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Abstract

This study investigates an underexplored intersection of three domains: the functional study of silence, the pragmatics of television discourse, and multimodal analysis. While each of these fields has contributed valuable insights into language use, they have rarely been examined together, despite their clear interconnections. A key gap in silence research concerns the lack of systematic analysis of silence in spoken language, particularly as shaped by genre-specific dialogue features. Addressing this gap, the present study undertakes a pragmatic and multimodal analysis of silence using Conversation Analysis of dialogues drawn from three dialogue types: Multisimo (spontaneous conversation), talk shows, and sitcoms. The dataset comprises six sessions from the Multisimo corpus, five celebrity talk-show interviews, and four sitcom episodes. The analysis is organized in two parts. The first examines cross-genre similarities and differences in the use of silence. The findings reveal that the degree of spontaneity in dialogue does not necessarily correlate with the frequency of textual functions. Silences in talk shows differ markedly from those in spontaneous conversation and sitcoms, reflecting the impact of turn length and dialogue content. Silence duration correlates with multimodal cues, positions, and multifunctionality of silence, as well as dialogue features including spontaneity and audience-orientation.. The second part investigates how multimodal resources are employed during silences and the functions they serve within each genre. Results indicate that gestures in television dialogue are generally more physically intense than in spontaneous conversation, a difference shaped by audience orientation. The different use of speakers’ gesture, gaze, and facial expression during silences across genres is influenced by the pragmatic functions of silence and the dialogue features of each genre. Overall, this study expands the theoretical framework for understanding silence by integrating multimodal and genre-based perspectives. It advances beyond traditional speech–silence and speech–embodied action dichotomies to offer a more comprehensive view of how silence functions in interaction. Practically, the findings have implications for television production, offering insights for writers, producers, and directors on how to use silence strategically to heighten audience engagement or enhance comedic and dramatic effects.