This paper presents phonological rules describing systematic pronunciation variation in natural continuous speech. It is argued that a speech unders tanding system must explain such variation by incorporating phonological rules. Spectrographic findings are included. (C K)

The League of Women Voters is a nonprofit organization that, among other functions, helps voters learn more about issues, candidates, registration, and other election procedures. The most visible function performed by the League's Education Fund in recent years has been the sponsorship of the presidential debates. The League maintains that the…

Drawn from a 1978 Speech Communication Association seminar, this collection of papers and other materials explores the subject of argumentation as epistemology. The first paper reviews several critiques of traditional argumentation theories and offers directions for new theories, and the remaining eight papers offer responses to the ideas and…

The teacher-coach involved in a contemporary speech tournament rarely, if ever, hears eloquent speeches. The forensic vigor of oratory may be restored through a form of address called the speech to stimulate or the epideictic oratory. Such speeches may include declamatory speeches, speeches of praise (or blame), or speeches for special occasions.…

The purpose of this booklet is to provide a brief overview of some of the issues involved in the 1982-83 high school debate resolutions, which focus on the defense commitments of the United States. The first of the booklet's four chapters provides a review of information sources for use in researching the topic of defense commitments. The…

In 1980, the Sioux Falls Area Press Association in South Dakota attempted to devise a political debate procedure and format that would serve both the candidates and the public. Involving the candidates for the first and second district congressional races and for the United States senate, the televised debates, entitled "Election 80,"…

To assess the impact of rhetorical research within the field of speech communication as it contributes to the arts and humanities, a study analyzed major articles that appeared in the "Quarterly Journal of Speech" from 1970-1980. Citation measurement was made possible through the use of the "Arts and Humanities Index," a…

This paper reviews issues and analyses in bilingual switching, or intercalation, and offers a topological model to represent the activity of code switching, sometimes under the same environmental conditions and with the same interlocutors. The topological notion of catastrophe is proposed as a means to model the various factors that influence code…

Defining intersubjectivity as the accomplishment of consensus between two independently existing persons, this paper posits that concept as intrinsic to the study of interpersonal communication. The paper isolates basic assumptions underlying current approaches to conceptualizing intersubjectivity in the interpersonal communication literature. It…

Noting a consensus among intercultural communication researchers regarding the present lack of theory and methodology, this paper discusses how to develop a theory that simultaneously provides explanation, direction, and practical information. It first discusses criticisms of intercultural communication and identifies the most important issues,…

This paper discusses ways in which the field of speech communication can be advanced. The first half of the paper characterizes the objectivist and subjectivist views of how knowledge is acquired and the forms of inquiry to which these views have led. The remainder of the paper demonstrates the role that the "interesting question" (one for which…

Eighteen conversations between patients and nurses or physicians were videotaped to examine patterns that the interactants followed to maintain dominant or recessive roles. Physicians/nurses were viewed as the dominant interactants because of their greater control in the hospital setting whereas patients were viewed as the recessive interactants…

Thirty-two speech anxious college students participated in a study that examined whether four treatments that have been effective when applied separately would be equally effective when applied in combination. The treatments were (1) systemic desensitization (SD), (2) speech skills training (SST), (3) SST combined with coping skills training (CST)…

Speech communicators need to return to applied research, developing theoretical statements about how groups might work better and testing the validity of those statements. Among the tasks that group communication researchers might take up are determining the range of applicability of generalizations concerning different kinds of groups, studying…