Surveys the various forms and applications of the French negatives. Discusses the tendency to omit "ne" in spoken French, which depends on form (conversation vs. narration), external circumstances (public vs. private), socio-cultural level (upper class vs. lower class), and attitude of speaker (spontaneity vs. affectation). (Text is in French.)…

It is explained how two streams of modern linguistics--stylistics and text linguistics--can be related to the study of literary texts. It is concluded that a study of the ways in which the sentences of a text are interlinked can reveal certain stylistically relevant characteristics of that text. (Available from: See FL 508 214). (RM)

The evolution of the Spanish language is due, in part, to popular culture and radio, television, films and advertising. Many words take on altered meaning when used in casual, intimate or slangy conversation; included is a list of such words with their informal connotations, as used by many Mexicans. (Text is in Spanish.) (CK)

Legal writing is a unique form of composition. The legal style is characterized by a reliance upon nominalizations, archaisms, jargon, and foreign (especially French and Latin) terms and a scarcity of verbs and adverbs. Twelve judicial opinions, all on the subject of whether an advance degree should be considered marital property upon divorce,…

A study of the limits of native speakers' awareness of, and ability to express, the dimensions of his language for the researcher investigates this hypothesis: that the ease or difficulty of a native speaker's characterization of the use of the forms of his own language depends on certain general semiotic properties of the use in question.…

Because speaking was a major symbolic focus of 17th century Quakerism, a movement of radical puritanism, and distinctive ways of speaking represented the principal visible means by which the Quakers differentiated themselves from others, much of the religious and political conflict surrounding Quakerism implicated speaking in some way. One aspect…

It is proposed that the role of teacher language in instructional effectiveness be included in teacher training as part of language across the curriculum. Of the three aspects of "teacher-talk" identified (physiological, interpersonal, and pedagogical), the pedagogical aspect is highlighted as the basis for a model of teacher-talk…

A discussion of the preference structure of repair sequences in conversation argues that the structure varies predictably from one context to the next, based on the interpersonal relationship of the interlocutors. In particular, it is said to depend on the asymmetrical distribution of knowledge among the interlocutors, including knowledge of the…

In order to compare how healthy and troubled corporations communicate with their shareholders, a study examined the narrative of the 1982 annual report of 50 of America's best-run corporations (as compiled by Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman for their book, "In Search of Excellence"). The focus was on the letter to the stockholders--the…

A study attempted to determine dimensions of maternal adaptation of language to the level of their young children's speech, and whether patterns of maternal adaptation can be described as interactive maternal styles. Links were sought between aspects of maternal language adaptation and child language level. Participating were 6 mother-child dyads…

Urges the broadening of language study by looking beyond an exclusively literary training. (Author/LG)

These guidelines are directed to writers of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development publications intended for public distribution. The primary purpose of the guidelines is to improve writing style and to increase sensitivity to the consumer viewpoint. Section one discusses the following topics: looking at the subject from a…

A discussion of the use of the imperfect tense in French, aimed primarily at speakers of English and German. (Text is in French.) (AM)

The distribution and form of negatives in Japanese as compared to English in the simple declarative sentence, in the interrogative sentence, in different speech styles, in indefinite negatives, and in complex sentences. (SC)