Distinguishes between the letter of the law and its spirit in the use (or misuse) of E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be"). Shows how sentences written in E-Prime can still be fraught with unclear thought. Considers how E-Prime can be abused. (HB)

Discusses the feasibility of the total elimination of conjugated forms of "to be," as advocates of E-Prime suggest. Claims that a total elimination is not acceptable, because certain forms of the verb "to be" are more feasibile and therefore more important than others. (HB)

Questions the usefulness of E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be"), particularly the claim that E-Prime provides a simple discipline by which dishonesty and prejudice can be eliminated from communication. Claims that restructuring verbal communication treats the symptoms of dishonesty without curing the…

Discusses some of the historical background of the movement to do away with the verb "to be" and employ E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be"). (HB)

Discusses the beneficial aspects of "E-Prime" (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be") and shows how it can be used to alert students to the pitfalls of that verb. Provides examples of how one form of the verb can be greatly overused and abused. (HB)

Argues that a complete alteration of English to the form called "E-Prime" (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be") is not possible and would result in losing important speech patterns, such as identities and identification. Lists patterns of identification. Concludes by advocating "E-Choice"…

Claims the ancient Chinese had "senses" of rhetoric which reveal a tradition of argumentation that should be recaptured by historians of rhetoric. Seeks to broaden and embellish the portrayal of that rhetoric. (NH)

Offers an application of Mikhail Bakhtin's heteroglossia model, describing literature from a diversified point of view. Analyzes two examples to show nevertheless that Bakhtin unilaterally celebrates "stereo" qualities of language blending, and leaves no room for "mono" texts, which use polyglot devices as borders much more…

Observes in a lexical decision task that polysemy effects were identical for high- and low-frequency katakana words; and that in a naming task, although no word frequency effect was observed, there was a significant polysemy effect which was identical for high- and low-frequency words. Discusses implications about the loci of such polysemy and…

Reports results of four experiments in which undergraduate students rated the degree of condemnation in critical remarks. Shows that ironic criticism in many cases is used to enhance rather than to dilute condemnation. Notes significant implications for both pragmatic and processing theories of verbal irony. (SR)

Uses W. Kintsch's Construction Integration model as a framework to explore the effects of preexisting attitudes on memory for texts. Shows that preexisting attitudes interacted with attitude texts over delay although not in a direct or expected fashion. Emphasizes the need to manipulate representational levels of attitude texts and to consider…

Proposes the subsuming theory criterion for experiments on common ground in mutual knowledge (i.e., the design must keep common information constant and only vary whether or not it is common). Demonstrates how doing so makes stronger claims. Illustrates how experiments can be designed to satisfy the criterion by evaluating some earlier studies…

Presents three studies that provide a test of gender-as-culture, or "two cultures," hypothesis proposed by Maltz and Borker (1982) to explain male/female differences in language use. Finds that gender preferences for language use among undergraduate students function in ways that are consistent with stylistic preferences that distinguish national…

Three studies investigated the effects of concrete versus abstract wording and negative versus positive premises on the difficulty subjects had in solving several kinds of reasoning tasks. Subjects for all three studies were college undergraduates who received booklets containing either hypothetical, disjunctive, or linear syllogisms. Each booklet…

One way to understand the religion of Islam is to analyze the language and rhetoric of its users and listeners. A study examined the meaning behind the recitation of the 99 metaphorical names of Allah (God), translated from Arabic. Muslim rituals, of which this recitation is one, fulfill the basic principles of metaphors, which imply a framework…