Questions the assumption that literal, figurative, and anomalous sentences should be regarded as qualitatively different kinds of speech rather than as portions of a continuum of language use. (RL)

A definition of the positive contributions of functionalism in the polemic against phonetics and traditional, generative and transformational grammars. Three themes are discussed: synchronic analysis, the dynamics of the development of linguistics, and the role of syntax in language facts. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Compares semantic uses of mental state words by children four and a half to five years old. Suggests that children's linguistic and cognitive capacities can be influenced a great deal by subtle situational factors and that the effects vary according to the child's cultural background. (AEW)

Examines audience perceptions of which values characterize soap operas in general and which values distinguish daytime from prime-time offerings. Indicates meaningful differences between daytime soaps and prime-time serial dramas. Considers the implications of the empirical method guided by critical concerns and results for media scholars of…

Investigates the operation of myth and victimage in President Reagan's Lebanon/Grenada address. Delineates the clustering structure within the speech, suggesting how the arrangement of mythic content accomplished victimage. Argues that Reagan defused his foreign policy by redefining it, thereby making the Lebanon/Grenada situation appear both…

Focusing on the ethical quality of political rhetoric, maintains that Reagan's efforts to justify the invasion and occupation of Grenada must be evaluated by democracy's need for free and open debate. Argues that Reagan's rhetoric violated these ethical standards numerous times by distorting and/or misrepresenting relevant evidence and arguments.…

Literature on the following topics is reviewed: (1) discourse analysis as it relates to communicative competence; (2) classroom communication, and (3) the needs of students wishing to gain fluency in a foreign language. (MSE)

The use of "interpretative tasks" is advocated in the teaching of short stories. Such tasks encourage learners to explore stories beyond the level of pure narrative and also encourage development of a "feel" for creative uses of English in literature. (Author/CB)

Analysis of two- to five-year-olds' (N=26) responses to queries regarding utterances they made during free play indicated that social context interacted with response type, demonstrating that the initial utterance had a role in response determination and was important to the contingent query sequence. (Author/CB)

Analysis of tense usage in 20 scientific articles from the "Journal of Pediatrics" reveals a hierarchy of sociolinguistic relationships among context-dependent rhetorical functions, context-independent temporal meanings, and actual tense choices. (Author/CB)

Asserts that rigorous historicism might change the following: (1) American literary study, by dropping the traditional nationalist project; (2) the notion of canon, by abandoning it; (3) and the institutional structure that supports academic literary criticism, by interrogating current critical conversation and, by recuperating its history,…

Ideas for using brief literary extracts to study personal interactions in a foreign language are offered. A sample sketch is presented, and class exercises designed to teach skills while examining the text creatively are outlined. (MSE)

The article develops two theses: Approaches to education must acknowledge the role language plays in constructing the classroom environment; the commitment to equal education is linked to the sociolinguistic context of our educational system. Recent topical research is reviewed. (JL)

Investigates (in two phases) how coherence is cued between turns in conversations. Indicates that (1) turns were consistently paired well beyond chance, suggesting that explicit cues to connections between turns in conversations do exist; and (2) only lexical devices were found significantly more often in coherent than incoherent pairs. (NKA)

The descriptions of a terrorist attack on a Paris restaurant--an audio recording of a juvenile eyewitness, an audio recording of a researcher reading a text about the event, and a newspaper account--are compared for discourse characteristics. (MSE)