Center for Language and Cognition Groningen

Discourse & Communication Group

This group combines research in pragmatic discourse analysis with the study of communication in institutional settings, i.e., in and around organizations, in the media, and on the internet. The research focusses on the use of language and non-verbal symbolic systems in specific, esp. institutional, communicative contexts, including face-to-face interactions, telephone conversations, written, visual, and audio-visual communication. Interactions are considered as situated, culture- and context-sensitive joint actions of the participants. Media are analyzed in terms of their specific functionalities such as semiotic capacities, interactivity, and permanency. Cultural factors studied include institutional roles, ethnic, geographical, and socio-economic background, as well as gender.

The group organizes lectures and work-in-progress discussion sessions at irregular intervals in the GLUC Colloquium, the Groningen colloquium on Language Use and Communication.

[Please note: This is essentially the version of May 2000; to be updated soon]

* associated researcher (not officially a member of the group)

Our offices are located on the fourth floor of the Harmoniegebouw at Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 26 in the city center of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Mailing address: P.O.Box 716, NL-9700 AS Groningen
general phone number: +31-50-3635858 (secretariat)
fax number: +31-50-3636855

Marcel Bax

room number 1315-434; tel: +31-50-3636118
email: M.M.H.Bax

let.rug.nl

Current Research

1. Cognitive pragmatics
Pivoting upon the systematic relations between linguistic form, functional meaning, and the context of utterance, this project aims at the discrimination and the modelling of the cognitive factors and mechanisms underlying verbal behaviour. The project focuses on the interplay of knowledge of a language as a semiotic system and knowledge of the pragmatic principles that govern communicative linguistic behaviour. My principal objective is the integration of linguistic (especially pragmatic) theory and psychological models (`architectures') of the cognitive system. I am developing a cognitive theory of the processing and comprehension of linguistic information that allows for the (formal) modelling of the mental operations that govern the various stages of the interpretation process. In particular, I address the context-sensitive process of understanding speakers' meanings on the basis of tentative reasoning (i.e., non-demonstrative deduction). The most important empirical data used to assess the validity of the theory come from analyses of conversational phenomena like misunderstandings, repairs, and argumentation flaws (especially, jumping to conclusions).
keywords: pragmatics; linguistics; cognition and communication; human information processing

2. Historical pragmatics
Drawing upon my earlier work on antagonistic precombat dialogues in historical (literary) contexts, such as heroic narrative and chivalric romance, I am concerned with verbal duelling as a (primarily historical) speech activity type. Comparative pragmatic analyses of such exchanges disclose the wholly ritual character of hostile interactions prior to combat, and reveal how the phenomenon of indirect communication manifested itself at an earlier stage. Situating various specimens of this particular speech event in their specific cultural-historical settings, thus relating patterns of verbal behaviour to underlying culture-dependent assumptions, I employ concepts and methods of pragmatics in order to ascertain that verbal duelling marks a ritual contract-by-conflict procedure that functions as an identification device, and has far-reaching normative consequences regarding the manner of warfare.
Marcel Bax is a member of the Editorial board of the Journal of Historical Pragmatics and co-organiser of a panel on Historical Perspectives on Indirect Language Use at the 7th International Pragmatics Conference, Budapest, July 2000.
keywords: pragmatics; history; cognition and culture; human evolution

