Nessa Wolfson
Biographic Data
| ID | 558100 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nessa Wolfson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nessa |
| FAMILY NAME | Wolfson |
| SIGNATURE | WOLFSON N |
| AFFILIATIONS | California University of Pennsylvania |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 129 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1990 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Recent Publications in Sociolinguistics
Book reviewed in this article: Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition Dennis Preston. Dennis Preston. Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL Nessa Wolfson. Cambridge: Newbury House, 1989
The conversational historical present
Language of Inequality
Research Methodology and the Question of Validity
The analysis of the rules of speaking for a specific speech community is the first step in understanding what it means to be communicatively competent among that group. We must have reliable descriptions of these rules and patterns in order to improve second language instruction and assessment. However, there are serious questions as to the best methods of gathering and analyzing the very data upon which such descriptions must rest. This article …
Language of Inequality
Pretty Is As Pretty Does: A Speech Act View of Sex Roles
Journal Article Pretty Is As Pretty Does: A Speech Act View of Sex Roles Get access NESSA WOLFSON NESSA WOLFSON University of Pennsylvania Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Applied Linguistics, Volume 5, Issue 3, Autumn 1984, Pages 236–244, https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/5.3.236 Published: 01 October 1984
CHP: The Conversational Historical Present in American English Narrative
On Tense Alternation and the Need for Analysis of Native Speaker Usage in Second Language Acquisition
A description of the rules for the use of the conversational historical present in American English is given in order to demonstrate the necessity of taking such information into account when applying discourse analysis to second language research. It is argued that native speaker intuition is inadequate as a basis for judging the discourse errors of language learners. A recent study of tense avoidance by Godfrey (1980) is discussed in order to p…
Compliments in Cross-Cultural Perspective
It is well known that languages differ greatly from one another in their patterns and norms of interaction. Up to now, however, there has been very little systematic comparison of language from the points of view of speech acts and rules of speaking. The speech act of complimenting, as an example of the kind of sociolinguistic information needed in order to understand the problems of language learners, is here examined in some detail. The semanti…
Bruce L. Pearson, Introduction to linguistic concepts. New York: Knopf, 1977
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The compliment as a social strategy
Within the framework of ethnography of speaking, this paper presents an analysis of the speech act of complimenting in American English. The major focus is a discussion of the way in which compliments are used in a variety of social situations. It is argued that, whatever the immediate discourse function, complimenting has the underlying social function of creating or reinforcing solidarity between the speaker and the addressee. The linguistic st…
The Conversational Historical Present Alternation
The conversational historical present tense (CHP) occurs only in a specific type of narrative, here labeled a ‘performed story.’ In contrast to previous analyses of this feature, it is the thesis of this paper that CHP in itself has no significance. Rather, it is the switching between CHP and the past tenses which is the relevant feature. Two important constraints—that of sequence of tenses in coördinated sentences, and that of nonoccurrence of C…
Breaking down the Free Conversation Myth
How often do we hear students complain that they are not given adequate class time to speak English? How often do we, as teachers and administrators, try to correct this deficiency by scheduling free discussions and by breaking classes down into small groups so that each individual student will have ample opportunity to speak in an unstructured way? Most teachers will find that these or similar thoughts cross their minds fairly frequently, and wh…
A feature of performed narrative: The Conversational Historical Present
The historical present, the use of the present tense to refer to past events, is a feature of narrative which has long been recognized. The object of this analysis is the use of the historical present tense specifically in narratives which occur in everyday conversational interactions. This usage will be referred to as the conversational historical present to distinguish it from the use of this tense in other genres such as travelogues and jokes.…
Speech events and natural speech: Some Implications for Sociolinguistic Methodology
Samples of speech suitable for sociolinguistic analysis may be sought in several ways. Interviews (either formal or informal), and tape-recorded group sessions, are the methods most used currently. In research on a specific variable, the historical present tense (HP), none of these methods proved neutral or adequate. Although the historical present tense is very widely used in conversational narratives, its occurrence within interviews is so infr…
Speech events and natural speech: Some Implications for Sociolinguistic Methodology
Samples of speech suitable for sociolinguistic analysis may be sought in several ways. Interviews (either formal or informal), and tape-recorded group sessions, are the methods most used currently. In research on a specific variable, the historical present tense (HP), none of these methods proved neutral or adequate. Although the historical present tense is very widely used in conversational narratives, its occurrence within interviews is so infr…
Compliments in Cross-Cultural Perspective
It is well known that languages differ greatly from one another in their patterns and norms of interaction. Up to now, however, there has been very little systematic comparison of language from the points of view of speech acts and rules of speaking. The speech act of complimenting, as an example of the kind of sociolinguistic information needed in order to understand the problems of language learners, is here examined in some detail. The semanti…
A feature of performed narrative: The Conversational Historical Present
The historical present, the use of the present tense to refer to past events, is a feature of narrative which has long been recognized. The object of this analysis is the use of the historical present tense specifically in narratives which occur in everyday conversational interactions. This usage will be referred to as the conversational historical present to distinguish it from the use of this tense in other genres such as travelogues and jokes.…
The Conversational Historical Present Alternation
