Working within the natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) framework of Anna Wierzbicka, this study proposes reductive paraphrase explications for a range of first-person pronominal meanings. It is argued that NSM explications are preferable to conventional feature analysis because they are less subject to charges of arbitrariness and obscurity and…

Finds that differential treatment from a supervisor to his or her subordinates influences coworker communication by leading coworkers to talk about the differential treatment itself, and influencing the nature of communication relationships among the coworkers. Indicates that fairness perceptions are often socially constructed by work group…

Examines four interrelated organizational models of charisma and the debate that has accompanied them. Uses the models to analyze the rhetoric of leadership of George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential campaign. (SR)

Analyzes the rhetorical strategies employed by Leonora O'Reilly, a Progressive Era labor reformer. Argues that O'Reilly's use of enactment and empowerment are representative of a "feminine style," and that her rhetoric provides an opportunity to examine the public voice of a working-class female reformer. (SR)

Examines the general strategies of Bill Clinton and George Bush in the 1992 presidential campaign regarding the abortion issue among the complex of family values appeals and in the context of the "culture war." Analyzes the rhetorical power of the dead fetus image shown in campaign advertising. Speculates on the influence of the abortion…

Examines how texts are constrained by cultural forces in a critical analysis of the controversy regarding rap group Public Enemy's Professor Griff and his universalizing claims about Jews. Investigates the economic, political, and ideological mechanisms that encouraged the band to withdraw Griff's comments and replace it with a text more…

Uses structuration theory to examine the discursive responses of organizational members of a merging utility company as they cope with uncertainty associated with the change. Reveals how members position themselves ideologically not only as a response to the merger, but also to produce and reproduce organizational structures that enhance or…

Outlines the approaches to "computer composition" and questions the efficacy of such models. Argues that in order to come to terms with the great revolutionary "beyond" posited by some theorists, the computer must be first of all conceptualized as transformative. (HB)

Uses longitudinal data on language acquisition to examine children's language and sense of self and others. Referential analysis of children's discourse found that children do locate self and other in a spatio-temporal realm. Form-function analysis found that children's discourse about self was more varied in form and in semantic and pragmatic…

The relationship between prototype meanings and frequency of use is investigated with a view to establishing a foundation for the problem of "prototype acquisition." One polysemous basic verb, "put," is used in this study of native speaker discourse, and implications for both prototype theory and the acquisition of polysemy are…

Results of an empirical study of the learners' language of a group of Chinese language students show that topic-controlled deletion is a prominent feature in Chinese that is distinctly different from English and that it may result in English speakers' difficulty in forming Chinese topic chains. (nine references) (LB)

Models of ethnographic research in education treat context in an arbitrary way, and the theory of language used is inadequate. However, a discourse analysis framework can be useful in improving qualitative research in education by relating accounts of specific sites and events to their social contexts. (27 references) (MSE)

Using a qualitative discourse-analytic framework, this paper compares the planned spoken English of a native speaker of Chinese, whose English discourse was perceived to be hard to follow, with a native speaker of U.S. English. Differences in the use of lexical discourse markers, lexical specificity, and syntactic incorporation are discussed. (34…

The top 50 songs in English from a 1987 music chart were analyzed using a word-frequency count. For teaching English to speakers of other languages, pop songs were found to offer short, affective, simple, native texts with a lot of familiar vocabulary recycled, yet vague. (14 references) (Author/LB)

Suggests that claims of sex differences in interruption behavior should not be uncritically accepted. Examines frequency of interruption in fourth-grade, ninth-grade, and college students. Finds that males did not interrupt females any more than females interrupted males. (RS)