A sociolinguistic analysis of texts is advocated for expanding an oral interpreter's creation of an event from written texts. Two studies are reviewed that suggest that language choices are related to the speaker's purpose, thought processes, role, cultural expectations, and sex. The specific area of study suggested as highly useful for…

Affirms the value of liberal arts in educating the mind. Examines the literature of oral interpretation and theatre arts from 1960-82, discussing themes, research problems and needs, trends and directions. Notes, among other conclusions, that the nature of classroom practices in oral interpretation and theatre arts needs study. (PD)

Draws information from documents in the ERIC system to define oral interpretation, demonstrate its benefits for students, and describe classroom approaches to oral interpretation, including readers' theatre. (DD)

That a play has one central action which is its formal cause is the most influential interpretative idea to emerge among theatre writers since the old model of situation/incident/complication/climax/denouement. Unfortunately, the action concept has been insufficiently developed, excessive hopes have been pinned on it, and it has become a reductive…

The successful oral reading of poetry requires that oral interpreters conduct phenomenological investigations of the first lines of the poems, not merely to make these lines happen properly but to suggest what has preceded the first line. Individual word meanings in the opening lines of a poem establish "structures of intentionality"--the…

Directors of plays can make rehearsals interpretively productive, but they must first reject directorial approaches such as beginning rehearsals without analyzing the script, projecting images of the play as it is read, and using the script merely to summarize meanings, static themes, morals, and nothing more. Making rehearsals interpretively…

Demonstrates how oral interpretation scholars can enrich their understanding of the empathic process. Analyzes several concepts of empathy in social cognition research and relates them to various processes interpreters have identified as empathic. Discusses pedagogical implications. (PD)

Frame analysis is an approach to social situations that can be applied profitably to literature and performance. A frame is the reality status of a situation; keys are the characteristics that define a frame. Most literary works are keying on real life frameworks. Literary works that are based on other literary works, such as parodies, are…

This paper indicates the relevance of psycholinguistic research to the study of the interpretation process. Citing selected experiments that demonstrate some of the possibilities for extending research into the language experience of the interpreter, the paper argues that such an approach might lead into examining the experience of imagery,…

Surveys research exemplars of performance studies by tracing their epistemological claims and methodological assertions through discussions of text, event, performer, and audience. Claims a paradigmatic relationship between oral interpretation and performance studies. (JD)

Teachers, researchers, and performers in the field of Performance Studies often find themselves defining what it is that they do. Boundaries are often hard to draw, however. Is the work they are doing "art?" The distinction is important to funding agencies, tenure committees, and university administration. One definition of art…

This book presents a concise history of the first 100 years of development of the school of speech at Northwestern University (Illinois). Following an introduction that provides an overview of the school, the first chapter focuses on both the efforts of Robert McLean Cumnock to found a school of oratory on the principles of elocution and the…

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;…

Examines recent trends in the fields of translation and interpretation, focusing on translation and interpretation theory and practice, language-specific challenges, computer-assisted translation, machine translation, subtitling, and translator and interpreter training. An annotated bibliography discusses seven important works in the field. (112…

The field of interpretation needs to be more aware of and sensitive to the contributions of black culture and consciousness. The interpreter wishing to perform black poetry, for example, needs to recognize that the black aesthetic has its roots in African culture and traditions and does not always share the assumptions of the European or…