Despite the recent surge in social justice and decolonial scholarship, technical and professional communication (TPC) research remains a potential site of oppression. This article is meant to be a call to action; it attempts to (re)ignite discussions about what we value and how we express what we value. It encourages the field of TPC to be more…

Minimal expressions are at the heart of interaction: Interjections like "Huh?" and "Mhm" keep conversations flowing by establishing and reinforcing intersubjectivity among interlocutors. Crosslinguistic research has identified that similar interactional pressures can yield structurally similar words (e.g., to initiate repair…

An experiment tested hypotheses derived from self-categorization theory's explanation for gender-based language use. Under high or low conditions of gender salience, men and women sent e-mail to an ostensible male or female recipient yielding either an intra- or an intergroup setting. Gender salience was manipulated so that the stereotypically…

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…

Different speakers may pronounce the same sounds very differently, yet listeners have little difficulty perceiving speech accurately. Recent research suggests that listeners adjust their preexisting phonemic categories to accommodate speakers' pronunciations ("perceptual learning"). In some cases, these adjustments appear to reflect general…

Investigates several linguistic components (verbal immediacy, uncertainty, pronoun use, and article use) as indicators of interaction involvement. Finds that highly involved communicators use more immediate language, speak with greater certainty, and use more relational pronoun references than their less involved counterparts. (MM)

Includes nine responses from college faculty to Daniel's article (EJ 285 194) on business communication. (PD)

Discusses the nature and usefulness of talking to ourselves, silently or aloud. Poses questions for research and for education concerning this universal habit. (HTH)

Reveals the adversarial nature of joint participation in courtroom cross-examinations through analyzing methods for presenting and preserving alternative versions of past events. Examines three methods employed by witnesses and lawyers: "I don't know" and "I don't remember"; prior testimony to induce a witness to change an…

Explains I.A. Richards tenor-vehicle model of metaphor, which has seen extended use in communication scholarship. Reviews Richards' conception of the model and subsequent treatment of its components. Evaluates various patterns of appropriation and makes recommendations regarding future usage. (PM)

Investigates attributional implications of prosecutors' and defense attorneys' language strategies using the protocols of the historical Nuremberg trials. States that apart from more positive statements regarding the defendants being made by defense lawyers than prosecutors, both sides used a number of subtler strategies. (PA)

Finds (1) no clear instances of generic "he" in conversation but (2) that speakers use "they" as an unmarked singular generic pronoun. Finds some possibly-generic uses of "he" situates these within controversies about gender-fair references to women and men and concludes that conversational uses of "he" seem more various and complex (and perhaps…

The essays contained in this volume are attempts not merely to inventory recent developments and disputes in the field of argumentation but also to sharpen them by carrying them as far as current thinking permits. The 16 essays, which show that argumentation scholars are still far from united around a single theory, are divided into four sections.…

Reviews Illich's works. Suggests that his later ideas--particularly those about the role of language and the media in the creation of needs--deserve to be recognized by scholars studying communication and the mass media. (PD)

Examines how consumers, corporate bodies, and employees communicate about quality. Presents eight summary statements about quality based on descriptions, derived definitions, and interpretations given by consumers, corporate histories, and personnel employed in a variety of corporate settings. (MM)