Recent Publications

Bax, M.M.H. (1995) Een spiegel van de geest. Over taal, communicatie en cognitie. Groningen: Martinus Nijhoff (343 pp.).
Bax, M.M.H. (1995) Besef en begrip. Representatie en computatie in de cognitief-pragmatische betekenistheorie. In: H. Mazeland en C. Sauer, red. Communiceren, waarnemen, analyseren: bijdragen tot het taalbeheersingsonderzoek. Groningen: Groningen Series on Language Use and Communication 1, pp. 93-120.
Bax, M.M.H. en E.C.J. Ikink (1995) Onbepaalde betekenissen. Interpretatierisico en risico-exploitatie in verbale interactie. Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing 17.4: 245-266.
Bax, M.M.H. en W. Vuijk (1995) `Negative Verification, or The Case of What is Not the Case'. In: Frans H. van Eemeren, Rob Grootendorst, J. Anthony Blair en Charles A. Willard, eds. Reconstruction and Application. Proceedings of the Third ISA Conference on Argumentation (..), Volume III, Amsterdam: Sic Sat, pp. 60-70.
Bax, M.M.H. en R. Bastiaanse (1997) Taal: systeem en gebruik. Formele en functionele aspecten van de productie en interpretatie van verbale informatie. In: H.F.M. Peters e.a., red. Handboek Stem- Spraak- Taalpathologie, Aflevering 1, A7.1: Taal. Houten/Diegem: Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum, pp. 3-38.
Bax, M.M.H. (1997). Conversationele sturingsmechanismen. Directieve formuleringen in tandarts/patiënt-gesprekken. Taalbeheersing 19.4: 305-324.
Bax, M.M.H. (1999). Ritual Levelling. The Balance between the Eristic and the Contractual Motive in Hostile Verbal Encounters in Mediaeval Romance and Early Modern Drama. In: A.H. Jucker, G. Fritz and F. Lebsanft, eds. Historical Dialogue Analysis. (Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 66). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 35-80.
Bax, M.M.H. (ter perse). Ritual Discord and the Contractual Framework. An Essay on a Paradoxical Framing Device of the Early Modern Theatre and Its Foundation in Oral Tradition and Mimetic Culture. Semiotica.
Bax, M.M.H. (ter perse). Historical Frame Analysis. Hoaxing and Make- Believe in a Seventeenth-Century Dutch Play. Journal of Historical Pragmatics 2.1 (2001).

Jan Berenst

room number 1315-427; tel: +31-50-3635872
email: J.Berenst

let.rug.nl

Current Research

Strategic language use:
What kind of strategies are used in oral and written language to attain relevant communicative goals?

the effects of certain conversational strategies of second language teachers in classroom discourse for the language development

the development of language strategies in young children to create coherent discourse in peer interaction and in early writing

the conditions for the improvement of children's reading comprehension strategies.
Based on the general assumption in (linguistic) pragmatics that the production and reception of discourse is a goal-oriented activity, this research investigates the selection of linguistic and conversational strategies for particular communicative goals: What kind of strategies are selected by language users, and how are they related to the goals they are projecting in the construction of utterances (or in the construction of the understanding of the discourse)? I approach these questions by studying the discourse of groups with limited communicative abilities (like L2 learners and young children) in order to gain insight into problems in the relationship between communicative goals, strategies, and optimality.
In recent years, my research focussed on the theoretical foundations of the central position of language use strategies and on the description of speaker strategies that establish some kind of relationship with the recipient in conversation. Currently I am pursuing the following research lines:

strategies in classroom discourse that are more or less profitable for the language development of the children. Transcriptions of video-taped lessons in L2 classes and in mixed L1/L2 groups are analyzed with respect to the teacher and learner strategies that are prohibiting or stimulating the language experiences of the children.
the development of an elementary goal in discourse, the establishing of some kind of coherence. Especially the coherence is rather loose in initial years of peer interaction as well as in early writing. What kind of development may be recognized in this respect?
facilitative conditions for the implementation of learned reading strategies. This line refers to former projects on the consequences of reading strategies on reading comprehension, which I supervised and subsequently helped implement in a school setting. Major concerns have been the improvement and implementation of those strategies.

keywords: strategic language use, discourse analysis, pragmatic development, classroom discourse, reading strategies.

