International Journal of Research ISSN NO : 2236-6124
Communicative Silence: A Cross-Cultural Study of Pinter’s Mountain Language
Dr.C.Vairavan Assistant Professor Department of English, Academy of Maritime Education and Training Kanathur, Chennai, India -603 112 [email protected]
Abstract: This paper attempts a cross-cultural analysis of communicative silence and struggle of power in Pinter’s Mountain Language. Pinter was an absurd dramatist in the 20th century. In his plays, who has focused on power through non-verbal communication (silence). In the play Mountain Language, who has brought out the impact of the power of language used in three dots and the powerless people succeed their target through their voiceless interaction. The aim of this paper is to discuss how Pinter has used the language of power through non-verbal communication.
Keywords: cross-culture; communicative silence; language; non-verbal; power
INTRODUCTION
Harold Pinter (1930-2009) is one of the exponents of the British Drama. Pinter’s plays are well-known from all other by their sense of confusion, nervousness, and ambiguity. His plays focus on power strategies to demonstrate the human struggle in society. As there are certain traces of communicative silence power in Pinter’s Mountain Language. The part of silence is considered in the function of dialect by Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language. Pinter’s silence is outside dialect and is separated from pause, methods picked by the character for significant verbal and non-verbal correspondence close by the method for acting and discourse; it is neither the audience’s silence nor the silencing of the character. Pinter's presented the smooth silence, as a phonetic sign and psychoanalysis, passes on information in the referential function of zero sign and positive exchanges; it is a famous full of the feeling method for communicating feelings and vacancy in the emotive capacity. In regard to the demonstrative capacity, open quiet and the battle of energy in the execution of immediate and aberrant discourse acts. Silence can impart a state of mind of insightfulness and thought or a nonappearance of thought or sentiment. The different part of communicative silence in a role cross-cultural function range from its being a discourse marker to mirroring the right to silence.
One function of communication is to develop an expressive theory of speech formulate a descriptive theory of silence is not enough. Pinter’s (1991) stated that when true silence falls, people are still left with resonance, but are nearer nakedness. In one direction of looking at speech is to articulate that it is a constant feint to cover nakedness. Again he mentioned that the life is much more mysterious than plays make it select. And it is this mystery which fascinates him. Pinter talked about with vagueness to illuminate in the larger piece of his silence utilization of the implicit and the unspeakable. In his plays particular procedures utilized and inspire the secret and variety of life and of human connections. In his plays are The Room (), The Birthday Party (1957), The Caretaker (1960), The Homecoming (1964), Old Times (1970), and No Man’s Land (1975) considered to illustrate “What happens between the words, what happens when no words are spoken at all”.
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International Journal of Research ISSN NO : 2236-6124
Pinter’s Mountain Language depends on the theme of power, its sources and demonstration. Silence can represent respect, kindness, and acceptance, and bring about a time for reflection and a healing period after a ‘confrontation’. Then again it can be viewed as typifying despise, threatening vibe, coldness, disobedience, or even detest. According to Hymes (1972), the giving out of required and preferred silence, indeed perhaps most immediate reveals in outline form a community’s structures of speaking (p-40). From this linguistic point of view, cultural people are not open their mouth in a particular community. Here, Pinter stated that two cultural communities and their conversation in the play of Mountain Language. His inspiration from the long history of oppression the Kurds suffered under Turkish rule, he centered his play in a prison controlled by unnamed guards in an unnamed country. As the Turkish did to the Kurds, the guards ban the prisoners’ native language as they imprison them for unnamed crimes against the State.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Quigley (1975) portrayed that the language is obviously important in Pinter’s effort to get himself across to us but must also recognize the many occasions when it is through the silence that he communicates: Silence itself is defined in relation to words, as the pause in music receives its meaning from the group of notes round it. The silence is a moment of language; being silent is not being dumb, it is to refuse to speak and therefore to keep on speaking. Kane’s (1984) pointed out that the Pinter’s Silence is indirect, disjunctive speech, colloquial dialogue implicitly conveying more than in superficially and explicitly communicates, unanswered questions, repetitions and echoing, pauses, silences, counterpointing through overstatement and understatement, mute characters, silence as a metaphor for isolation, Silence as a metaphor for absence, and silence of the playwright. Perkins (2002) also discussed Pinter techniques of silence, in this play as he does in other plays as a form of language that reflects the character’s interaction with each other: Pinter often uses silences in his plays as verbal acts of aggression, defense, and acceptance that often speak more loudly than words. Pinter exploited the technique of silence in this play as he does in others as a form of language that reflects the characters interact with each other.
