The term "unsaid" refers what is not explicitly stated, what is hidden and/or implied in the speech of an individual or a group of people.
The unsaid may be the product of intimidation; of a mulling over of thought; or of bafflement in the face of the inexpressible.[1]
Sociolinguistics points out that in normal communication what is left unsaid is as important as what is actually said[2]—that we expect our auditors regularly to fill in the social context/norms of our conversations as we proceed.[3]
Basil Bernstein saw one difference between the restricted code and the elaborated code of speech is that more would be left implicit in the former than the latter.[4]
Inethnology, ethnomethodology established a strong link between unsaid and axiomatic. Harold Garfinkel, following Durkheim, stressed that in any given situation, even a legally binding contract, the terms of agreement rest upon the 90% of unspoken assumptions that underlie the visible (spoken) tip of the interactive iceberg.[5]
Edward T. Hall argued that much cross-cultural miscommunication stemmed from neglect of the silent, unspoken, but differing cultural patterns that each participant unconsciously took for granted.[6]
Luce Irigaray has emphasised the importance of listening to the unsaid dimension of discourse in psychoanalytic practice[7]—something which may shed light on the unconscious phantasies of the person being analysed.[8]
Other psychotherapies have also emphasised the importance of the non-verbal component of the patient's communication,[9] sometimes privileging this over the verbal content.[10] Behind all such thinking stands Freud's dictum: "no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips...at every pore".[11]
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