This paper was based on material excluded from a early draft of my Ph.D. dissertation, "The Nature and Function of Sound in the Roman Pedagogical Rhetorics of Auctor ad Herennium, Cicero, and Quintilian." The original design of the dissertation was a detailed overview of the sonic dimensions of communication in rhetorical and linguistic theories from antiquity to the twentieth century. For practical reasons, the scope of the dissertation was pared down to focus solely on selected Roman writings on communication.
"Sonic Association in the Rhetorical Theories of I.A. Richards and Kenneth Burke" was originally presented in 1981 at SCA and later as a seminar paper at "The Burke Conference" in 1984. Presently, the material is under revision for possible publication. The material relates both to a resurgence in interest in Kenneth Burke and to orality/aurality in a mass-mediated environment.
Scientism v. Dramatism: Excluded from the dissertation was a brief analysis of The Philosophy of the Human Voice by James Rush. Both Rush and Burke address sonic properties in human communication. In the history of ideas, both follow from observations found in Roman writings on communication.
With his microscopic perspective on the correlation between different vocal intervals and meaning, Rush is steeped in scientism. On the other hand, Burke's macroscopic perspective on the functions of sound in language exemplifies dramatism.
