A study investigated the variety of ways in which managers use language in sociolinguistically sensitive ways to get things done at work. Drawing on a database of over 300 interactions in a range of New Zealand workplaces, aspects of power (how things are accomplished), politeness (the importance of small talk), and solidarity (the difference…

Focuses on written business communication in a changing technological environment. The article presents the results of a questionnaire and interview study conducted among Finnish business professionals on their English business communication with special emphasis on developments in the organization, structure, and language of written…

Drawing on native/non-native speaker discourse data from goal-oriented interaction in Australian workplaces, it is argued that modality is inherently a centrally important function in such discussions, and that appropriately nuanced expression of modality is often crucial to "getting the job done," and that emphasis should be given to…

A study examined how government administrators in New Zealand construct their professional identities and power relationships, and how this identity is reflected in patterns of discourse and strategies of interaction. Three levels of discourse analysis (speech functions; discourse strategies; and linguistic forms) and their components and…

A study investigated which experiences helped Japanese learners of English as a second language acquire native-like politeness strategies and how Japanese businessmen perceive the relationship between degrees of indirectness and politeness in Japanese and in English. Subjects were 22 adult males, including 17 native speakers of Japanese working…

Papers on the role of language in the work environment include: "Institutions, Writing and Talk in Environmental Discourse" (Greg Myers); "Negotiating Training: Shifting Participant Frameworks in the Workplace" (Kristina Bennert); "Relational Management in Chinese-British Business Meetings" (Helen Spencer-Oatey,…

This guide is designed for Singhalese language training of Peace Corps workers in Sri Lanka, and reflects daily communication needs in that context. It consists of: a list of selected language topics and related language competencies; lesson plans for each topic; culture notes for each topic; and a series of reproducible masters for handouts on a…

Essays on literacy patterns and practices in South Africa include: "Literacy, Voter Education and Constructions of Citizenship in the Western Cape During the First Democratic National Elections in South Africa" (Mastin Prinsloo, Steven Robins); "Literacy, Knowledge, Gender, and Power in the Workplace on Three Farms in the Western…

The language manual for Kyrgyz was designed for the specific language instruction needs of Peace Corps personnel in Kyrgyzstan. It begins with a brief introduction to the Kyrgyz language, stressing the points at which the Kyrgyz system differs from English, and outlining the Kyrgyz sound system. It then presents 15 topical lessons, each containing…

The instructional materials for Armenian are designed for the language training of Peace Corps volunteers in Armenia. They use a competency-based approach focusing on content, cultural context, and communication purpose simultaneously. Some are closely tied to work tasks, others to daily communication needs. A brief introductory section gives an…

A study examined pragmatic variation across Turkish and American English in the speech act of chastisement, to determine occurrence of pragmatic transfer in the interlanguage of native Turkish speakers learning English as a Second Language (ESL). Data were collected from 80 native speakers of Turkish, 14 native speakers of American English, and 68…

Reports of language research in the 1996 issue include: "Corpus Planning for the Southern Peruvian Quechua Language" (Serafin M. Coronel-Molina); "Foreign Language Planning in U.S. Higher Education: The Case of a Graduate Business Program" (Mitchell A. Furumoto); "Charting New Directions: Of Communication in a Social…