Within the realm of forensic oral interpretation, concern over the use of profanity in presentations has aroused repressive criticism from some judges, who then express their offense by ranking the performance negatively. This judicial opposition is deleterious not only to the precepts of oral interpretation, but also--in a larger sense--to the…

This paper discusses speech communication's expansion as a discipline and its relation to the rest of the humanities. Focusing on the interpretation of literature, a speech communication course that relates to several other fields of study, the paper stresses the individual development that can occur through the experiences offered by the study of…

GRADES OR AGES: Secondary grades. SUBJECT MATTER: Oral communications. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The central portion of the guide is divided into five units: public speaking, voice and diction, drama, oral interpretation, and radio-television. Each unit is in straight text or list form. The guide is offset printed and perfect-bound…

The national contest in oral reading held each year in West Germany provides guidelines for similar contests in other countries. On a point-count system reminiscent of that used internationally for sports events, participants are rated on their oral presentation, the difficulty of the chosen work, and their comprehension of the text. Adaptation of…

This book explores the art of oral interpretation of literature and presents exercises designed to encourage awareness of various aspects of the interpretation process. Chapter one, "Harnessing Resources," examines the awakening of the body and voice and discusses basic sensory training. Chapter two, "Responding to Literary Worlds," details the…

Describes a method of re-directing the components of external rhetorical analysis to the intrinsic boundaries of a play and discusses the benefits of such a method as a critical tool in the oral interpretation of dramatic literature. (MH)

When church lectors and beginning and advanced drama students read the same passage, the drama students used faster articulation, faster speech rates, and fewer pauses than church lectors. Expert and nonprofessional evaluators preferred the advanced drama students, followed by the beginning drama students and then the church lectors. (Author/RL)

Reading aloud is a rhetorical act. Its purpose is always to communicate, which is a transactional form involving the oral reader and at least one real or imaginary listener. Whenever a person reads aloud, the reader has some intent of reading to someone. In all such situations, readers interpret orally for the mood and meaning that seem…

The field of oral interpretation has been influenced by both the analytical approach to literature study, with significant emphasis on understanding the literary text, and the interpersonal approach. While oral reading may utilize various performance arts or media such as dance, music, or film, the most popular movement currently is Readers…

Noting that breaking off romantic relationships can be traumatic even when the end is welcome, this paper describes the strategies and stages of relationship termination and suggests ways for instructors of oral interpretation and/or interpersonal communication classes to illustrate such relational decay. The first section deals with relationship…

The four articles in this journal explore various aspects of empathy and its application to oral interpretation of literature. The first article examines the concept of empathy, discusses measures of it, and includes an "accurate empathy exercise" and an empathy scale. The second article discusses the way in which the writings of Dylan…

The five papers that constitute this issue of the "Journal of the Arizona Communication and Theatre Association" represent interest in a direction for interpretation studies which has proved rewarding for traditional students as well as for people outside typical classroom settings. With literature firmly at the center, many teachers and scholars…

There is valid criticism that contest debate practices constitute both a reality gap between contest debate and actual public communication, and a closed feedback loop among coaches, judges, and debaters. However, remedial and preventive action is possible if forensics directors are highly motivated to work within a broad program of communication…

Discusses the advantages of teaching students the language of public performance, focusing on drama but providing implications for the reading of poetry as well as for public speaking. (RL)