It is argued that the field of second and foreign language learning must begin to incorporate a sociocultural perspective of oral language use into language pedagogy and that the study of oral practices is a valuable way to start. Classroom practices are suggested. (86 references) (Author/LB)

Texts in Classical Nahuatl from 1524, in the genre of formal oratory, reveal extensive use of lines showing parallel morphosyntactic and semantic structure. Analysis and translation of a passage point to the applicability of structural analysis to "expressive" as well as "referential" texts; and the importance of understanding…

Finds that story props had a positive effect on four- and five-year-old children's retelling of a story, improving the number of words used and t-units produced. (SR)

Explores how graphic symbols came to represent underlying linguistic constituents. It is suggested that the relationship between speech and writing may be just the opposite of what is traditionally assumed. Writing systems may provide the concepts and categories for thinking about the structure of speech rather than the reverse. (47 references)…

PPRUE(H), which stands for Present, Prepare, Rehearse, Use, Exhibit, and (H)omework, a student-centered oral skills learning device with an optional writing component, is described. It is designed to be used at intervals throughout the school year in foreign language classrooms with oral skills components. (LB)

Extends James Heap's sociologically based viewpoint regarding reading as a cultural activity. Focuses on two neglected topics: the relationship of written and oral texts; and intertextuality uses regarding the range of texts encountered in everyday life. Heap's texts have too much autonomy; the reader is just as vital as the text. (13 references)…

Discusses examination and cross-examination strategies used in the adversarial system of a U.S. criminal trial, arguing against the use of traditional discourse analysis to describe courtroom communication and demonstrating how counsel use semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic features to establish credibility and achieve calculated responses. (25…

Recent insights into speech production are used to shed light on the dynamics of listening and resolution of fluent speech. Specific restoration processes are exemplified to illustrate what effective listening strategies encompass. Processes involved in auditory decoding, lexical decomposition, and semantic interpretation are seen as important in…

Analysis of natural language data from children up to six years of age revealed that by the third year, children clearly distinguished between reality and a variety of nonreal contrasts in their everyday speech. An experimental study in which children were questioned about the reality and appearance of a variety of items confirmed findings of the…

Explores language as a cultural commodity through examination of the different values of rhetoric in Arabic- and English-speaking cultures, as evidenced by the language of the war against Iraq, and through examination of the role of language in determining economic status in France, the United States, and England. (18 references) (Author/CB)

Examines how the cultural revolution in China has changed, to some extent, the rules governing the use of address terms, discussing the close interrelation between the use of address terms and cultural values and how the change in mental outlook has led to the depreciation or appreciation of certain terms. (Author/CB)

Emphasizes the importance of orality, a dimension of textual authenticity, that can influence the content, the form of a speech transcript, and the act of criticism. Demonstrates, with Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, that incorporation of orality does not necessarily provide answers to all of the critic's questions. (SR)

Compares the turn-taking systems in computer-mediated communication (CMC) and oral conversation. The study is based on quasisynchronous CMC conversations between students in a college classroom.(Author/VWL)

Proposes that the typologically uncommon combination of labial and palatal constriction in Twi has arisen from a convergence created by general patterns of coarticulation of consonants and vowels. This convergence has been systematized in a consonantal acoustic dimension partially independent from the original vocalic dimensions of contrast for…

Presents fine-grained longitudinal analyses of one child's language production over the period of change from single to multiword utterances. (Author/VWL)