opinions gratuitously and indiscriminately could rupture our connections; we have to deploy the concept of “strategic silence” to know when to say what we want to say. The timing of the message is sometimes as important as the content of the message itself.

However, there is the popular phrase, “strike the iron while it’s hot,” which exhorts people to engage in immediate communications. Even so, it is often better to engage in “delayed gratification,” because good outcomes almost always take time, energy, and effort.

People who grow up in precarious and toxic environments often struggle to delay gratification. They tend to deal with problems as they come, without any conscious planning, which often results in poor management and negative outcomes.

In what has come to be known as “the Stanford marshmallow experiment,” psychologist Walter Mischel published a landmark study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , in which he found that children who can exercise the principle of delayed gratification (resisting immediate temptations) are more likely to grow into successful adults—compared to children who struggle to delay gratification and surrender to immediate temptations.

Skills such as “delayed gratification and resisting immediate temptations” are often oblivious to what Walt McClure coins as “the structural poor”—defined as historically marginalized people of color, immigrants, and refugees—who lack “skills that require considerable time, effort and mentoring to develop, skills that they scarcely know exist let alone how to acquire .”

If you are a person who always speaks up immediately, then this might be the time to slow down and exercise the principle of “strategic silence.” If you are a chronically silent person, then this is the time to capitalize on “strategic silence” by speaking up at the right time. The question is not whether you should speak up or not (you should always speak up); however, the question is when should you speak up, and the reviewed literature above suggests that taking the time to think about the problem is often the best course of action.

Abdulrahman Bindamnan is a Ph.D. student at the University of ‎Minnesota and an ICGC scholar at the Interdisciplinary Center for ‎Global Change.

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Speech is silver, silence is golden: how pausing transforms communication

Many people probably recognize the second part of that proverb -- "Silence is Golden" –– as an oft-quoted adage to dictate the importance of quiet in our busy, noisy lives. The full version, as written above, originates in English thanks to Thomas Carlyle, who translated it from part of a larger German work in 1831 . The translated passage begins, "Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together." 

If we stopped to think about this, in a moment of peace and quiet, we might recognize the truth in this idea. Silence gives us the chance to pull together information or speech to which we have just been exposed but which perhaps we need more time to process. To think about what you want to say before speaking is common advice, especially to avoid realizing a different idiom, that of "I spoke too soon."

Are English speakers especially uncomfortable with silence?

Recent research has shown that English speakers in particular are more likely to be uncomfortable with silences, even brief ones, than speakers of other languages. Several studies show that c ulture plays a large role in determining how we use and respond to silence, be it in the workplace, business negotiations, or in casual conversation.  

The Benefits of a Pause

A 2017 BBC article on the topic of silences describes one study showing that people in Anglophone cultures became uncomfortable with silence when it lasted for more than four seconds. In contrast, another study demonstrated that Japanese people were content to allow silences of over eight seconds, more than double that of Americans, in an equivalent business meeting setting. The BBC article also references Finnish culture as placing a high value on the act and art of listening, more than English-speakers generally do. (Historically, the Finns are known for being a comparatively quiet people who take spoken language seriously and do not overuse it ; there is less verbal commotion on public transportation, for example, than in America.)

Researchers and communications experts have hypothesized a reason for the greater difficulty in American society in tolerating long-lasting pauses: dating back to colonial times, America became a place where many cultures and people intersected and influenced the growth of the nation. The resulting diverse culture leaves potentially less room for silence than in a more homogeneous culture, according to a communications professor quoted in the BBC article, because the most immediate impulse for understanding different people is to try to communicate with words. However, we would do well to learn from the power of even a few tactical seconds of pause in order to establish our own confidence, understanding, and command of whatever speech surrounds the silence.

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