The relationship of volitional, metalinguistic and argumentative functions of silence in legal argumentation - Статья

THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL PROBLEMS OF LAW AND POLITICS Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine THE RELATIONSHIP OF VOLITIONAL, METALINGUISTIC AND ARGUMENTATIVE FUNCTIONS OF SILENCE IN LEGAL ARGUMENTATION O. Shcherbyna The modern theory of argumentation is a complex set of theoretical approaches, each one defines the argument basing on a goal of research. A large number of works related to the analysis of argumentation is published, themed international conferences are conducted. There are various competing theoretical approaches to constructing a theory of argumentation, but none covers all the subject matter of the argumentation as a whole. First, it is connected to the complex nature of the argumentation phenomenon. One of the main application fields of theoretical achievements of argumentation researchers is the branch of law. The specifics of the legal activity and theoretical developments of theorists of law, which related to argumentation problems research in this field, have led to formation of a legal argumentation as an independent research in legal science. Different methods, techniques that make up the argument tactics are analyzed within these studies. It is relevant to appeal to the problem of definition and relationship of functions phenomenon of silence in legal argumentation in this connection. Referring to the realm of the legal argumentation in my researches I have pointed for several times the specificity of understanding and application of silence in it. Silence here can be represented as the way of manipulation in dispute and as an argument (the argument ad rem). Silence in this sense has in it a powerful defensive capacity, protecting from the destructive consequences of inappropriate or untimely taken word. Modern scientific literature considers the phenomenon of silence is in its various aspects. Silence belongs to one of the types of speech activity, namely non-activity or to specific forms of behavior, namely to non-action and counteraction. Silence belongs to a number of phenomena that are in the focus of modern philosophy, psychology, linguistics. Communicatively significant silence has been the subject of research of such linguists as N.D. Arutyunova, L.A. Aznabayeva, V.V. Bogdanov, G.E. Kreydlin, S.V. Krestynskyy, N.D. Formanovska, G.G. Pocheptsov and others. The purpose of this article is to determine the feature of argumentative function by demonstrating relationship of volitional, metalinguistic and argumentative functions of silence in legal reasoning. By focusing on the features of argumentative function of silence, we will demonstrate that silence performing this function in legal argumentation, realizes volitional and metalinguistic functions of speech (and therefore silence). Metalinguistic function uses the language not as a tool, but as a purpose of investigation. There is a question that remains controversial among scientists, it’s a question of the possibility of metalinguistic functioning of silence, of using it for comment or express the question about the structure of the language. In this regard, we should note that M. Ephratt showed the role of eloquent silence as a designation on a turning point in the dialogue that defines silence as a marker of discourse that plays metalinguistic role in dialogue thus activates the interlocutor (volitional function).