Investigates the evolution of specific lexical and syntactical clues and the recurrence of various semantic fields in mothers' spontaneous speech to their infants. Content of mothers' speech was related to age in newborn to 10-month-old children. (Author/RH)

This paper considers discourse models of knowledge and use and social problem solving that revive the tradition of dialectical reasoning (the broader term) or rhetoric, i.e., the art of using language, in speaking or writing, to convince others that something is true, right, or better. Discourse models of knowledge use allow taking the…

Preschoolers did use certain aspects of the "child-directed speech" register: they addressed their infant siblings with a high pitch, with relatively short utterances, and with many directives and self-repetitions. However, linguistic interactions of preschool-age siblings and infants were different from those of mothers and infants in several…

A review of communication models and research reveals four areas of communications skill: listening, empathy, non-verbal communication, and expressive abilities. Models of listening behavior suggest that, rather than being a passive activity, listening involves sorting stimuli and encoding messages, analyzing listener needs, and assessing speaker…

Two experiments examined nonverbal behavior patterns and relational communication perceptions associated with communication reticence. In the first experiment, pairs of friends and pairs of strangers engaged in nine-minute discussions. Subjects were rated by their interaction partners and by trained observers. Results showed that as their level of…

The field of communication seems to ignore how religious commitment informs communication practices. According to the research of B. A. Kosmin and S. P. Lachman, religion "counts in American society." Still, a survey of publications showed that very few scholars consider religion an important topic for communication research. Over the…

The nature of human interaction, particularly within the context of family, is necessarily complex due to the multitude of characteristics which influence the individual's intention toward the other, as well as the characteristics and effects of interaction as a function of the co-construction of meaning between interactants. This paper delineates…

One approach to field theory in argumentation begins with a description of argumentation and, by identifying similarities or regularities in discursive practice, attempts to induce the nature and characteristics of a field. The controversy surrounding the use of Laetrile, a proposed cancer treatment, provides an example of this approach. Assuming…

Developed as part of a program designed to examine why so few graduates of doctoral programs demonstrate their scholarship through the media of books and refereed publications, the four papers in this series address the question of publication. The first paper explains why one should publish, explores differences between graduate term papers and…

In exploring the role and status of the ethics that govern communication research, the two parts of this paper examine the practices of researchers and the role of deception in their methodology and conclusions, and the role of communication research as a whole to the society that it is supposed to benefit. At the end of both discussions are…

Analysis of speech communication studies reveals a number of themes in the arts. A central concern in studies dealing with oral interpretation is what should be the focus in the oral interpretive act. The shifting priorities parallel the shift in emphases occurring in speech communication as a whole: performer/delivery; text/message;…

Investigates differences in the language learning environments of six twin pairs and 12 singleton toddlers (all firstborn) with special reference to pragamatic factors that might be expected to differ in dyadic and triadic interactive situations. (HOD)

The discipline of speech communication was established early in the twentieth century. After its subject matter was defined and separated from the field of English by Herbert Wichelns's "The Literary Criticism of Oratory," departments were established and a separate organization--The National Association of Teachers of Public Speaking--was formed.…

To learn more about small group interactions, a study investigated the characteristics of women's conversation in its own right rather than compared to a male model of conversation. The researcher spent 10 months as a participant/observer in a women's weekly circle (WWC), a group of mothers of young children who met once a week. The researcher…

This paper reviews the existing body of research on the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and nonverbal behavior. The strengths and limitations of three different approaches are considered. Contextual approaches are studies of CA and nonverbal behavior in which the primary focus is on communicative context (public speaking,…