A Pragmatic Study of Nonverbal Communication in Johnny Depp Versus Amber Heard’s Public Trial

Depp and Heard's trial has reaped significant attention due to the domestic violence allegations directed towards each other. This paper sheds light on the repressed narrative beyond the mere words spoken aloud. It delves into an overlooked aspect, i.e., nonverbal communication. Previous studies focused on one or two categories of nonverbal communication. Therefore, the current study investigates the types and sub-types of nonverbal communication exhibited by both rivals within the courtroom setting. To examine the credibility and repressibility of nonverbal communication, the researchers have carefully watched (28) videos representing the whole trial's event. Some nonverbal communication was traced through the whole (28) videos from which (10) screenshots were purposely selected to represent nonverbal communication. In some cases, the researchers had to attract the reader's attention to the verbal communication to provide the context in which the nonverbal communication was analyzed. To achieve the aims of the study, the researchers rely on Grice's Maxims (1975) and Leonard's (2012) model of nonverbal communication, which consists of six categories with their subcategories. The results show that Depp utilized various types of nonverbal communication while Heard overused lip pressing and head movements. Depp also adhered to most of Grice's maxims, while Heard violated some. In some situations, the nonverbal communication was interpreted. In other situations, the nonverbal communication was supported or contradicted by verbal communication. Nonverbal communication cannot be controlled. If the communicator controls one or two types of nonverbal communication, it will either sound exaggerated or reveal the real intention.