This study was designed to determine whether subjects would behave differently to a standard and nonstandard British-accented speaker. The matched-guise procedure was used with a stimulus speaker present, face-to-face with listeners. Listeners did not know they would subsequently be required to evaluate the speaker's personality. (Author/RM)

Due to the deviance in language and the ideational fusion characteristic of poetry, the reader is engaged in a specialized form of information processing differing markedly from the reading of prose. Understanding occurs when the reader restructures his concept of reality to conform to that of the poem. (Author/SJL)

Although role-playing is an effective way to create the atmosphere of "real" business situations, technical writing teachers should continue to concentrate primarily on student writing problems and the development of such composition skills as brevity and audience awareness. (RL)

Describes the principal characteristics of women's language and shows how composition classes often discriminate against women for using techniques they have been taught to use since childhood. (DD)

This study examined the impact of different simulated evaluation report styles (use of jargon and data) on educators' agreement with evaluator's recommendations, and on ratings of the evaluator and the report. The jargon-loaded, data-free report was rated most difficult and most technical, with an audience of teachers and administrators.…

Suggestions are offered for using the questioning technique in the teaching of poetry. Questions should appeal to students of varying abilities and enable them to respond at several levels of interest and understanding. Examples from German poems illustrate application of the technique. (SW)

Discusses the sociolinguistic hypotheses of deficit and difference, criticizing the latter for deriving a "functional equivalence" from clearly different social contexts, leading to passivity and lack of results in current school practice. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Explains the major keys to better newspapers and to the economy of reproduction through honesty, integrity, accuracy, and the good editing of a copyreader. (MB)

Tests seven stylistic features of formal, persuasive public speeches and published writings of major figures from the last fifty years in an effort to determine if oral language style differs significantly from written language style. (MH)

This article discusses the problem of choosing a language style for literary purposes in Quebec. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/CLK)

An elaboration of the official instruction on teaching French to native speakers in elementary school. The topics covered are: Methodological development of exercises; the linguistic ability and milieu of the students; operative criteria; and the question of a logical progression or spontaneous use of grammar exercises. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

A study of the spoken French of 120 residents of Montreal. The researchers were interested in the linguistic and social factors influencing the use of "avoir" and "etre." Results show that this usage corresponds to a tendancy to regularize conjugations. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Analysis of two- to five-year-olds' (N=26) responses to queries regarding utterances they made during free play indicated that social context interacted with response type, demonstrating that the initial utterance had a role in response determination and was important to the contingent query sequence. (Author/CB)

Analysis of tense usage in 20 scientific articles from the "Journal of Pediatrics" reveals a hierarchy of sociolinguistic relationships among context-dependent rhetorical functions, context-independent temporal meanings, and actual tense choices. (Author/CB)

Offers a humorous strategy for enlivening composition courses that involves having the students emulate Andy Rooney's writing style. (NKA)