Describes the ubiquitous and insidious nature of oxymorons to raise awareness level vis-a-vis oxymorons. Indicates the potential detrimental effects of the use--intended or unintended--of oxymorons in business communication. Addresses seven points that attempt to articulate these dangers. (JD)

A useful device in revising technical reports is the metaphor of entropy, which refers to the amount of disorder that is present in a system. Applied to communication theory, high entropy would correspond to increased amounts of unfamiliar or useless information in a text. Since entropy in rhetorical systems increases with the unfamiliarity of…

A study analyzed the verbal interactions of married couples in high, moderate, and low marital satisfaction groups to determine whether (1) the interaction processes within the three satisfaction groups differed and (2) there were different communication patterns that characterized the interaction processes of the groups. Subjects were 34 young…

It is proposed that because (1) adult learners of English as a Second Language face great challenges in communicating with native English speakers; and (2) native English-speakers can learn strategies to compensate for some of these difficulties, there is a need for instruction in these strategies and skills for Americans in international…

Most of the mechanical and content errors in the sentences written by journalism students can be attributed to four faulty patterns that can be traced to errors in the thinking process: fragmented sentence parts, personification, bureaucratic coding ("officialese"), and compressed sentences. While acceptable in spoken communication where…

This booklet comprises eleven articles selected from a set of papers delivered by a number of professional educators and researchers during seminars arranged in the West Indies and the United States in compliance with the goals of the Caribbean American Scholars Exchange Program. The 11 articles are grouped in 4 sections. The first section…

The study described here investigated the refusal strategies of intermediate-level second language learners and the potential for developing sociolinguistic competence in nonnative speakers (NNS) through classroom instruction. Subjects were six college students of English as a Second Language, divided into treatment and control groups. The…

Students from different cultures follow differing norms for communication, affecting the classroom and students' grades. Such patterns are found in class discussions, question-and-answer sessions, small-group interactions (issues include cooperation, structure, competition, and gender), and formal class presentations. While no single teaching…