Results of the study suggested that the four measurement instruments of communication problems are not capable of discriminating students with communication problems from students without. Concluded that what may be most important in distinguishing the two groups is whether or not persons perceive their uncomfortable feelings about communication…

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…

Tests three models describing the structure of talk and silence sequences within and across conversations: the Markov model, the independent decision model, and the incremental model. The implication for deriving dyadic interaction patterns from individual interaction styles is explored. (JMF)

Examines the separate and combined impact of hedges, hesitations, and intensifiers on perceptions of authoritativeness, sociability, character, and similarity, and the extent to which messages containing one or more of these language variables differ from a "prototypically" powerless message in evaluative consequences. (MS)

Indicates that (1) males with low interpersonal orientation (IO) were least vocally active and expressive and least consistent in their speech performances, and (2) high IO males and low IO females tended to demonstrate greater speech convergence than either low IO males or high IO females. (JD)

In order to investigate speech accommodation--the way in which communicators influence each other's speaking patterns and rhythms--a study examined its occurrence, as well as the extent of a conversational partner's influence, and the influence of interpersonal uncertainty and differences in arousal level upon that accommodation process.…

This study examines the conversational behaviors of subjects with differing verbal abilities within a three-person group setting. According to a score on the Verbal Reticence Scale (Lustig, 1974), 108 subjects were rated as highly verbal, moderately verbal, or verbally reticent. From these classifications, smaller groups were selected at random to…

A study investigated differences between older adult male and female voice patterns. In addition, the study examined whether certain differences between male and female speech characteristics were lifelong and not associated with the aging process. Subjects were 10 young (average age 30) and 10 old (average age 75) males and 10 young (average age…

The purposes of this study were to examine (1) the extent to which three-year-old children converged noncontent speech to that of adults and (2) whether a talkativeness-reticence factor influenced the degree of convergence. Four three-year-old girls individually interacted with six to eight unfamiliar adults in free-play settings. From…

Data on four infants between the ages of 12 and 20 months were collected to answer two questions about children's communication behavior. (1) Is there a correspondence between communicative intentions expressed in gestures and vocal utterances? If both spring from common organismic tendencies, it should be possible to discern an "indicating"…

One of a series of semiannual reports, this publication contains 13 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles and their authors are as follows: "The Role of Contrast in Limiting Vowel-to-Vowel Coarticulation in Different…

One of a series of semi-annual reports, this publication contains 18 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instruments for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles are as follows: "The Emergence of Native-Language Phonological Influences in Infants: A Perceptual Assimilation…

Two studies were undertaken to determine first whether language characteristics attributed to females are more socially desirable than those attributed to males and second whether a double standard exists such that language traits seen as socially desirable for adults in general are viewed as negative when assigned to either females or males. For…

The two studies of predisposition toward verbal behavior (PVB) reported in this paper examined the behavior of interactants who have dissimilar verbal predispositions in task-oriented discussions. In the first study, 20 groups of three members each were given an interpersonal task that involved reaching a consensus. In the second study, 17 pairs…

Introduces and comments on articles in this symposium issue. Contends that speech teachers have methods to overcome communication problems. Challenges them to sort their methods out, test and phrase them in clear language, document assertions from their own classroom investigations, and eventually build a theory to help people improve their…