Recent Publications

Bax, M.M.H. en J. Berenst, Language in action. Introductory notes on speech act theory. In: P. Blok en E. Haji- cova (red.), Discourse analysis. Research report within the framework of TEMPUS Joint European Project (JEP)-1941 on Language, Logic, and Cognitive Science, submitted to the Commission of the European Union, Brussels: European Commission, 1994, 41 pp. (published in 1995).
Berenst, J., Conversationele manifestaties van etnische vooroordelen. In: H.J. Mazeland en C.L.A. Sauer (red.), Communiceren, waarnemen, analyseren. Bijdragen tot het taalbeheersingsonderzoek, Groningen, 1995, 17-42.
Berenst, J., N. Bienfait, D. Hofstede, N. van der Schaaf, Met één hand kun je niet klappen. Eerste opvang van allochtone leerlingen in het voortgezet onderwijs, 's-Hertogenboch: KPC, 1995, 154 pp.
Berenst, J. Hacquebord, H.I. (red.), Volwassen(en) leren lezen. Leesstrategieën in theorie en praktijk, RAiN, 6, Eburon, Delft, 1996, 121 pp.
Berenst, J., G.N. Bienfait, T.E.Hofstede, N.T.van der Schaaf, L2 classes for immigrant pupils in secondary school, In: Spliethoff, F.W. (red), Second language-acquisition in Europe. Proceedings of the international conference on second-language acquisition in secondary education, 's-Hertogenbosch: KPC, 1996, pp. 113-124.
Berenst, J., Taal leren gebruiken; de ontwikkeling van pragmatische vaardigheden. In: A.Harpman (red.), Praten, denken, doen; Taal- en denkstimulering van 0 tot 6 jarigen. Alphen a/d Rijn: Samson H.D. Tjeenk Willink. 18 pp. (in print)
Berenst, J., D. Hofstede, A.Oosterloo, Ik weet wat ik lees: uitgangspunten en een weerbarstige praktijk. In: H.Hacquebord (red.), ... (in print)

Arrie van Berkel

room number 1312-428; tel: +31-50-3635817
email: A.van.Berkel

let.rug.nl
http://www.let.rug.nl/~vberkel/

Current Research

Coherence in hypertext environments: the role of cohesive elements in navigation and comprehension

One of the mechanisms that steer text understanding (the mental representation), is coherence. While coherence in traditional text forms has been the subject of a large body of research, relatively little is as yet known of the coherence processing with hypertext. Textual and (graphic) hypertextual phenomena like nodes and links, anchors and buttons, frames and colours are responsible for the effectiveness of navigation and thus for the comprehension of information. The main research addresses the various ways in which coherence is realized in practice and how human-computer interaction can be optimized (usability research). For an integrated registration of users' interactions with the computer, I use so-called stave-transcriptions as described in my dissertation Cognitieve aspecten van handelingsbeschrijvingen (Cognitive aspects of action descriptions, Groningen, 1991) and in Van Berkel & Donga (1994). The transcriptions contain the complete navigation record, as well as reading times and thinking-aloud protocols, and thus provide the rich description of the comprehension process needed for the evaluation and optimization of a hypertext site.
keywords: usability / cognitive text processing / coherence / site analysis

For publications and further information see Arrie van Berkel's homepage.

Danielle Bougaïré

room number 1312-430; tel: +31-50-3638135
email: danielle.bougaire

mcc.gov.bf

Current Research

Dissertation project on health communication in Burkina Faso. Working title Les médias d'Etat et information publique en Afrique noire.

Jeanine Deen

room number 1312-421; tel: +31-50-3635948
email: J.Y.Deen

let.rug.nl

Current Research

Negotiation of meaning in native - non-native speaker interaction
the role of the native language and culture

the role of language proficiency

the impact of institutional roles and expert status
My research focusses on communication problems and misunderstandings that arise in oral interaction between native speakers (NS) and non-native speakers (NNS). When speakers try to clarify such problems, they enter what is called a negotiation of meaning. The language proficiency of the non-native speaker, the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of both speakers, and their roles in the interaction may all influence the negotiation process.
In my dissertation (1995), I analyzed and compared the moves with which NSs (Dutch) and NNSs (Turkish and Moroccan) clarify meaning in informal and institutional conversations, and the way these moves are organized in clarification sequences. Using the operationalizations developed in this earlier research, I will now compare interactions of larger groups of different cultural backgrounds to investigate the influence of language (proficiency) and culture on the NNSs' strategies in negotiating meaning. I will use task-based interactions (information gap dialogues) to encourage negotiation of the meaning of lexical items and in a broader sense the formulation of descriptions. Differences in institutional roles' will be induced by varying the informational asymmetry between speakers in the setup of the tasks.
The participants in the experiments will be selected from Dutch as second language' courses at different levels of proficiency. This group is fairly homogeneous with respect to the extent and kind of exposure to Dutch culture and language, while allowing a systematic comparison between levels of language proficiency in groups of different cultural backgrounds.
I will analyze the types of trouble indicating and clarifying strategies NNSs of different ethnic/linguistic background use in order to identify universal and language/culture-specific aspects of negotiation strategies. For the instruction dialogues, the results can be compared to studies with native speakers (see for instance Clark 1996), yielding a gauge for the impact of foreign language use.
keywords: negotiation of meaning, nonnative speaker, intercultural, institutional, language proficiency