The same silence has to be followed by Cahn describes that (1998) “Pinter’s characters is proceeded tenuously, creating a stage environment in which every word, every hesitation, and gesture, demands attention from both actors and audience. The characters often speak minimally, amid frequent pauses, as if wary of revealing a tidbit about themselves or their background that might create a point of vulnerability. The language is therefore dominated by unanswered questions that lead to repeated questions, awkward pauses, silence, and repetitions. To further shelter themselves, the characters rely on colloquialisms, professional jargon, and convoluted word patterns. The result is the dialogue that often lacks the coherence and logic of traditional stage language but that in its disjunction reflects the mind and emotions of the speaker.” Pinter’s introduced the characters dominated by the language and power and tries to trap each other to speak their own mother tongue. But peculiarly, the power, the play underscores the silence more through the conversation with dialogue their community people. Everyone has an understanding of the language and social life requires additional information on a communities notes for not speaking. Here, Pinter used in his play Mountain Language, there are two communities, one is deeply suppressed from mountaineer, and another is an elite group. The Mountaineer is suppressed by the military decree. Inside of the decree is only allowed to speak their mother tongue. But the mountaineer does not understand the English language that’s why the mountain people are very silent. Pinter has given lots of meaning for this silence in his plays.
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International Journal of Research ISSN NO : 2236-6124
Power of Silence in Communication Speaking or communicating has a peculiar place in human nations in that the use of talk provides the power people respond to, and may presume a degree of membership in a social world. Cultural studies writers generally agree on the centrality of the concept of power to the discipline. For most cultural studies writers, power is regarded as pervading every level of social relationships. Power is not simply the glue that holds the social together or the coercive force which subordinates one set of people to another, though it certainly is this. It is also understood in terms of the processes that generate and enable any form of social action, relationship or order. In this sense, power, while certainly constraining, is also enabling. Having that cultural studies with subordinated groups, at first with class, and later races, genders, nations, age groups etc. This particular attribute of talk may help explain the significance of silence in human communication. Pinter’s perspectives on silence is a way of dissolving, breaking, rejecting or refusing to recognize social bonds among participants, or as a way of displaying nonreciprocal influence. This kind of silence the audience does not understand the theme and the story. Sometimes what is going on the stage? But the end of the play Pinter shows the originality of the character life and it’s the meaning.
The silence power is on over after the next scene is acted in the right format. The audience mind is questioning and finally received the clear message from the play. The role of power of silence and ambiguity differentiate the audience mind and silence used to indicates the positive results. It is apparently a response to the audience. The audience should be noted the suggestion that silence at times ambiguity and power difference among focal participants is not, of course, to suggest that silence is in some way harmful. Silence is functioned in providing the necessary protection against uncertain ‘outsiders’, as well as in providing a powerful.
The struggle of power forms the basis of conflict in the plays of Mountain Language by Pinter. In their battles, Pinter’s characters use words and silence as weapons. Quigley's stated that silence is, no matter how one is addressed there is an implicit demand for a particular range of response. To respond within that range is to accept the relationship on the terms of the first speaker; to replay outside of that range is to qualify or reject the common ground of the relationship as envisaged by the speaker. Clearly, the response of silence is frequently of the latter kind:
In accordance with Hall (1967) perspectives, ‘to show emotion in Pinter’s world is (…) a weakness, which is mercilessly punished by the other characters you have to construct the mask of the character because all Pinter’s characters have masks (…) but the mask almost never stops.
But Pinter’s portrayed the struggle of power in Mountain Language as male and female, and this aspect of his output is the priority. Sykes reveals that “Pinter said anything more about women than that they are mothers, wives, and whores? Not, I think, a great deal. She adds, however, that some of these women characters are saved by their mystery and by a charging vitality that comes to life in production better than on the printed page” (Sykes, 106). Pinter’s character is men and women in his plays complete against one another, their conflicts not only are marked by all the elements noted, but also are exacerbated by among other forces, sexual desire, reputation, and jealousy. In this competition, the women have some of the same goals as the men: power and security. He exposes the women characters are not retreated behold traditional womanly tasks. Indeed, few of these plays involve complications created by the presence of young children and most offspring who are part of the characters lives remain in the background.
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For example in Pinter’s The Hothouse (1958) the women character is taken the authority and she takes to operate the play with an understanding of their own bodies and minds and therefore of their own desires. And the woman has also had insight into male behavior and thought. Pinter shows the men, on the other hand, are constantly bewildered by what women know and, even more, by what women want. Thus the overall comic tension is increased by the male realization that although men have the physical capacity to exert dominance they are emotionally weaker than the women with whom they are in conflict. At the same time, the dramatic tension grows because, although the women may be internally more powerful than men around them, the surrounding environment usually demands that the primary role of women is to react both to men and to predominantly male social values.
