This collection of articles derives from a conference organized in Szeged (Hungary) in 2003. It represents a contribution to the ongoing discussion on approaches to the grammar of spoken language. Proceeding on the conviction that existing theoretical deficits can only be offset by broad discussion of all potential sources of theoretical insight, the volume discusses various approaches to a more precise grammatical definition of spoken language, including construction grammar, interactional linguistics, the theory of proximate and distanced speech, and ideas on the constitution of meaning in spoken language.

The terms a ~proximitya (TM) and a ~distancea (TM) signify conceptual characteristics of orality and literacy. In that branch of linguistic research dealing with linguistic variation, a ~proximity vs. distancea (TM) is a central area of enquiry along with fields such as dialectology, languages for specialist purposes or text typology. The present volume examines commonalities and differences along the topic areas of a ~proximity and diatopic variation,a (TM) a ~proximity and diachronic variation,a (TM) a ~proximity and diaphasic variationa (TM) and a ~proximity and grammaticalisation.a (TM)

In modern linguistics, ellipsis has been a subject of interest in various subdisciplines, including grammar research, psycholinguistics, and language philosophy. This compendium relates these old perspectives to each other while also opening up new perspectives for example, in interactional linguistics and computer linguistics. As a result, this volume not only provides insights into the current status of research about ellipsis, but also highlights novel directions for future investigation."

This collection represents a preliminary theoretical, methodological, and empirical stage to a planned stratificational grammar of New High German. The conviction uniting these articles is that the diamedial dimension plays a special role in the grammatical development of New High German and that this fact can only be taken due account of by a theoretically sound and methodologically practicable model of the proximal/distal dimension. The articles present theoretical and methodological approaches to the phenomenon of proximal/distal speech and apply them to 15 source texts.

This volume intervenes in the perennial discussion of tense with an attempt to broaden its scope by taking a searching look at the situation in connection with spoken German. As the differences between written and spoken language cannot be generalized upon, analysis concentrates on two specific text varieties from each medium (live football commentary and talk-show versus letter and review). Following a discussion on the theoretical bearings of the approach used, broad-ranging corpus analyses are used to identify the differences displayed by the text varieties in question with regard to the use of tense and other linguistic devices expressing temporality.