This article reviews studies done on alexia and describes experiments designed to distinguish qualitatively between pure alexia (marked by the absence of oral and written problems) and other forms of alexia. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Takes issue with standard characterizations of Japanese expository prose styles on the grounds that they view language and culture as exotic and static. Draws on multiple interpretations of ki-sho-ten-ketsu (classical rhetoric) offered by composition specialists in Japan. Suggests that researchers and writing teachers should be wary of…

Questions the universality of academic genres and discusses ways in which national rhetorical styles affect strategic choices in writing. Recommends that teachers of English for academic purposes should take seriously the role of raising the awareness of differences in rhetorical style among discourse community members. (42 references) (Author/CK)

This study examined the ability of 70 deaf and 58 hearing students at the college and middle school levels to discern and apply knowledge of printed word morphology, especially morpheme segmentation and semantic analysis. Deaf college students scored similarly to middle school hearing students. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Examines the likelihood of the dominant position of English coming under serious challenge as a world language. Discusses factors such as writing systems, standardization, and modernization.(Author/VWL)

Explores Walter H. Beale's "A Pragmatic Theory of Rhetoric," and places it in relation to other theories. Discusses Beale's semiotic theory of written discourse, its contribution, and relates Beale's aims to the rhetorical theories of James Kinnevey and James Britton. (SR)

Study of the pragmatics of politeness conventionally draws on conversational data, but can be extended to some genres of written text. A framework is described that analyzes politeness strategies in terms of impositions (claims and denials of claims) and reveals some stylistic features in scientific papers and in popularizations. (Author/CB)

Analysis of hearing-impaired adolescents' signed and written sentences expressing simple locative state relations found noun reversal and pragmatic focus errors in 7 percent of signed and 15 percent of written responses. Most errors were produced by profoundly hearing-impaired signers attending public day school. (Author/CB)

Asserts that basic writers must learn to consciously manage written patterns to become better writers. Reviews six studies focusing on lexical and syntactic differences between written and spoken English, and suggests focal points for teaching writing patterns to basic writers. Examines two case studies which demonstrate writing pattern…

Explores how students are influenced by media technology, specifically television and computers. Notes that media are not just a vehicle of information, but are primarily models of how to see, think, read, write, and reason. (MM)

Examination of a profoundly deaf child's fingerspelling in more than 100 hours of interaction videotaped at intervals over six years revealed a gradual acquisition of the rules for fingerspelling and knowledge of the relation of fingerspelling to signs and to printed and spoken words. (Author/CB)

The distinction made historically between discourse and conversation is traced to the distinction made between written and oral language. The role of this distinction in the development of second language teaching theory and practice is discussed. 76 references. (MSE)

Comparison of the performance of 25 deaf Italian adolescents and hearing controls on written grammatical tests found that the deaf subjects showed normal development in pluralization tasks, delayed development in pronoun tasks, and a qualitatively different pattern in an article task. (Author/CB)

This article examines performance in written English and Chinese in a sample of Singapore students (n=43). The implications of the findings for the Singapore classroom are discussed. (Contains 24 references.) (JL)

French Creoles are spoken in many different parts of the world, including the Indian Ocean, United States, Caribbean, and South America. These Kweyol speech communities are described, in the Kweyol Project, which examines Kweyol language issues and the establishment of a Kweyol Literacy Scheme. (Contains 15 references.) (LB)