ERIC Number: EJ820026
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Nov
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0163-853X
EISSN: N/A
Lexical Entrainment in Written Discourse: Is Experts' Word Use Adapted to the Addressee?
Jucks, Regina; Becker, Bettina-Maria; Bromme, Rainer
Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, v45 n6 p497-518 Nov 2008
Overlaps with one's interlocutor in the choice of words are called lexical entrainment. This article looks at accounts for these overlaps in word use. The question addressed is the extent to which the word use of the addressee, as opposed to available words from other sources, has a special impact on experts' choice of words. A laboratory experiment was conducted that addresses this question in the domain of online health advice. Eighty advanced medical students responded to a fictitious patient inquiry via e-mail. Results indicate that the mere availability of words (whether they were used by the addressee or not) accounts for experts' word use. Nonetheless, an analysis of experts' reflections on the patient's knowledge also indicated a metacognitive awareness of the specific word choice of the addressee. (Contains 3 footnotes, 3 figures, and 1 table.)
Descriptors: Medical Students, Experiments, Expertise, Health Education, Internet, Foreign Countries, Patients, Communication Strategies, Communication Research, Language Usage, Sociolinguistics, Interpersonal Communication, Discourse Analysis, Language Processing, Electronic Mail
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A