Applies speech act theory to professional writing. Argues that speech act theory supports the use of an explanation in composing negative messages and also provides a useful classification of such explanations based on five universal strategies for politely refusing requests. Notes that this classification illuminates novice writers' problems in…

Investigated the second-language acquisition of English noun phrases in discourse, examining the effect of discourse markedness and structural markedness on the development of the noun phrase. It was found that second language learners distinguish between discourse contexts, acquiring more targetlike forms in the least marked context and least…

Reviews critically the dominant discourse on science and the media. Finds that the dominant concern has conceptual and methodological problems. Argues that the dominant discourse has promoted a science coverage dutiful to scientific interests and has inhibited a truly critical appraisal of popular science communication. (RS)

Discusses prominent base units of discourse analysis designed for dealing with structural characteristics of second-language discourse, and offers arguments in favor of selecting the utterance as a valuable base unit. (95 references) (GLR)

Uses William R. Brown's theory of interventional rhetoric to describe a strategy of "participation"--a communicative strategy by which one community of Ohio Mexican Americans employs discourse to reinterpret social roles and expectations. Notes that this strategy attempts to maintain cultural identity while reducing intercultural…

A study examines the way in which one group of discourse connectors, terminators, function in contemporary spoken French. Three types of terminators, elements used at the end of an utterance or section to indicate its completion, are investigated, including utterance terminators, interrogative tags, and terminal tags. (Author/MSE)

Examines how amplification (rhetorical techniques by which discourse is extended to enhance its appeal and information value) tends to increase and improve the coverage, rationale, warnings, behavioral alternatives, examples, previews, and general emphasis of technical manuals. Shows how classical and modern rhetorical theories can be applied to…

A review of observational and discourse analysis research argues that observational research is bound by a characteristics discourse with roots in early anthropological descriptions of education and suggests that, while observational methodologies and techniques have changed, the discourse of observation has always served to promote a single view…

Analyzes four research reports to identify the similarities and differences in beliefs about the nature of discourse and how one acquires knowledge about it. Considers implications of these distinctive styles for cross-disciplinary communication about discourse. (SR)

Presents a systematic investigation of the factors underlying the choice of personal reference. Five experiments examine how native-English-speaking undergraduates of Brown University refer to a professor or student in various situations. The Rule of Polite Reference (RPR) explains how speakers choose the way they will refer to a person in a given…

Traces the theoretical significance of using names as titles for situations, and applies this analysis to the United States' intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programs. Argues that the names given to ICBMs preserve their utility as weapons by linking them to the myths of the nineteenth-century western frontier. (MM)

Discusses the function of media nihilism--the rhetoric of "crisis and failure"--in the 1988 Presidential Debates. Examines journalists' debate questions, noting that they painted an almost wholly negative portrait of America. Suggests that the candidate who effectively "skewers" the media on its own hypocrisy should be declared…

Describes a two-part research project examining conversation memory organization packets (MOPs) at both cognitive and behavioral levels. Explores the nature of the informal initial conversation MOP, and examines whether discourse structures correspond to cognitive structures. Finds evidence that scenes in the conversation MOP are topic-centered.…

Explores a method of combining convention and intention by representing conversation structure with conversation MOPs (schematic structures that store conversation rules as generalized episodes associated with goals the episodes achieved). Discusses how conversation MOPs process the opening portion of a dialogue in an interactive advice-giving…

A longitudinal study of twenty-four (24) Hebrew-speaking mother-infant dyads during discussions of recent events indicated that mothers commented on a small set of events and tended to mark events with exclamations or formulaic expressions that gradually progressed to a true description of events as the children got older. (Author/CB)