Not all pieces of information mentioned during an interaction are equally accessible in speakers' conversational memory. The current study sought to test whether 2 basic features of dialogue management (reference acceptance and reuse) affect reference recognition. Dyads of speakers were asked to discuss a route for an imaginary person, thus…

Compares American and French business correspondence with regard to format, organization, tone, and style. Argues that many of the differences result from cultural and value differences, French letters tending to be more formal and formatted differently. (RAE)

Investigates the underlying rhetorical functions of how Benjamin Franklin used the medal to praise the national characters of France and the United States in those two countries, while he also used it to influence government policy in Malta and to vindicate himself from criticism in England. (KEH)

A study attempted to determine dimensions of maternal adaptation of language to the level of their young children's speech, and whether patterns of maternal adaptation can be described as interactive maternal styles. Links were sought between aspects of maternal language adaptation and child language level. Participating were 6 mother-child dyads…

Finds important differences between Quebecois and French mothers: the Quebecois mothers spoke more than French mothers and produced a greater number of assertive and expressive speech acts than the French mothers. Shows that speech used in both of these cultural groups varies according to the mother's child-rearing style, with coercive mothers…

This paper analyzes the similarities and differences between the French and American presidential election campaigns of 1988, focusing in particular on the processes of political communication. After discussing the framework of law, tradition, and climate of opinion within which political campaigns take place in these two countries, the paper…

This longitudinal, ethological study explores the development of communication behaviors, different types of social peer interactions, and mother-child interaction among 15 boys and 15 girls from 16 through 30 months of age. Each subject was filmed twice each month over a period of 14 months while he or she had lunch with 5 peers. Several subjects…

Explores cultural variations in managers' interpretations of a key communicative process: worker participation. Finds that semantic patterns derived from structural analyses indicate cultural differences in meanings managers from five European Community nations attach to the term "participation." Supports two of G. Hofstede's dimensions…

Argues that the form and function of presidential foreign policy rhetoric are grounded in a nation's acceptable images of political reality. Examines the rhetorical responses of Presidents Reagan and Mitterrand to the terrorist bombing in Beirut and to acts of military interventions by the United States and France in Grenada and Chad. (JD)