This paper outlines how corpus linguistics--and more specifically the corpus-assisted discourse studies approach--can add useful dimensions to studies of language ideology. First, it is argued that the identification of words of high, low, and statistically significant frequency can help in the identification and exploration of language ideologies…

Pausing strategies in read and spontaneous speech have been of significant interest for researchers since in literature it was observed that read speech and spontaneous speech pausing patterns do display some considerable differences. This, at least, is the case in the English language as it was produced by native speakers. As to what may be the…

Foreign language (FL) education has been marked by a monolingual principle that has favoured "intralingual" methodologies. Bakhtin's view of language interillumination--that languages throw light on each other--challenges such language teaching practices radically. Using conversation analysis methods, this article examines transcripts of…

This paper describes certain metonymies that are often employed in the daily French press. In such metonymies, a human being or a set of individuals are referred to by means of the name of an institutional location (i.e., a capital city, a ministry in a western country, the name of a country). These metonymic patterns do not seem to be used by…

Studied procedures used by French and English speakers to implement message packaging during sentence formulation. Results provide new evidence for similar and contrasting ways in which speakers of different languages respond to decisions about message packaging. (DR)

Analysis of the distribution of punctors, a class of markers commonly classified as nervous tics, fillers, or signs of hesitation, in one corpus of French is presented. Some aspects of their conditioning are explained in terms of the interaction of etymological, discursive, syntactic, and social constraints. (Author/MSE)

A study examines the way in which one group of discourse connectors, terminators, function in contemporary spoken French. Three types of terminators, elements used at the end of an utterance or section to indicate its completion, are investigated, including utterance terminators, interrogative tags, and terminal tags. (Author/MSE)

Analyzes the strategies employed in terminating conversational exchanges, with particular attention to argumentative sequences. Examines the features that distinguish these sequences from those that have a transactional character, and discusses the patterns of verbal interaction attendant to negative responses. Societe Nouvelle Didier Erudition,…

The language of argumentation, taught increasingly often at the advanced level of French second-language learning, is discussed. Rationale for its teaching, basic concepts within the emerging discipline, and its relationship to traditional language teaching are examined. (MSE)

Analyzes a type of conversational exchange where the participants focus on a given subject or theme contributing personal views to the discussion. Characterizes the relationship among the participants as a "cooperative conflict," examining the internal structure of speech acts and their illocutory functions, particularly the initiatory…

Patterns of use of the French particles "bon, (eh) ben, and enfin" were analyzed in a corpus of spontaneous multispeaker conversation. Results show that each particle marks a particular type of discontinuity in the discourse. Turn-initial and turn-medial patterns are described for each. (17 references) (Author/MSE)

Using extracts from a corpus of naturally occurring French conversation, this study examines how the collaborative construction of episodes of shared laughter contributes to the achievement of affiliation between interlocutors. Results show that how laughter is initiated, where it is placed, and who joins in are significant to the task of…

Three papers in linguistics, all in French, are presented. "La delocutivite lexicale en francais standard: esquisse d'un modele derivationnel" ("Lexical Delocutivity in Standard French: Sketch of a Derivational Model"), by Marc Bonhomme, examines the process by which certain expressions become neologisms. "La terminologie…

A study of the use of phrase-terminal extension particles in Montreal (Canada) French analyzed composition, sociodemographic patterns of occurrence, and discourse functions of 76 particle types in 4 distinct classes. (MSE)

Presents rules for the correct use of the French pronouns "ce" and "il," based on the criterion of discourse coherence and an understanding of the principles underlying the use of demonstrative vs. personal pronouns. (MSE)