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)

Finds that communication modality moderates effects of power of language style on attitudes toward speaker's recommendation but not on evaluations of the speaker. Indicates that systematic information processing is used to form attitudes toward a recommendation when arguments are represented in writing, whereas audio and audio-visual modes…

Antecedents of linguistic nonimmediacy were examined in a four-factor analysis of covariance with repeated measures design. Immediacy refers to the language of a message expressing a close relationship to the referent, while nonimmediacy suggests that the language expresses a more distant relationship. Subjects in the study were 118 college…

It is suggested that the literature on communicative competence, replete with various formulations, mirrors the diversity of language outlined by Martin Joos in his essay "The Five Clocks." Three concepts of communicative competence are reviewed, in historical perspective. The first, promoted by Norm Chomsky, distinguished linguistic…

A study was conducted to replicate and extend an earlier investigation of the persuasive effects of extended, intense concluding sex and death metaphors by using a more controlled design and by mixing metaphors. Fifty-eight high school students completed pretests assessing their attitudes toward a speech topic (legalization of marijuana). Two…

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)

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…

There is overwhelming research and anecdotal evidence suggesting that traditional letter writing has significantly dwindled due to the increase use of email, online chats, telephone, and other electronic communication devices. People who became mainly dependent on internet relay chats in the late 1990s found themselves developing a new phraseology…

The first part of this essay argues specifically that legal speech acts are not statements but question/answer constructions. The focus in this section is on the underlying interrogative structure of the legal decision. The second part of the paper touches on significant topics related to the concept of legal speech acts, including the philosophic…

Argues that several areas of rhetorical criticism on political speeches need reassessment. These include rhetorical biography, the speaker's purpose, issue analysis, organization or identifying patterns of construction within a speech, and style. (JMF)

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…

Examines the personality attributions made of a second speaker when (1) he reciprocated or failed to reciprocate the intimacy level of a disclosure made by an initial speaker and when (2) he matched or failed to match the initial speaker's level of language intensity. (Authors)

To determine the most effective communication style for women in management, a study examined which of three power/gender speech strategies--stereotypical feminine (powerless), stereotypical masculine (powerful), and mixed stereotypical masculine/stereotypical feminine--was perceived most effective for a male or female when communicating with a…