The essays in this volume explore the field of contrastive rhetoric -- the study of how a person's first language (L1) and culture influence the acquisition of another language. Contrastive rhetoric encourages inquiry into various levels of discourse and text, examining the conventions and rhetorical structures of L1 and their influence on the use of another language. It also studies the cognitive dimensions of transfer in relation to both writing and speech. The four sections of this volume -- focusing on writing and translation, diglossia, second language acquisition, and pragmatics -- cover a broad spectrum of studies in the field of contrastive rhetoric, with essays by some of its leading scholars from Cyprus, Egypt, Hong Kong, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The collection will be invaluable to language teachers, students of applied linguistics, and anyone interested in second language acquisition and related issues.