Recent Publications

Deen, J. (1995/1997). Dealing with Problems in Intercultural Communication. A Study of Negotiation of Meaning in Native-Nonnative Speaker Interaction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Groningen/handelseditie proefschrift Tilburg University Press, Tilburg.

Titus Ensink

room number 1315-436; tel: +31-50-3635856
email: E.F.A.J.Ensink

let.rug.nl
http://www.let.rug.nl/~ensink/

Current Research

Pragmatic aspects of cognitive text processing:
What influence do pragmatic constraints exert on the cognitive processing of text?

Which constraints are operative in the special context of political speeches?

Development of models of framing operations in text processing

This research project is founded on a general assumption: the cognitive processing of a text is determined by the interaction between three constitutive elements, viz. the linguistic structure of the text, the (content of the) human information processing system, and the social context in which the text occurs. The overall goal of this project is related to this assumption: a precise description of the nature of this interaction. The project has resulted in a textbook in which a framework is offered that elaborates this assumption (Ensink 1992: De menselijke tekstverwerker). More specifically, three detailed aspects of this interaction have been investigated in the past few years (cf. list of publications):

the role of the application of norms on the text processing (norms as contextual constraints)
problems in the interaction (misunderstandings)
the role of the material appearance of the text in a specific situation (indexical and functional aspects of texts).

At present, the main focus is on two lines of research. In the first line (related to (1) above), some political speeches from the recent past are investigated in view of the question how textual and contextual features account for their interpretation. The second line is theoretical. An attempt is made at giving a formal elaboration of Erving Goffman's "frame analysis". Goffman has offered a general although informal sketch of a theory accounting for human perception and for several transformations to which perception is sensitive. More than other theorists tend to do, Goffman takes contextual factors into consideration. Hence, frame analysis is highly relevant to theories of cognitive processing.

key words: cognitive text processing / contextual analysis / perceptual frames

For publications and further information see Titus Ensink's homepage.

Anke van Haastrecht

room number 1312-422; tel: +31-50-3636849
email: J.M.P.van.Haastrecht

let.rug.nl

Current Research

1. Gender and Media, specifically:

The portrayal of women in media presentations on in vitro fertilization and other reproductive technologies (research project 1998/99)
Gender in Mexican films in the '90s: Content analysis and semiotic analysis of four recent films show a transition from traditional gender stereotypes to non-stereotypical portrayals and (in one film) reverse stereotyping.

2. Comparison of Spanish and Dutch television news
Semiotic, pragmatic, and content analysis indicate that the Spanish news programs are more biased and less objective than their Dutch counterparts.

Recent Publications

Haastrecht, J M P van, Ella: Juan Carlos Onetti y Eva Duarte de Peron, In: La Republica, 30-11-1997, pp. 36-37 ((Cultural supplement Montevideo, Uruguay))
Haastrecht, J M P van, Semejanzas y antagonismos entre D'Annunzio y Florencio Sanchez, In: La Republica, 07-12-1997, pp. 38-39 ((Cultural supplement Montevideo, Uruguay))
Noortwijk, A van, & Haastrecht, J M P van (red), Periodismo y literatura, Foro Hispanico, 12, Rodopi, Amsterdam-Atlanta (GA), 1997, 134 pp.

