Critically examines contemporary interactional studies of the cultural specificity of human language. The study is a cross-cultural analysis of misconstrued communications in human interaction, ascertaining whether these interactions are crucially dependent on nonlinguistic variables. (CB)

Proposes to establish the correct Black cultural perspective on the role and function of personal insults in sounding and the boundary between play and nonplay. Considers different cultural consequences that would stem from regarding personal insults to be part of verbal play or not, and shows similarity in the structure and function of…

Examines words per pause (W/P) as a means of identifying solidarity between speakers and listeners. Speakers use significantly more words per pause with friends than when speaking with strangers. W/P can be used to investigate speaking style in various contexts and to diagnose sympathy and estrangement between speakers. (JL)

Review of transcripts of supposedly invariant opinion surveys reveals, rather than suppressing their individual linguistic styles, interviewers make changes in scripted introduction and add unscripted answer-acknowledgments and commentary throughout interviews. Although this is a response to U.S. value of individuality in discourse, it conflicts…

Addresses the relevance of a functional approach to the study of speech genres. Discusses the variation factors that can explain and partly predict spontaneous performances of a traditional genre of Samoan speechmaking. (EKN)

Analyzes salutations in 75 letters of application. The 28 applicants who used masculine greetings used four different forms. The 47 who used sex-neutral greetings used 19 different forms. Looks at the applicants' qualifications, sex, and region of the country in which they live as factors influencing the writers' choices of salutations. (SED)

In an investigation of the use of the word "hey" in pseudoquotations, invented quotations, in current English communication, tokens (n=26) were collected from public and commercial broadcasts and miscellaneous readings. A speaker uses quote formula + hey + pseudoquotation to dramatize and give emphasis to an important point. (72…

Analysis of a sociolinguistic interview reveals repeated presentation of ideas, words, expressions, and structures. These recurrent devices and patterns increase the effect of arguments. The immediate purpose is the listener's acceptance of the speaker's views. There is also a concern to gain recognition of the speaker's opinion of self and his…

Presents theory of "audience design" which assumes that speakers design their style of talk for their audience, and examines how speakers do this. Also examines the effects on style shift of nonpersonal factors (such as topic and setting) and of referees (the class of persons with whom the speaker identifies). (SED)

Research supported by a research fellowship and field research training grant from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (National Institute for Mental Health. (DD)

A case study of IBM VM users is discussed in terms of those aspects of the context of a situation that affect both user choice of mode/medium and mode/medium switching. Results indicate that the medium of communication is itself a linguistic choice. (Author/DJD)

Analysis of headlines reporting the outcomes of professional and college football games revealed language use patterns involving transitive and intransitive verbs, phrase structure, alliteration and puns, and action verbs. It is suggested that continued use of a verb for winning or losing may lead to a change in its meaning. (Author/CB)

Research supported, in part, by grants from the Canada Council and Defense Research Board to W.E. Lambert and G.R. Tucker. (VM)

Two speech events, narration and joking conversation, are analyzed from speech samples of Hawaiian 5- to 7-year-olds. An underlying iterative routine was found which allows for both stories and joking to be produced jointly in a contrapuntal style. (Author/RM)

Describes a study that investigated the distribution of the pronouns of address in the German Democratic Republic by looking at the pronouns and terms of address in different newspaper tests. Pronoun use was dependent on the kind of text, on party membership, nationality, social class, and the roles of the addressee and addressed. (SED)