This paper explores the use of "legalese" in non-policy debate resolutions. After defining legalese as legal jargon and terminology, the paper discusses how resolutional words and terms function within intercollegiate debate. It next deals with the purpose and practice of legal jargon within legal scholarship and practice, noting that…

This paper describes how a constraint dependency grammar (CDG) parser performs a syntactic analysis of a single sentence (as part of a speech recognition system). The paper extends an existing CDG (developed by H. Maruyama) to process a lattice or graph of sentence hypotheses instead of separate text strings. The paper also describes how the CDG…

A review of literature examines how literacy, self, and culture are related. Diverse representations of "self" are explored, as are their interrelationship with language, culture, and history. Realizing the linguistic and philosophical complexities inherent in defining the self, especially its relationship to the written word, attempts are made…

This book examines Americans' obsession with grammar and usage, and how the flexibility and fluidity of the English language affect notions about what is and is not "correct" English. Confronting the popular image of the English teacher as a card-carrying member of the language police, the book takes a critical look at past and present…

Defining doublespeak as language which pretends to communicate but really does not, this concept paper contains two essays, the first an introduction to doublespeak by Walker Gibson, which offers information on the formation and activities of the 36-member Committee on Public Doublespeak, and considers the history and nature of doublespeak. The…

The special role of words in the formation of moral consciousness and behavior is explored. (KM)

This book probes the efforts at manipulation individuals face daily in this information age and the tactics of persuaders from many sectors of society using various forms of Orwellian "doublespeak." The book contains the following essays: (1) "Notes toward a Definition of Doublespeak" (William Lutz); (2) "Truisms Are True:…

I. A. Richards (most easily recognized as the "father" of New Criticism, but a true interdisciplinarian) bears re-examination in light of present discussions over the role and nature of rhetoric as a discipline. Richards' work has more to offer than is presently recognized. First, his work in toto exemplifies the capability and possible…

In an effort to contribute to the dialogue on the effects of the intensification of technology upon the structure and dynamics of human communication, this paper examines the views of technology in the works of Kenneth Burke and Walter Ong. The paper argues that their theories can be compatible, that Ong's view of writing as a technology which…

This paper argues that women experience two realities, a "private sphere" and a "public sphere," and the implication of this dual perspective needs to be addressed by women scholars in all disciplines. The idea behind these two spheres of reality is traced back to the ancient Greeks where household management (oikos) was the…

The author discusses the status and role of foreign languages in general, and French in particular, in the German educational system. (Text is in German.) (TL)

Analysis of a specific language change--the loss of the Balkan infinitive--demonstrates the inadequacy of either a language-internal or a language-contact explanation in accounting for the change. A composite explanation, in which the infinitive-loss process is explained through multiple causation, seems more appropriate. Whithin the language,…

Because of the increasing demands that today's society places on language, there is an increasing need for vocabulary building. The opening of new fields, industries, and media and the vocabularies of specialized fields have all contributed to making increased word knowledge a necessity. New words have been coined to describe developments in new…

Language is not and should not be a highly precise tool; attempts to make language, especially diction, more precise reduce its reliability. (DD)