II. Silence

Silence happens in conversation when no party self-select or the pointed participant refuses to take the turn. Turn-taking rules have three options In order to achieve continuity of talk. But the refusal to apply such options is permitted and results in silence. Silence can be divided into different kinds of non-speech; lapse, pause, and gap which are assessed according to their placement in the turn and the exchange. At TRP if current speaker stops and none of options for next turn is used, there is a lapse of the turn (Herman, 83). "Any transition where none of the options to speak has been employed, the possibility of a lapse and discontinuous talk arises " (Sacks, Schegloff, Jefferson, p715). Examples of lapse:

(1) J: Oh I could drive if you want me to.
(2) C: well no I'll drive (I don't m//in')
(3) J: hhh
(4) (1.0)
(5) J: Meant to offah.
(6) (16.0)
(7) J: Those shoes look nice when you keep
on putting stuff on 'em.

(Sacks, Schegloff, Jefferson., p715)

Lapse is obvious in line four and line six. It is an extended period of time which results from the refusal to apply the option of turn-taking rules. speaker C does not self- selects himself in line five and speaker J does not select him, so lapse occurs in line four.

Pause is an intra-turn speaker's silence not at TRP. It is due to hesitation or keeping the turn. "It happens when the speaker find it difficult to select the appropriate word or it might be rhetorical, as a kind of upbeat for something important will follow (Levelt, p 33)". Example for Pause:

(1) Jan : Dave (0.1) is something wrong?
(2) Dave : What? What's wrong?
(3) Jan : Never mind.

In this example there is a pause in line one. It is silence within the turn due to hesitation or in order to keep the turn. According to Herman, gap is silence at the end of a turn which is delayed and this silence is filled by some speaker and thus minimized (p83). Gaps occur between turn after TRP. Example for Gaps:

(1) A: (0:013) sure, I will give it to you.
(2) B: Thanks.

Here the gap occurs at the TRP after the current speaker select the next speaker or when the next speaker self-selects himself. So it occurs between turns.