Describes two ways to combat "bad tone" and "unclear thinking" in writing. Describes "breaking the ice" as being aware of a written message's appearance--the message's readability. Explains that "fog-lifting" is accomplished by writing clearly, and by paying particular attention to the verb "to…

Examines the frequency and discourse functions of 752 active transitive clauses in a 66,500-word corpus of 16 research articles in the physical sciences. Finds the overall rate of actives was only 34%, the choice of active voice was often dictated by the demands of information structure, and that the specific discourse functions of active clauses…

Discusses the need to take enough time to properly teach second-language students grammatical rules and outlines major points in a first-year Spanish curriculum that stresses reviewing grammatical concepts throughout the four semesters. (18 references) (GLR)

Explains and exemplifies terminal modifiers in the context of technical writing. Examines representative technical reports and finds that increased attention to terminal modifiers (especially the absolute, the summarizing appositive, and the nonparticipial adjective phrase) would significantly increase options for effective expression. (SR)

Second-language acquisition data are provided from a study abroad environment to support or reject prior assertions about natural states in the acquisition of the Spanish copulas "ser" and "estar." It is suggested that students tend to acquire the different copulas in given ordered stages. (20 references) (LB)

The arbitrariness of linguistic categories is discussed. Consideration of some other fields of human activity suggests that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is true, and it is suggested that the process of grammaticalization might be understood as a kind of ritualization. (57 references) (Author/LB)

Argues that English intonational structure and surface syntactic structure are one and can be captured in a single unified grammar. The interpretations that the grammar provides for such constituents corresponds to the entities and open propositions of intonational meaning that have been described as "theme" and "rheme,""given" and "new," and…

The use of graphics for clarifying paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships of nominals is described. This approach improves student understanding of reflexive, pseudo-reflexive, and nonreflexive sequences. (Contains seven references.) (Author/LB)

Discusses problems in a piece of technical writing which is very well written but has extra words and overly long sentences. (SR)

Discusses the difference between a complex sentence and a compound sentence, and how they are used in technical writing and in Victorian fiction. (SR)

In response to the current interest in the functional approach to language teaching, a language program is proposed that is "pro grammar" but not a return to the teaching of abstract and decontextualized grammar. (CFM)

Reflecting on the important works of Alma Sabatini in the area of sexism, her work and those of other Italians is compared with researchers in other countries, particularly the United States, France, and Germany. The Italian language is analyzed, pointing out instances of sexism. (CFM)

Three experiments investigating the use of temporal information in a reduced relative clause to interpret verb tense of the main clause found that subjects rapidly assessed temporal information to resolve tense ambiguity, demonstrating an incremental approach to comprehension that uses previous discourse to continuously update comprehension and…

In an effort to untangle theories of French verb tense for second language classroom use, an instructional approach that moves the learner progressively through the tenses and their meanings is presented. The system focuses on the relationship of each tense to the present tense. (MSE)

In contrast to the usual approach to teaching grammar, this article argues for a comprehension-based approach. Based on a model of second-language acquisition, it examines a number of possible goals for grammar instruction (e.g., to promote "intake" of new grammatical features by helping learners notice input features and comprehend the meaning).…