Presents examples of misunderstandings in compliment exchanges in different cultural contexts and analyzes them as instances of pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic failure. Analysis of complimenting behavior norms forms the basis of a set of exercises designed to assist learners in developing the ability to recognize and use compliments…

Examines text structure of argumentative writing in English by Korean speakers as compared with native speakers'(NS) writing in Korean and NS writing in English. Interactive text analysis showed English essays had a clear structural pattern that the Korean essays lacked. Sample essays and questionnaires are included in Appendix. (Author/LMO)

The paper examines social cognitive activity in mentally retarded children as it applies to language problems, the relationship of problem solving and communication skills, and teaching methods which emphasize language pragmatics. (DB)

Investigates the interaction of syntax, semantics, and pragamatics from the perspectives of functional constraints on sentence processing. Findings reveal that native speakers of Italian first become aware of the importance of the concept of word order in a second language before being able to determine the specifics of word order in that…

Describes several elicitation techniques used for speech act data collection and analysis and discusses their suitability in testing a learner's acquisition of the rules of language use. Argues that the development of testing instruments for communicative competence cannot be divorced from the field of cross-cultural pragmatics. (SED)

After a summary and critique of traditional approaches to politeness that are based on appropriateness, suggestions are made for an approach based on interpersonal supportiveness. The issues in the proposed model pertain to cross-modal ways of expressing emotion, supportive and nonsupportive use combinations, and a redefinition of politeness. (SED)

Argues that communicative competence is as important in writing as in speaking, and that more emphasis should be placed on written work and writing skills in the second language classroom. Discusses some of the insights that discourse analysis provides into written communication in the areas of pragmatics, semantics, lexicon, and syntax. (EKN)

Examines the quality of conversation produced by small groups of subjects in fifth, ninth, and twelfth grades and the last year of college. Results supported Piaget's sequence of conversational development. However, topical coherence apparently is not fostered by focused turns but emerges as a generalization of the normative constraints applying…

Examines a multicontextual aspect of language proficiency that sociolinguists refer to as "communicative competence." Offers a procedure for its application. (PD)

This book is a comparative study of the syntax of Arabic dialects based on natural language data recorded in Morocco, Egypt, Syria, and Kuwait. These four dialect regions are distinct and geographically diverse and representative of four distinct dialect groups. The analytical approach of the book is both functional and descriptive, combining…

This paper focuses on the speaking proficiency of advanced foreign language learners. It looks at performance on two different tasks: oral presentations and group discussions. Success in giving an oral presentation in front of an audience is assessed with the help of evaluations, which are then measured against various linguistic phenomena…

Four articles on language, culture, and interlanguage are included in this volume. The first by Karen Risager, "Sprog, kultur, og internationalisering" ("Language, Culture, and Internationalization") takes issue with the very broad perception that foreign language and culture cannot be separated in instruction. The second article,…

A study demonstrated that court interpreter failure to preserve pragmatic features in the interpreted version of courtroom testimony can potentially distort both the lawyer's question and the witness' response. Pragmatic features are defined as those aspects of an utterance that signal how the speaker intends the message to be taken. While some of…

A study investigated the use of teasing as a teaching technique in a first-year college-level Russian class at a major university in California. The instructor is a native Russian speaker, and the class consisted of nine undergraduate students. A review of literature on teasing reveals its dual nature for conveying both a literal message of insult…

The Western mind set, or naturalism, is firmly entrenched. The clue to its existence is that an epistemology which aims relentlessly at control rules out the possibility of transcendence in principle. (JN)