Analysis Pinter introduced the character in Mountain Language is various perspective, as scenes for communication for participants, the roles and relationship, the ends or purposed of communication, the act sequences of communication, the tones that accompany communication, the various instrumentalists or linguistic verities in a community, the norms for interpretation of communication (ex. Jokes and greetings, etc.,). Pinter used above mentioned the communicative studies. This is because of their level of understanding and releases the words. The Military decree is not allowed to speak other languages inside decree. In these cultural studies makes possible the study of many diverse groups and to compare their communicative behavior in a way that could suggest very general features of silence.
Pinter represents silence in many ways, but the first and the far most common is simply the pauses. It was occurring when the character has said what he has to say is waiting for a response from the outside. Otherwise, it occurs when he cannot find the words to say what he wants to say Pinter writes the silence in his plays for very precise reasons. According to Dukore brings Hall’s justification as There are differences between Pinter’s three dots, pauses, and silences. While three dots constitute a very tiny hesitation, a pause is really a bridge between where the audience thinks that you are this side of the river, then when you speak again, you are on the other side… it’s a gap, which retrospectively gets filled in.
The study of silence in a mountain community is important for three reasons. Firstly, the use of silence can see as one among a range of strategies or options that can be part of, or constitutive, a ‘way of speaking’. Silence can be reviewed in much the same way talk is viewed. It is another important symbolic resource that can be used by any member of a community. Therefore, silence is interesting to study in its own right. In any ethnography of communication, silence is potentially something of importance.
Secondly, the use of explanation of silence can also be a central part of ‘foundation’ of communication is the community. Because silence is a significant communicative resource, and because it, like talk, three dots (…) is patterned in culturally significant ways the detailing of the patterning of silence, in use and in cultural evaluation can implicate a larger pattern in human communication. Vairavan (2018) proves that the mother’s silence at the end is shrouded in ambiguity. She is perhaps terrified to a point when speech becomes impossibility. On the other hand her silence can be an act of resistance, refusal to speak a language that now granted official recognition, no longer belongs to the mountain people (2018:98).
This mysterious play employs the innovative techniques of silence found in Pinter’s earlier plays, blending absurdism and realism in illustration of the harsh reality of modern society and the individual’s isolated and powerless state within that society.
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Pinter stated the barrier of communication, as well as the mountaineer, understand the language of where, when and how to be silent, and the meanings attached to silence is to gain a keen insight into the fundamental structure of communication in the world. Silence is not just the absence of behavior. As Samarin (1965) pointed out ‘silence can have to mean the zero in mathematics, it is an absence of a function (p-115). In Mountain Language is set in an unnamed country where the use of minority language, the language of the mountain people, has been forbidden. The reason for that people is come to visit occasionally, otherwise never ever visit the place. The groups of mountain people, among whom a young woman and an Elderly woman are signed out, have been waiting outside a prison wall, wanting to be admitted to see their husband and son. The Doberman pinschers have bitten the Elderly woman’s hand. When the Young woman informs the officer of this actuality, his reaction is to inquire what the dog’s name was: Pinter’s mentioned the silence in the beginning of the play question by the officer:
Officer: What was his name? Pause What was his name? Pause
Every dog has a name! They answer to their name. They are given a name by their parents and that is their name that is their name! Before they bite, they state their name. It's a formal procedure. They state their name and then they bite. What was his name? If you te11 me one of our dog's bit this woman without giving his name 1 will have that dog shot! (p. 17)
Thirdly and the most compelling reason for examining silence in a community is that it has been posited that some communicative functions of silence may general. Silence is utilized as a technique of the significance connected to that specific utilizes May not cross-culturally. This discourse is talking about a dialect bolted underneath it. That is its nonstop reference. The discourse mountaineer hears means that they don't hear. It is an essential evasion, a savage, wily, anguished, or taunting smoke screen which keeps the other in its place.