The conversational historical present tense (CHP) occurs only in a specific type of narrative, here labeled a ‘performed story.’ In contrast to previous analyses of this feature, it is the thesis of this paper that CHP in itself has no significance. Rather, it is the switching between CHP and the past tenses which is the relevant feature. Two important constraints—that of sequence of tenses in coördinated sentences, and that of nonoccurrence of C…
Research Methodology and the Question of Validity
The analysis of the rules of speaking for a specific speech community is the first step in understanding what it means to be communicatively competent among that group. We must have reliable descriptions of these rules and patterns in order to improve second language instruction and assessment. However, there are serious questions as to the best methods of gathering and analyzing the very data upon which such descriptions must rest. This article …
On Tense Alternation and the Need for Analysis of Native Speaker Usage in Second Language Acquisition
A description of the rules for the use of the conversational historical present in American English is given in order to demonstrate the necessity of taking such information into account when applying discourse analysis to second language research. It is argued that native speaker intuition is inadequate as a basis for judging the discourse errors of language learners. A recent study of tense avoidance by Godfrey (1980) is discussed in order to p…
The conversational historical present
Breaking down the Free Conversation Myth
How often do we hear students complain that they are not given adequate class time to speak English? How often do we, as teachers and administrators, try to correct this deficiency by scheduling free discussions and by breaking classes down into small groups so that each individual student will have ample opportunity to speak in an unstructured way? Most teachers will find that these or similar thoughts cross their minds fairly frequently, and wh…
Speech events and natural speech: Some Implications for Sociolinguistic Methodology
Samples of speech suitable for sociolinguistic analysis may be sought in several ways. Interviews (either formal or informal), and tape-recorded group sessions, are the methods most used currently. In research on a specific variable, the historical present tense (HP), none of these methods proved neutral or adequate. Although the historical present tense is very widely used in conversational narratives, its occurrence within interviews is so infr…
Breaking down the Free Conversation Myth
How often do we hear students complain that they are not given adequate class time to speak English? How often do we, as teachers and administrators, try to correct this deficiency by scheduling free discussions and by breaking classes down into small groups so that each individual student will have ample opportunity to speak in an unstructured way? Most teachers will find that these or similar thoughts cross their minds fairly frequently, and wh…
A feature of performed narrative: The Conversational Historical Present
The historical present, the use of the present tense to refer to past events, is a feature of narrative which has long been recognized. The object of this analysis is the use of the historical present tense specifically in narratives which occur in everyday conversational interactions. This usage will be referred to as the conversational historical present to distinguish it from the use of this tense in other genres such as travelogues and jokes.…
The Conversational Historical Present Alternation
The conversational historical present tense (CHP) occurs only in a specific type of narrative, here labeled a ‘performed story.’ In contrast to previous analyses of this feature, it is the thesis of this paper that CHP in itself has no significance. Rather, it is the switching between CHP and the past tenses which is the relevant feature. Two important constraints—that of sequence of tenses in coördinated sentences, and that of nonoccurrence of C…
Bruce L. Pearson, Introduction to linguistic concepts. New York: Knopf, 1977
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The compliment as a social strategy
Within the framework of ethnography of speaking, this paper presents an analysis of the speech act of complimenting in American English. The major focus is a discussion of the way in which compliments are used in a variety of social situations. It is argued that, whatever the immediate discourse function, complimenting has the underlying social function of creating or reinforcing solidarity between the speaker and the addressee. The linguistic st…
Compliments in Cross-Cultural Perspective
It is well known that languages differ greatly from one another in their patterns and norms of interaction. Up to now, however, there has been very little systematic comparison of language from the points of view of speech acts and rules of speaking. The speech act of complimenting, as an example of the kind of sociolinguistic information needed in order to understand the problems of language learners, is here examined in some detail. The semanti…
On Tense Alternation and the Need for Analysis of Native Speaker Usage in Second Language Acquisition
A description of the rules for the use of the conversational historical present in American English is given in order to demonstrate the necessity of taking such information into account when applying discourse analysis to second language research. It is argued that native speaker intuition is inadequate as a basis for judging the discourse errors of language learners. A recent study of tense avoidance by Godfrey (1980) is discussed in order to p…
CHP: The Conversational Historical Present in American English Narrative
Pretty Is As Pretty Does: A Speech Act View of Sex Roles
Journal Article Pretty Is As Pretty Does: A Speech Act View of Sex Roles Get access NESSA WOLFSON NESSA WOLFSON University of Pennsylvania Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Applied Linguistics, Volume 5, Issue 3, Autumn 1984, Pages 236–244, https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/5.3.236 Published: 01 October 1984
Language of Inequality
Language of Inequality
Research Methodology and the Question of Validity
The analysis of the rules of speaking for a specific speech community is the first step in understanding what it means to be communicatively competent among that group. We must have reliable descriptions of these rules and patterns in order to improve second language instruction and assessment. However, there are serious questions as to the best methods of gathering and analyzing the very data upon which such descriptions must rest. This article …
The conversational historical present
Recent Publications in Sociolinguistics
Book reviewed in this article: Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition Dennis Preston. Dennis Preston. Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL Nessa Wolfson. Cambridge: Newbury House, 1989
Linguistics (14 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (5 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (4 works) · History (4 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (4 works)