Harrie Mazeland

room number 1312-424; tel: +31-50-3636849
email: H.J.Mazeland

let.rug.nl
http://www.let.rug.nl/~mazeland/

Current Research

Discourse and Grammar

discourse and syntax
(a) the construction of question turns
(b) the use of conjunctions in talk in interaction
empirical semantics and categorization
(a) negotiating category meaning in talk in interaction
(b) clarification of word meanings in lingua franca interactions
language use in talk in interaction in institutional settings
(a) problem solving discussions in meetings

My main research question deals with the relation between discourse and grammar: how is grammar shaped so as to meet the exigencies of talk in interaction. To what degree and in what ways is grammar to be considered as a set of culturally shared, interactional devices, both at the level of utterance construction and the chaining and sequencing of utterances in interactions and texts? I try to answer this general question by empirically examining how specific language use devices are deployed in talk in interaction:

(i) discourse and syntax: how and to what degree is the construction of utterances in turns at talk interactionally motivated?

subproject (ia), the construction of question turns: how and to what degree is the design and sequential positioning of question turns to be accounted for in terms of the interactional function of this utterance type?
(ib), the use of conjunctions: how do speakers use conjunctions - such as "maar" (but), "want" (co-ordinating because) and "omdat" (subordinating because) - to establish specific types of coherence relations between utterances?

(ii) empirical semantics: to what degree and how is the meaning of words constituted in the interaction itself?

(iia) negotiating category meaning: how do participants modify and (re-)specify the meaning of a word in the course of their interaction?
(iib) clarification of word meanings in lingua franca interactions: how do foreign language learners orient to the meaning of words in explaining them and is there a relation between meaning structure and the way clarifications are packaged sequentially?

(iii) language use in institutional settings: to what degree and how is the design and interpretation of utterances related to context and social setting?

(iiia) problem solving discussions in meetings: how do participants in problem solving discussions agree upon what the problem is?

keywords: discourse and grammar, sequential organization, categorization, conversation analysis.

For publications and further information see Harrie Mazeland's homepage.

Ali Oussaïd

room number 1315-415; tel: +31-50-3635867
email: A.Oussaid

let.rug.nl

Current Research

Managing the international image of the Netherlands
the image of the Netherlands in public speeches by official Dutch representatives

the image of the Netherlands as expressed by foreign opinion leaders and decision makers the selection and processing of image-related information

the image-changing potential of image-oriented communication
The aim of the research is twofold, developing a diagnostic tool' for describing (changes in) the national image, and investigating the constructive processes underlying image formation and the effectiveness of image-oriented communication in reducing negative stereotypes or prejudices. The main intended audience of image-related communications and thus the appropriate informants for this resarch, are foreign opinion leaders (journalists, correspondents, students) and decision makers (diplomats, politicians, business managers).
The descriptive subprojects (lines (1) and (2) above) will focus on the image of the Netherlands as reflected in spontaneous or elicited statements by foreign opinion leaders and decision makers, and as projected in public speeches by official Dutch representatives. Envisaged analyses include content analysis of the symbolic images and factual information addressed in the statements and speeches, as well as discourse analysis of expressive and relational messages conveyed.
In subproject 3, a sample of foreign opinion leaders and decision makers will be interviewed in depth in order to assess the way they acquire, select, process, and (re-)formu-late image-relevant information. Issues to be addressed include symbolism, simplifications, and stereotypes, well as the use of factual information.
In subproject 4, one or two special cases like, for instance, last year's floods or a stir around the Dutch drugs policy, will be used to assess the impact of image-oriented communi-cation on existing stereotypes and prejudices. Again, public communications from both foreign and national leaders will be investigated, supplemented with texts from foreign media coverage. In addition to discourse analyses of those communications, this subproject will include the use of questionnaires (ratings, semantic differential scales, and open questions) and in-depth interviews.

keywords: Discourse and cognition; image and identity; persuasive communication; opinion leaders; stereotypes

Recent Publications

Oussaïd, A., Politiek taalgebruik en visie. Bestuurlijke vernieuwing door de bril van drie politieke partijen. In: H.J. Mazeland en C.L.A. Sauer (red.), Communiceren, waarnemen, analyseren. Bijdragen tot het taalbeheersingsonderzoek, Groningen, 1995, 171-188.
Oussaïd, A, Participatiebevordering in de lokale politiek: belang en rol van communicatie en onderzoek, In: Jaarboek Onderzoek Communicatiemanagement, 1997, pp. 59-80.