Pinter’s Mountain Language, a twenty-minute virtuoso explosion, was the solitary discovery, but that is of little general use for it deals only with the topic of linguistic genocide which, relevant as it is for some parts of the world, is only a part of the overall picture. You will get the flavor from this brief extract: an officer from the subjugating party addresses a group of women who have been forced to leave their mountain homes and come down to the capital city:
Now hear this. You are mountain people. You hear me? Your language is dead. It is forbidden. It is not permitted to speak your mountain language in his place. You cannot speak your language to your men. It is not permitted. Do you understand? You may not speak it. It is outlawed. You may speak only the language of the capital. That is the only language permitted in this place. You will be badly punished if you attempt to speak your mountain language in this place. This is a military decree. It is the law. Your language is forbidden. It is dead. No one is allowed to speak your language. Your language no longer exists (Pinter 1988)
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Gumperz and Hymes (1972) portrayed the theatrical perspectives on the silence on the one human group’s theories of speaking can best be isolated by contrast with those of another, the comparative approach to field work is probably the most useful at this stage. (P-36). From Pinter’s Mountain Language study when, where, how silence and the meanings attached to it, were explored to Gumperz and Hymes (1972) point of view silence is a special significance to the accounts in that all used similar descriptive framework for the study of a community’s pattern of speaking. He was concerned to vary degrees, with those elements identified.
Mountain Language begins with a question. The Sergeant asks the name of the Elderly Woman. This question is barely reasonable for the first time. It sounds unreasonable when the Sergeant repeats the same question continuously to the young woman’s responses, “We have given our name”. But the Sergeant couldn’t get the proper information as he is new to the language spoken by the women. The primary function of language in this play is power and struggle. The Sergeant plays the symbol of power. Before the Elderly woman opened the mouth, the young woman answered the question. Here, the Elderly woman plays the symbol of the suppressed and the young woman plays the symbol of the protest. The young woman is similar to Foucault’s description of the discourse of disciplines in the Archaeology of Knowledge. The significance of the parts of the young woman discourse is derived from the context in which they are spoken. The young woman’s discourse is not independent of any inherent characteristics of reality; she protests the sergeant and it creates the reality of the play. The Elderly woman is continuous this discourse with minimal initial help from the young woman. The young woman is involved in the elderly woman discourse, and this becomes the reality of the situation. Thus two characters have brought about, there is no relationship through the use of discourse. The Young woman is helping the elderly woman. She entered the prison wall; the Doberman pinscher bites her hand.
They were waiting for the prison wall both want to meet their son, husband, and father. The elderly woman discourse is waiting on the prison wall to complain the military decree. From this dialogue onwards Pinter has started too discussed the dialogue. Unfortunately, the Sergeant is sending in wrong way, occasionally the dog bites the Elderly woman hand. The Elderly woman is speaking in her own rural accent; it is extended to show her action. The time is interpreting and consuming. The Elderly woman and the Young Woman have complained the dog's bite at nine o’ clock morning. No one has given a right responsible for their voice. The reason is that, lack of communication. Initially, the officer has given the responsibility to speak the global language. He strictly informed and this appears to be a step outside the discourse, with the officer steps towards the woman and described the language discourse.
The officer is taking part in the Elderly woman discourse. Always dialogue is part of the discourse. The Officer query with the Elderly woman, dogs bite and he raised many questions. The Military decree strictly informed to the Elderly woman to speak the capital language. The officer is forcing them to speak the global language. The Officer is called a linguistic unit and the young woman is called a language unit. The officer is expecting to communicate their global language, after that only consider taking any action. The manifestation of whatever, else might be going on in the discourse. The elderly woman is calm and quiet. The dialogue is striking for the physical power of the subject broached and its mixing of referents: “Look at this hand. I think the thumb is going to come off. Who did this?” (p-342) this question is asking the Elderly woman but the young woman answered the entire question. “A big dog”. There is no relationship between the Elderly woman and the Young woman. Pinter’s illustrating that the referents mentioned in a dialogue are not important. The contrast in the reactions of the officer and the sergeant, compared to their reaction to the Elderly woman, suggest that the Elderly woman keep on silent. She doesn’t open her mouth. She was from the mountain.
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She couldn’t understand the capital language. She is able to understand the voice and the body movement but how could answer the questions. The young woman answered the question. The Officer couldn’t accept the young woman voice. Again he asked, “What was his name?” He raised the questions continuously. After that, the Officer illustrated about the dogs.
Officer: “Every dog has a name! They answer to their name. They are given a name by their parents and that is their name, which is their name! Before they bite; they state their name. It’s a formal procedure. They state their name and then they bite. What was his name? If you tell me one of our dogs bite this woman without giving his name I will have that dog shot!” (p-342).
