Defines a rhetorical genre as a recurrent distinctive relationship among the elements of occasion, audience and speaker-role and examines five incidents which produced discourse constituting a rhetorical genre. (MH)

Encourages the adoption of a hierarchical model of discourse by teachers. (DD)

Defines a set of binary relations as illustrative of a hierarchical model of discourse. (DD)

States that John F. Kennedy, in his 1960 speech to Houston ministers, convinced many voters that, as a Catholic president, he would act independently of the Catholic Church in matters such as federal aid to schools, human reproduction, and religious tolerance. Analyzes arguments he used to distance himself from the Vatican and align himself with…

Articulates a theoretical framework for understanding the fundamental functions of political advertising (acclaiming, attacking, defending) which occur on the twin grounds of policy considerations and character. Applies this theory of political discourse to presidential general election television spots from 1980-1996, finding that Democrats and…

Presents observations concerning the meaning of discourse particles, based on the comparison of an item in one language with its functional equivalents in another. The article considers three languages: English, French, and German, and concludes that contrastive analyses can only indicate certain aspects that must be verified by further…

Addresses the topic of discourse markers and, using the concepts of denial and contrast, with modifications, examines markers of contrast in English and Spanish. The article shows that the markers in each language correspond very closely in what they signal about the interpretation of the utterances of which they are a part. (Nine references)…

Discusses the nature of the difference between dialectology and sociolinguistics and suggests that the findings of dialectology are relevant for use by sociolinguists. (30 references) (CK)

Investigates how language events are reported in English. The article outlines four dimensions of choice for the reporter in any language: (1) the voice presented as the report's source; (2) the way in which the message is reported; (3) the reporting signal; and (4) the reporter's attitude. Some possible applications of the framework are outlined.…

Analyzes as to style 200 samples of electronic mail memorandums gathered from 4 organizations. Counts systematically textual features such as sentence and paragraph length, grammatical sentence types, sentence openers, and diction to examine patterns of rhetorical choice common to electronic mail. Finds that writers combined elements of…

Reviews samples of professional annotated bibliographies (ABs), and on the basis of these, establishes a list of potential features of its genre. Uses this list to evaluate student annotated bibliographies. Results show that students, as emerging members of their professional communities, have an understanding of the conventional structure of ABs…

Analyzes and compares children's interpretations of metaphors used in a science text and their teacher's use of explanatory metaphor to identify key processes in metaphor understanding and to suggest factors that contribute to successful use of metaphor in learning science. Adopts a Vygotskian socio cognitive approach to metaphor in discourse. (BT)

Introduces this special issue of the journal and highlights the contents, which focus mainly on text and talk in the context of healthcare and medicine. (Author/VWL)

Comments on the methodological questions associated with applied linguistic field research, such as gaining access, data preparation, type of intervention, methods of data collection and analysis, and how to deal with requests for help and with the practitioners' expectation that discourse consultants will make recommendations for change. Focuses…

Comments on the changing dynamics in work practices. Argues that such changes are not new but have become more visible due to the increased access by outsiders, such as researchers and the media to the increase in litigation claims that exert additional pressure on practitioners. (Author/VWL)