Gisela Redeker

room number 1312-431; tel: +31-50-3635973
email: G.Redeker

let.rug.nl
http://www.let.rug.nl/~redeker/

Current Research

The linguistics and pragmatics of institutional discourse

Contextual and linguistic cues to discourse structure and coherence
Quotation and perspective in discourse

The linguistics of persuasion and argumentation
a. rhetorical and subjective elements in book reviews
b. strategies of questioning and answering in journalistic interviews

The basic tenet of my research is that language use is intrinsically multi-functional and 'opportunistically' utilizes relevant information from all available sources, i.e. the interlocutors' cultural, physical, and experiential common ground, as well as verbal and non-verbal behavior. The use of these sources is 'opportunistic' in the sense that it is guided by the availability and relative strength of cues across and within the different domains (Redeker, 1992, in press).
The main goals of my research are to identify (a) contextual determinants and effects of language use and (b) the cognitive processes underlying the collaborative, situated construction of meaning in ongoing discourse. Essential for this approach is the combination of diverse research methods, including data-driven qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis and experimental investigations of attentional processes, comprehension, and attitudinal effects.
In order to exercise some control over content and functions of the discourse, I use material from systematically varied (sub)genres of institutional discourse (journalistic interviews, spoken vs. written book reviews). Given my interest in the multi-functionality of linguistic resources, most of my current research focusses on persuasive and argumentative discourse (project 3 above), where I investigate rhetorical strategies, the strategic deployment of subjectivity markers, and participants' strategies in journalistic interviews. Other ongoing research concerns engrossing and argumentative uses of quotation and perspective in narrative reports (project 2), and the interplay of semantic and pragmatic coherence (project 1). On the basis of discourse-analytic results, I will develop and test hypotheses about attentional processing and attitudinal effects of linguistic strategies.
In the near future, I will focus particularly on the construction and cumulative enrichment of corpora, including multi-medial corpora of tv/video material and face-to-face interactions, and on the theoretical integration and gradual formalization of discourse-analytic research using concepts and models from cognitive and computational linguistics.

keywords: language use, persuasion, perspective, discourse structure, attention

For publications, recent talks, and further information see Gisela Redeker's homepage.

Christoph Sauer

room number 1312-426; tel: +31-50-3635860
email: C.L.A.Sauer

let.rug.nl

Current Research

Pragmatics, linguistics and media influences in institutional discourse

Presentation forms of addressee-related discourse: detection of functional communicative constraints
a. rhetoric and problem-solving in political discourse
b. readability and usability of instructions

Empirical-pragmatic reconstruction of media characteristics (including "new media") in institutional settings

The basic perspective of my research is that language use is multi-dimensional, i.e. essentially complex. In order to reduce this complexity, I consider discourse production and reception as based on the interrelationship of four constitutive elements: the linguistic form/structure of the discourse, the constraints of the human cognitive processing system, the social-pragmatic function within the context of the communicative event, and the "gestalt"/architecture of that discourse concerning the way in which a recipient may get access to it. The main goal is a description of this interrelationship by distinguishing verbal means, cognitive effects, institutional functions and semiotic and medium-related dimensions. Therefore, a combination of different approaches is necessary, including qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis, experimentation (text evaluation, responses to visual and textual stimuli) and observation methods (e.g., with respect to computer-mediated communication: navigation protocol).
I use of the term discourse' for the use of language and other semiotic means seen as a form of social practice. Accordingly, my current research focusses on rhetorical (persuasive) and ideological discourse (project 1a) and the support of task-oriented reading by design strategies directed at readability and usability (project 1b). Other investigations concern the influence of the medium (oral, written, computer-mediated communication) on information processing and institutional actions (project 2), where the concepts of perspective' and coherence' are used in order to reconstruct the relevant making of certain (semiotic) aspects of the ongoing information.
In earlier research I have developed a model of reading task related comprehensi-bility, which combined the functional quality of texts (and pictures) with the access structure (design) of the document. In the near future, I will integrate into this model specific characteristics of media constraints, such as the ephemerity of audio and audio-visual information and the navigation difficulties in hypermedia.
keywords: language use, functional discourse quality, reading task orientation, media constraints, computer-mediated communication

