English-speaking children reduce words by omitting syllables in certain predictable patterns. To better understand the nature of phonological reductions in children, this study explored whether adults produce predictable output patterns when reducing words. (Author/VWL)

Investigated how English and Japanese speakers syllabify two-syllable English words and nonwords with single intervocalic consonants Results are discussed in light of linguistic and psycholinguistic theories of syllabification. (Author/VWL)

The study compared speech naturalness ratings of 280 perceptually fluent speech samples produced by nonstutterers and stutterers who had been treated in six different therapy programs. A significant difference existed between the naturalness ratings of nonstutterers and the treated stutterers. No difference was found in the posttreatment…

Examines the depth and denials of the past as well as the present relationship between rhetoric and the social science of communication. Argues for a broader, unitary view to replace the fragmentation strategy. Argues that the greater question is what might be gained from the marriage of rhetoric and communication science. (KEH)

Introduces a special issue of "Communication Research," which examines (both quantitatively and qualitatively) how processes within individuals influence communication within marital and family life. (SR)

Presents a narrative account of a dialogue with Thomas A. Sebeok, professor of linguistics and semiotics at Indiana University. Reviews Sebeok's professional background; captures his synthetic ideas; and highlights his views on the relationships between communication and semiotics, language and communication, signs and symbols, theory and method,…

Investigates the extent to which actor-partner points of view influence the outcomes of conflict messages on perceptions of communicator appropriateness, effectiveness, and global competence. Finds support for the attributional approach used to explain actor-observer judgments of actors' communicative competence. (MG)

Presents H. G. Gadamer's ontology of understanding as a developmental foundation for interpersonal system ethics. Conceptualizes interaction in terms of demand that the subject matter places on openly formed mutual understanding. Shows unethical interactions as practices which prohibit this development. Provides examples of processes by which…

Follows particular parallels between oralist and electronic mediation to explore narrative or storytelling as a rhetorical form that transcends mediation. Reviews how writing-based cognition may bind progress in rhetorical practice and theory. Examines how narrative is media-transcendent. Reflects on the nature of media shifts. (SR)

Examines interaction involvement (a fundamental orientation toward the act of communicating) and nonverbal behavior. Finds that involvement relates positively to object-focused gesturing and eye gaze and negatively to body-focused gesturing and body movement. Finds no sex differences in high- and low-involved individuals' nonverbal behavior. (SR)

Reappraises Edward R. Murrow's "Report on Senator McCarthy" from the documentary series "See It Now." Argues that the text situates itself between the genres of objective news documentary and of public argument through the ironic "use" of objectivity as a fabricated strategy of appeal. (SR)

Reviews the status of employment opportunities for speech communication graduates by (1) revising recent evidence relating to speech communication and careers; (2) assessing the validity of claims regarding employment opportunities for liberal arts graduates; and (3) providing suggestions for the enhancement of career advising in speech…

Reports an evaluation of the assessment test developed in communication at the Kansas City campus of the University of Missouri. Notes that the findings of this report suggest several important implications concerning the role of indirect assessments of student learning. (MM)

Examines the nature of large-scale, standardized assessment programs for oral communication in colleges and universities in 1986. Compares the results of this study with results from a similar study conducted in 1982. Concludes that assessment procedures show little change between the two studies. (MM)

Investigates the effectiveness of citation indexes as tools for communication research. Concludes that because five communication journals are not covered by citation indexes, using these indexes is problematic for communication researchers. (MM)