Purpose: Emotion classification for auditory stimuli typically employs 1 of 2 approaches (discrete categories or emotional dimensions). This work presents a new emotional speech set, compares these 2 classification methods for emotional speech stimuli, and emphasizes the need to consider the entire communication model (i.e., the talker, message,…

This study aims to analyze positive remarks linguistically manifested through English intensifiers, i.e. very and so, and their collocates in café reviews. The appraisal framework primarily focuses on the feelings or attitudes of speakers or writers. It plays a part in providing communicative resources whereby speech functions are performed…

Many children find school tests difficult, but children who are deaf or hard of hearing may find them especially so. Reports from the 2008 Test Equity Summit indicate that disproportionate numbers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing at all grade levels are failing critically important tests even though their classroom work may show that…

Modern linguistic theory and research has only recently caught up with the linguistic intuition of the poet. A new, scientifically based view of language has emerged which must be understood and applied in creating and evaluating books for children so that they might utilize the full rich potential of language. (Author/NH)

Charges that language journal editors, intent on uniformity, are arbitrarily legislating language and style, glorifying pedantry, and over-editing copy. Objects to low-esteem given to book reviews. Recommends, instead, informative abstracts to describe current literature. (DS)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of instruction methods and choice of textbooks or teaching materials on the quality and style of writing found in college freshmen English examinations. Eighty male, native English-speaking students (40 taking courses in technical report writing at Oregon Technical Institute, 40 studying…

This study examined the impact of different simulated evaluation report styles (use of jargon and data) on educators' agreement with evaluator's recommendations, and on ratings of the evaluator and the report. The jargon-loaded, data-free report was rated most difficult and most technical, with an audience of teachers and administrators.…

A useful device in revising technical reports is the metaphor of entropy, which refers to the amount of disorder that is present in a system. Applied to communication theory, high entropy would correspond to increased amounts of unfamiliar or useless information in a text. Since entropy in rhetorical systems increases with the unfamiliarity of…

Rating scales were developed and applied to evaluate deferential/nondeferential language users. Participants were 1,262 college students in small discussion groups containing two experimenter's confederates who used either deferential or nondeferential language. The characteristics of deferential language users were questioning/tentative behavior,…

A study to analyze selected shortwave broadcasts in terms of the Flesch formula for readibility is presented. The study attempted to qualify elements of style based on their scripted word usage and to compare and contrast the news broadcasts of four countries in terms of gross listenability. A number of studies were conducted which applied the…

Two basic approaches to language treatment have been defined, the policy approach and the cultivation approach. The former deals with the selection of a national language, standardization, literacy, orthography, and the stratification of code varieties, and is a macro approach. The latter concerns correctness, efficiency, specialized functions,…