Recent Publications

Mazeland, H. en C. Sauer (eds. 1995): Communiceren, waarnemen, analyseren. Bijdragen tot het taalbeheersingsonderzoek. [Groningen series on language use and communication, GLUC 1] Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Taal en Communicatie. (218 pp.).
Sauer, C. (1995): Commentaren in de pers als aaneenschakeling van handelingen. Schets van een functioneel-pragmatische benadering. In: H. Mazeland en C. Sauer (red.), Communiceren, waarnemen, analyseren. Bijdragen tot het taalbeheersingsonderzoek (pp. 189-218). [Groningen series in Language Use and Communication, GLUC 1]. Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit, Taal en Communicatie.
Sauer, C. (1995): Ein Minimalmodell zur Verständlichkeitsanalyse und -optimierung. In: B. Spillner (red.), Sprache: Verstehen und Verständlichkeit. Kongressbeiträge der 25. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Angewandte Linguistik (pp. 149-171). [Forum Angewandte Linguistik, Vol. 28]. Frankfurt a.M. etc: Lang.
Sauer, C. (1995): Sprachwissenschaft und NS-Faschismus. Lehren aus der sprachwissenschaftlichen Erforschung des Sprachgebrauchs deutscher Nationalsozialisten und Propagandisten für den mittel- und osteuropäischen Umbruch? In: K. Steinke (red.), Die Sprache der Diktaturen und Diktatoren. Beiträge zum Internationalen Symposion an der Universität Erlangen vom 19. bis 22. Juli 1993 (pp. 9-96). Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag C. Winter.
Sauer, C. en H. Mazeland (1995): Inleiding: taalbeheersingsonderzoek in beweging? In: H. Mazeland en C. Sauer (red.), Communiceren, waarnemen, analyseren. Bijdragen tot het taalbeheersingsonderzoek (pp. 7-15). [Groningen series in Language Use and Communication, GLUC 1]. Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit, Taal en Communicatie.
Ensink, T. en C. Sauer (1996): Political Communication as Tightrope Walking, The German President Roman Herzog's Commemorative Address in Warsaw, August 1, 1994. Politics, Groups and the Individual, 5, 2, 37-50.
Ensink, T. en C. Sauer (eds. 1996): Researching Technical Documents. [Groningen series on Language Use and Communication, GLUC 2]. Groningen: Department of Speech and Communication, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. (197 pp.).
Sauer, C. (1996): Oraliteit - literaliteit - medialiteit. Over materiële' aspecten van tekst en communicatie. Groniek, Historisch Tijdschrift, 135, 193-206.
Sauer, C. en T. Ensink (1996): Themes and Methods in the Research on Technical Writing and Technical Documents. In: Ensink, T. en C. Sauer (red.): Researching Technical Documents (pp. 7-16). [Groningen series in Language Use and Communication, GLUC 2]. Groningen: Department for Speech and Communi-cation, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
Sauer, C. (1997): Mythisches als Quelle für Deutungen und Konstruktionen im Strafverfahren. In: Frehsee, D., G. Löschper en G. Smaus (red.), Konstruktion der Wirklichkeit durch Kriminalität und Strafe (pp. 261-282). [Interdisziplinäre Studien zu Recht und Staat, Vol. 5]. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Sauer, C. (1997): Semi-orality and semi-literacy in legal institutions as 'super-signs': Analyzing Dutch trial courtroom interaction. In: Rauch, I. en G.F. Carr (red), Semiotics around the world: Synthesis in diversity. Proceedings of the fifth congress of the International Association for Semiotic Studies, Berkeley, 1994 Vol. 2. (pp. 1165-1168). Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Sauer, C. (1997): Text und Ideologie. Beobachtungen zur NS-Presse in der Besatzungssituation. In: Antos, G. en H. Tietze (eds.), Die Zukunft der Textlinguistik. Traditionen, Transformationen, Trends. Festschrift fhr Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Heinemann (pp. 133-162). Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Sauer, C. (1997): Echoes from Abroad - Speeches for the Domestic Audience: Queen Beatrix' Address to the Israeli Parliament. In: Chr. Schäffner (red.), Analysing Political Speeches. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters (in press). ((also to appear as Current Issues in Language and Society 3,3, 1997)).
Sauer, C. (1997): Visualisierung inbegriffen: Texthberarbeitung und Umgestaltung. In: E.- M. Jakobs en D. Knorr (red.), Schreiben in den Wissenschaften (pp. 91-106). [Textproduktion und Medium, Vol. 2]. Frankfurt a.M. etc.: Lang.
Sauer, C. (1998): Der aufdringliche Text. Propaganda, NS-Ideologie, Sprachpolitik und Besatzerdiskurs in der "Deutschen Zeitung in den Niederlanden". Opladen: Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag (in press). (400 pp.)

