For a number of years, there has been concernin Germany about the decline of language . From a linguistic perspective, this hypothesis cannot be substantiated. Public debate, however, does raise some new questions about the stability and mutability of language norms. This volume undertakes a linguistic examination of the relationship between empiricism and standards in various forms and domains of communication."

The present study has a dual purpose in examining oral examinations as a specific conversation/dialogue type. First it takes its bearings from Michel Foucault to develop a model suitable for a conversation-analytic investigation of the viva voce at university level. This model is also designed to establish the scope and limits determining what can and cannot be said in such exam situations in terms of the specific positions occupied by the participants. From there it proceeds to draw on the findings yielded by these observations to formulate conclusions of a didactic nature geared to the institutional possibilities open to the persons involved.