The adjective tacit comes from Latin, specifically from tacitus, which means quiet. As for its meaning, it is what is not said because it is unnecessary. In this way, if a pact is reached without words between two people, a tacit agreement is produced.
Words are not always necessary to understand us
Although words are the fundamental element of communication, they are not always essential for a correct understanding. In fact, in certain contexts of language the messages are understood, that is, they are hidden because they do not appear, but this does not mean that they are not present. In this way, two people who know each other very well can understand each other with a simple glance and their communication is done without words and tacitly.
The tacit agreement is an unwritten agreement in which the people involved commit themselves and in their commitment it is not necessary to sign anything or say anything. Let's look at two typical situations:
1) two people close a business verbally and at the end of the meeting shake hands as a sign of agreement (with this gesture a mandatory commitment is signed) and
2) An individual lends another an object of value and at no time is the fact that the object must be returned at a later date is mentioned.
Despite the fact that the tacit agreement is a deeply rooted social mechanism, in most formal agreements it is convenient that there be an element that requires compliance with the agreement (normally that element is a contract).
Tacit or elliptical subject
From a grammatical point of view, in some language contexts it is not necessary to use a subject. This occurs when it is understood who is the subject that stars in the action and, therefore, it is unnecessary to mention it. In the sentence "I have won the game" the subject is me, but it is not essential to use it, since the verb form already indicates who it is. In the sentence "the other day you won the game" the unspoken subject is you. In the sentence "they played in the yard" the subject that is omitted is them.
Tacit knowledge
Certain knowledge is obvious, but still cannot be explained in words. When this happens we speak of tacit knowledge. In this sense, we identify someone's voice or recognize their face by an automatic mental process and, therefore, we do not know how to explain how we do it but we do it.
Photos: Fotolia - Karolina Chaberek / Vibe