Wim Vuijk

room number 1312-423; tel: +31-50-3635871
email: W.Vuyk

let.rug.nl
http://www.let.rug.nl/~vuijk/

Current Research

What is the relation between discourse in and about organizations and the cognitions about the organizations' culture and communication?

How do employees and managers describe and think about the organization's culture, leadership and motivation in research interviews (specifically: in a medical institution and in a multinational organization)?

How is the organization's culture, hierarchy and strategy reflected in meetings and face-to-face interactions (specifically: in a multinational organization)?

How do managers shape and express the desired culture in managerial speeches, newsletters and video's (specifically: in a multinational organization)?

The research investigates how employees and managers think and talk about the organization (knowledge and attitudes) and how they actualize these cognitions in their discourse. Two kinds of data are used. Indirect sources are research interviews in which employees and managers answer questions about their cognitions (knowledge and attitudes) about culture, hierarchy, strategy and the communication. Direct sources are the reflections of those attitudes in communication: Managers and employees regulate their work in interactions; managers try to shape and express the desired culture in speeches and videos.
Research interviews are combined with questionnaires and document analysis to reconstruct the organization's culture and communication structure in order to investigate how employees and managers describe and think about the culture, hierarchy, strategy and communication. Content analysis and analysis of evaluations and argumentation in the interviews are used to identify their cognitions: What do they consider the main characteris-tics of the culture and the communication system? How do they describe the central values? What is their relation to their work and their colleagues?
The way employees and managers actually realize the organizational culture in their verbal behavior is investigated by analyzing various types of organizational discourse. Analysis of interactions (initiatives, requests) and texts (argumentation) is used to identify how they do that: Is formal hierarchy reflected in specific forms of requests or in the use of specific ways of taking the initiative in a meeting? What types of arguments are used in a video to support the manager's views on a desired culture?
Comparing and integrating evidence from indirect and direct sources across different organizations will yield insights into the relation between cognitions and discourse about an organization's culture and communication and discourse in the organization.
keywords: organizational communication, pragmatics, cognition, discourse analysis, contextual analysis.

For publications and further information see Wim Vuijk's homepage.

Neslihan Yetkiner

Centrum voor Promovendi en Postdocs, Grote Rozenstraat 38, 9712 TJ Groningen
tel: +31-50-3636475
email: N.Yetkiner

let.rug.nl

Current Research

Dissertation project on Turkish immigrant women's talk about gynecological problems in a Turkish women group and in institutional medical interactions. This PhD thesis research aims at tackling the complex relationship between intercultural communication and doctor-patient interaction by giving specific emphasis to Turkish culture and Turkish immigrant women group. An attempt will be made for the analysis of a particular example of doctor-patient interaction: gynecological interview, in an institutional setting within a multicultural environment and for the analysis of talk of a Turkish immigrant women group on the same topic in a non-institutional setting within a unicultural environment. In addition to a linguistic approach to the nature of doctor-patient interaction and women talk, we would like to look at the talk of Turkish women as a tool for scholars and practitioners to examine meanings of paralinguistic cues and conversational logic of Turkish female patients.

Contact: send mail to G.Redekerlet.rug.nl
last update of this page: 12 May 2000