Public information messages are an important means of state-to-citizen communication. This monograph presents an innovative genre-analytic approach to the linguistic study of public information messages from a cross-cultural perspective. With reference to the communicative functions and contexts of public information messages on a macrotextual and microtextual level, the study compares and contrasts qualitative and quantitative points in a corpus of national public information campaigns implemented in Germany and Ireland.

There are eight chapters. Ch.1 clarifies the purpose of the monograph—to contribute to the existing body of linguistic research on public information messages—and sketches the book's structure. Ch. 2 presents the study's theoretical underpinnings, including genre analysis, contrastive genre analysis, and analysis of cultural differences in language use in Germany and Ireland. Ch. 3 gives an overview of typical public information messages from an interdisciplinary perspective drawing from mass communication, social psychology, and public health. It also analyzes generic similarities between public information messages and commercial advertising. Ch. 4 describes the corpus design and compilation procedures and the analytical methods and procedures used to support the validity of the study.

Ch. 5 focuses on the macrotextual structure of public-information messages and proposes a seven-move taxonomy for effective messages: capture the audience's attention, provide details about changes, suggest strategies for participation, justify the need for change, invite participation, solicit action, and establish credibility. The author clarifies that not all of these moves are obligatory and that one move may be dominant in order to support a message's communicative purpose and rhetorical context. Ch. 6 addresses the microtextual structure of public information messages by analyzing pragmatic linguistic aspects of mass-media-based interaction between senders—in particular, governmental agencies—and largely anonymous addressees. For instance, in order to construct a common context, linguistic devices such as use of the inclusive pronoun we, impersonal references, deictic references, addressee-oriented discourse markers, and tag questions are commonly employed. Ch. 7 contrasts the type of discourse used in commercial advertising with that used for public information messages in Germany and Ireland, and shows how specific cultural differences between these countries influence language use. For example, the author suggests that the more frequent use of the inclusive we in Irish mass communication may derive from this society's relatively more collectivist identity. In conclusion, Ch. 8 provides a brief overview of the study's findings, discusses implications, and offers suggestions for future research.

This monograph is a valuable resource for students, researchers, and professionals in fields concerned with discourse analysis, pragmatics, contrastive rhetoric, mass communication, and media studies. A total of eighty-six well-designed tables provide readers with excellent clarification of the textual content.