However, this is irritated to the elderly woman. The Young woman has answered. “I don’t know his name” (p-342). This is the only level at which the young woman can interact with the officer and became part of the discourse and she does. Pinter emphasized the nature of the discourse with the evidence of hypocrisy in the question: What was the name of the dog? The officer is incensed that the young woman answers his question. The words used are only to be part of the discourse. The Officer stated that “She doesn’t speak the mountain language”. The officer is examining the young woman’s language. The Young woman’s discourse is the first time Pinter uses her name. “My name is Sara Johnson. I have come to see my husband. It is my right. Where is he?” (p344) for this discourse is issued, while the question “Where is he!” her husband is taking part of the discourse. They are declared that the young woman is not coming from the mountain. The Sergeant’s decision to remain where she is, and hence confirmed the relationship to the elderly woman. The Young woman takes part in the discourse of her own violation.
Pinter portrayed silences throughout the play to demonstrate his technique as well as his focus on the power of the play’s setting (prison). In the visitors’ room, the Elderly woman attempts to speak to her imprisoned son, but she is not permitted by the guard because the mountain language is forbidden; therefore the people can say, the second scene shows directly how domination and language are interrelated. The guard cannot understand the Elderly woman lack understanding and he loses all his humanity and thrust her with a stick: Guard: Forbidden! Language forbidden. She looks at him. He jabs her, Prisoner: She can’t speak it Silence She doesn’t speak it Silence (p. 258)
The second and third silences are always a favorite of Pinter’s, and meant to belong: at least five seconds are caused by the guard’s lack of understanding of what the prisoner is telling him. After the prisoner has told the guard twice that his Elderly woman cannot understand him, later the woman and her son’s voices are heard in voice-over. In a second visit, the rules have been reversed. The Elderly woman is permitted to speak but she can’t at the sight of her flow of blood torture son. This is the forbidden message of Mountain Language. The Elderly woman does not respond to her son’s question. That silence which is a refusal to communicate is one of the foremost images of Pinter’s plays. The moment, which ends the play, maybe when the Elderly woman has lost her ability to use the language or it is that she cannot trust his arbitrary reversal. This last silence, it may call for justice and if not for justice, at least for pity. It is the death of hope for the Elderly woman.
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Language is observably essential in Pinter’s attempt to get him across to us, but people must also recognize that on many occasions he uses pauses. A pause lasts longer and the transition to where silence becomes part of the play’s speech signifies a greater level of tension, perhaps some sort of threat: Guard: Yes Until further notice. New rules. Pause Prisoner: Mother, you can speak. Pause Mother, I 'm speaking to you. You see? We can speak. You can speak to me in our own language She is still You can speak. Pause. (pp. 265-266)
CONCLUSION
Pinter used two parts of communicators one is linguistics units and language unit. He proved that the cross-cultural aspects of his play through the conversation with one another. Mountain Language is a play about the silence and its relationship to the language of domination and violence, therefore it is forcefully constructed, and it is this quality of language that makes Mountain Language interesting and powerful. If language is associated with breath and breath with life, then to forbid someone to speak is to forbid him to live in any sense.
REFERENCE
Dukore B F, Harold Pinter, London: Macmillan press, 1988. Gumperz JJ and Hymes D H, Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication. New York: Rinehart, 1972. Hall, P. Directing Pinter, Theatre Quarterly, 1967, 4 (Nov 1974 January. Pp 56, 58, 96-7) Kane, L, The Language of the Silence: On the unspoken and the Unspeakable in Modern Drama, London: Associated University Press, 1984. Perkins, W, “Critical Essay on Mountain Language,” in The Pinter Review, eds by Francis, Gillen and Steven H. Gale, (Tampa: Tampa University press, 2002, p. 280-281. Pinter, H , The Birthday Party, Grove Press, London, 1957. Pinter, H, The Hothouse, Methuen Ltd, London, 1958. Pinter, H, The Caretaker, Eyre Methuen, London,1960. Pinter, H, The Homecoming, Grove Press, London,1964. Pinter, H, Old Times Methuen Ltd., London, 1970. Pinter, H, No Man’s Land, Methuen Ltd., London,1975. Pinter H, Writing for the Theatre, Plays One: The Birthday Party, The Room, The Dumb Waiter, A Slight Ache, The Hothouse and A Night Out, London: Faber and Faber, 1991. Pinter, H, The Essential Pinter, Grove Press, London,2006. Quigley, A E., The Pinter Problem Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press,1975. Samarin, W. The Language of Silence Practice Anthology, 1965. Vol.12, pp.115-119. Sykes A, Harold Pinter. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press,1970. Vairavan C, A Cultural Materialistic approach to Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language, International Refereed Research Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce, 2018, Vol.IX, issue-1, pp.98. Victor, L C, Gender and Power in the Plays of Harold Pinter. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1998.
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