Proposes a distinction between: (1) social interactional rules as those governing social behavior within social structural contexts and (2) sociolinguistic roles governing the use of resources of spoken and written language within sets of social structural constraints. Also distinguishes between system-specific rules and rules which may be common…

This article discusses the interactive behavior that accompanies verbal exchange. It specifically describes a set of experiments designed to isolate an important subset of interactive behavior, the vocal (as opposed to the verbal) and to relate this information to a wide range of social impressions resulting from verbal exchange. (Available from…

The role of the particle "o.k." in service encounter dialogue is discussed. A service encounter is defined as a situation of interaction between a "posted" server and a second party (a customer) who invokes the server's participation as an operator of a "serving post." It is suggested that approval or acceptance is often only part of what is being…

This paper sets forth a comparative description of the constructs required to isolate and analyze language behavior central to the study of paraphrase--which is here considered central to an understanding of the process of idea sharing in the classroom. Findings are presented which suggest significant black/white differences in terms of these…

Dynamics of discussion in the classroom are analyzed based on data from 64 classrooms in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Among the discourse problems considered are the separation of answers from questions, the relationship between the presupposition of an utterance and the speaker/hearer assumptions, and the relationship between utterance form and…

An analysis of questioning strategies considers the kinds of responses that can be made to a question (different kinds of questions and their customary responses, and different kinds of response to the same kind of question). Additionally, the advantages/disadvantages to the use of the reproduction criterion in a sociological study are assessed.…

Examines the verbal and nonverbal behavior patterns associated with two speech styles, one formal and the other informal, among factory workers. Available from: Mouton Publishers, Box 482, the Hague, Netherlands. (AM)

It is contended that verbal and nonverbal behavior are necessary components of human communication and that they should be conceived of as inseparable elements when teaching a foreign language. It is suggested that the use of gestural dictionaries currently available could serve to close the gap between old and new methods of teaching during the…

This report describes a "culturally contexted" conversation analysis approach to the study of naturally occurring speech in supervisory conferences. The supervisors and teachers were participants in a graduate program for beginning teachers, and the conference's purpose was supervisory evaluation of teachers' classroom performances. Ethnographic…

The present study was designed to investigate whether known intercultural differences in nonverbal behavior extend to specific nonverbal repertoires accompanying, and perhaps facilitating the act of speaking a verbal language. Conversations in the form of structured interviews between 48 French-Canadian, French-English bilinguals (24 males and 24…

The assumption that question-answer sequences consist of two moves was examined using data from recordings of second-grade classrooms in Austin, Texas. Interactions initiated by children's spontaneous questions in informal, small group settings were evaluated. Twenty-nine dialogue samples are presented and analyzed. Four issues in the study of…

The factors that are involved in the choice of address to women as compared to men by speakers of American English were investigated in public interactions regarding provision of a service. In addition to proper names, there are two major types of address forms in general usage: the traditional respect forms, such as "ma'am" and "sir," and the…

A pilot experiment aimed at discovering sex-specific language patterns as exhibited by males and females in conversation with same-sex and other-sex partners falsified the hypothesis frequently stated in the literature that males hold the dominant role in mixed-sex verbal interaction, at least in regard to college students. Twelve dyadic…

The correlation of verbal, paralinguistic, and kinesic features in the context of student-student and student-teacher interaction is studied in a semester linguistics course at Vanderbilt University. The purpose of the research is to delineate some of the major problems of group interaction in the college classroom and to show how the various…