Defines poetry as a distinctive form of language. Argues that writing poetry in E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be") can be a very effective tool for locating the fragmentation of regular language. Claims that excellent poetry can be written in E-Prime. (HB)

Describes how a teacher revised his public speaking textbook by altering the style to "E-Prime" (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be"). Summarizes the arguments against the use of E-Prime and provides responses that might come from E-Prime's supporters. (HB)

Examines how conceptions of the text, reader, author, and context are altered by postmodern theories of intertextuality (ITX), and what ITX itself has come to mean as articulated by this theorizing and research. The idea of deconstructing reading is described. (Contains 48 references.) (JP)

Presents results of a detailed analysis of courtroom transcripts involving Spanish-English interpreting by four interpreters in Sydney, Australia, where consistent changes in the interpreted versions were found. Discusses omission of substantial diminution of reference to the courtroom reality in interpreted discourse and changes in tenor that may…

This paper surveys work on applying the insights of lexicalized grammars to low-level discourse, to show the value of positing an autonomous grammar for low-level discourse in which words (or idiomatic phrases) are associated with discourse-level predicate-argument structures or modification structures that convey their syntactic-semantic meaning…

This cross-cultural discourse analysis examines the construction of environmental issues on Greenpeace web pages in China, Japan and Germany. To uncover the semantic representation of environmental activism on these sites, the authors sought to identify discursive homogeneity and divergence and to bring to light embedded cultural assumptions. The…

Discourse intonation attempts to explain how intonation patterns in English affect the communicative value of speech, through the use of falling and rising tones along with changes in pitch. The teaching of intonation seems to sit naturally with communicative language learning, but it is not an easy aspect of English to incorporate into the EFL…

This study considers some problems of reference found in figurative language, particularly in metaphor and metonymy. Analysis is based on the notion that the effects communicated by figurative language depend to a large extent on reference to more than one concept, experience, or entity, and that the presence of multiple potential referents…

An analysis of the English lexical items "even" and "only" looks at features of their behavior in discourse and brings attention to certain unexamined aspects of their role in text. Their syntactic behavior is reviewed and some problems with previous interpretations are examined. The features of "even" are defined:…

Conversations are cooperatively achieved speech events. In introducing a new topic, there are specific procedures followed to close the old topic. Because these procedures take place over a series of utterances, both/all participants must cooperate to close a topic. Analysis of conversations among adults who know each other suggests that there are…

A study investigated the use of qualifiers, words and phrases used to indicate the level of approximation of propositional content or of speaker commitment to the proposition, in an atypical form of medical interview: conversations between physicians and patients on a radio talk show. Qualifiers used were classified as hedges (suggesting…

A new theory of speech acts is proposed that draws a fundamental distinction between speech acts proper--declaratives, interrogatives, and directives--and the myriad social actions that are performed using language such as making promises, making offers, issuing invitations, and asking questions. The theory states that sentences are usally meant…

Fourier analysis, a common technique in engineering, breaks down a complex wave form into its simple sine wave components. Communication researchers have recently suggested that this technique may provide an index of the rhythm of conversation, since vocalizing and pausing produce a complex wave form pattern of alternation between two speakers. To…

Defining peak as the climax of discourse, this paper argues that it is important to identify peak in order to get at the overall grammar of a given discourse. The paper presents case studies in which four instances of peak in narrative discourses occur in languages from four different parts of the world. It also illustrates the occurrence of a…

In analyzing utterances whose singular property is to become true simply by being uttered, this article discusses the theory of explicit performatives and proposes an alternative explanation which focuses on meaning rather than on the fact of these utterances are speech acts. (Text is in French.) (CLK)