Findings support (1) the claim that the power of style is directly related to judgments of competence in a hypothetical court case and (2) less strongly, the claim of a direct relationship between power and communicator attractiveness. (Language style features included intensifiers, hedges, polite or hesitation forms, and deictic phrases.) (PD)

The author argues that ambiguity in language plays an important part in moral growth and that ambiguity constitutes a rich strand in English culture. Through criticism of some moral education materials, he asserts that the context, rather than the language, of social interaction is often the key to interpreting communication. (Author/SJL)

Compares three major types of syllabi--structural, situational, and notional--to determine how the last differs from the others. For each, the author examines its focus, its basis for selecting and ordering materials, and its typical manner of presentation. Discusses in considerable detail macro- and microstrategies consistent with the notional…

The importance of the distinction between form and function in language use, the appropriateness of language to varying situations, the elements of discourse structure, and the paralinguistic features of communication are discussed. Classroom activities employing these principles to develop communicative competence are included. (PMJ)

Discusses changes in the pronunciation of colloquial Brltish English, reflecting changing social attitudes toward traditional Received Pronunciation. Finds that a study is needed to determine a new standard for the use of future foreign students of English. A pilot study is described. (IFS/WGA) i

Discusses the relationship in language and specifically in French between the standard language norm, the various registers and styles available to native speakers of a given language, and second language learning. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Language is conceptualized as a multi-dimensional entity involving symbolic and cognitive aspects, communicative aspects, and structural-linguistic aspects. Analysis of single-word production of three children revealed developmental changes in the salience of these aspects and differences in functional styles of language acquisition. (CHK)

A common approach to language awareness is through the contrast between folk and scientific knowledge, with the former getting less attention. This article highlights the modes of folk linguistic awareness, discusses it as a dynamic area of study, and advocates its value for both scientific merit and its importance to applied concerns. (39…

Focuses on variable /l/-deletion in the French definite articles, subject clitic pronouns, and in one frequent phono-lexical context. Considers whether the sociolinguistic patterns reported indicate ongoing linguistic change or whether the effects observed reveal attitudes to non-standard linguistic forms inculcated in speakers by normative French…

Discusses the claim that male/female speech style differences in Japanese have the function of indexing the social role of the speaker and that identifying oneself as belonging to the male or female gender has no implication of a higher or lower status in society. The interview's findings imply that students need to be informed of the…

Describes the basis for the evaluational practices of the field geology community, through a qualitative analysis of geologists' implicit strategies coupled with the situated analysis of the field account part-genre, its past and present disciplinary practices. (Author/VWL)

Explores the role and function of metaphor in the genre of the building review within architecture discourse and suggests ways in which research into its textual and communicative function might be useful to those involved in creating English for special purposes materials for students of architecture whose first language is not English.…

Discusses the development and progress of an international corpus of English (ICE) containing a regional corpora sampling of the standard varieties of English in countries where it is a first language, and the national varieties in countries where it is an official additional language. (GLR)

Onomatopoeia is overlooked in many French grammar courses but plays a key role in everyday speech. Classification according to the feelings communicated stresses their importance. Students enjoy learning the sounds produced by animals in a second language and discovering the abundance of onomatopoeia in songs, commercials, comic books, and slang.…

Explores similarities and differences in native- and second- language referential communication through review of an experiment in which native Dutch speakers described unconventional abstract shapes first in Dutch and then in English. Subjects exhibited a preference, in both languages, for describing shapes in a holistic rather than segmental…