To test whether verbal choices in a persuasive setting would show less diversity and more qualification than those in a nonpersuasive setting, a study involving 24 college students was undertaken. The subjects were divided into five groups and each group was asked to role play two situations: one calling for the subjects merely to be…

Language samples of college- and middle-aged respondents were analyzed to determine if the language use of college students is appropriate for generalizations to other elements of the population. (PD)

Presents study in which transcripts of speeches were linguistically analyzed for gender-specific features. Shows that a combination of 20 features could account for 99% of between-gender variance, permitting 100% gender prediction accuracy. (MS)

Investigates how numbers function rhetorically by influencing persuasive appeals, the structure of messages, and the use of language. Argues that "three" is the dominant numerical motif in the English language. Asserts that, as long as numbers influence the speech, behaviors, and perceptions of people, their rhetorical significance must…

Examines the effects of teachers' language on initial impressions and uncertainty reduction in the university classroom. States that language was operationalized using powerful and powerless forms. Finds that teachers using powerful language forms were rated consistently higher than those who used powerless forms, and that differences were also…

Transcripts analyzed by computer programs reveal that when individuals shift from truthfulness to deception, there are corresponding shifts in lexical diversity, such as fewer words, decrease in the number of unique words used, fewer past tense verbs, and a decrease in the perceptual-cognitive activity. (PD)

Three stereotypes of male-female behavior as manifested in language were investigated. The stereotypes are: women are more verbose than men, women use more modifiers than men, and women are submissive to men. Eighty students were randomly assigned to one of two conflict resolution conditions--a business situation and an interpersonal…

Twenty-two interviews were conducted with the owner, managers, employees, suppliers, customers, and competitors of an auto dealership employing 91 people in order to examine the oral traditions of that company. The interviews provided data on management styles, dynamics of the managers' interaction, general language usage, paralanguage, favorable…

A study was conducted to examine the differences in language usage between males and females in the specific moral domain of conflict resolution and rationales for decisions. The subjects, 39 female and 21 male college students, were given an imaginary conflict scenario to resolve, asked how the conflict should be resolved, what the rationales…

Reports on two studies exploring the contrast effects in judgments of messages exhibiting high or low lexical and syntactic diversity. Suggests that listeners are sensitive to variations in lexical diversity but not syntactic diversity. (RL)

A study of cross examination speeches of males and females was conducted to determine gender differences in intercollegiate debate. The theory base for gender differences in speech is closely tied to the analysis of dyadic conversation. It is based on the belief that women are less forceful and dominant in cross examination, and will exhibit…

Presuming that rhetorical discourse comes into existence as a response to a situation in the same sense that an answer comes into existence in response to a question, or a solution in response to a problem, then Mexico is fertile ground for rhetoric and the study of rhetoric. Mexico is a country under fire. Economic and political problems threaten…

Suggests that speech act theory can help researchers and teachers in professional communication to define indirectness more precisely and to determine when it is appropriate and can provide them with a means of analyzing texts and refining rhetorical principles. (ARH)

An ethnographic study examined slang as spoken on campuses of two universities in the United States, one on the West Coast and one in the Midwest. Subjects were students from Intercultural Communication classes, who served as participant/observers and data gatherers. Subjects were instructed to collect slang terms that they heard on campus and,…

Examines the consequences of powerful and powerless speech styles in a hypothetical job interview by investigating the effects of seven linguistic features. Found, for example, that hesitations and tags were judged relatively powerless, ineffective, and unlikely to fulfill the communicator's intentions while polite linguistic forms and…