Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 12:37:15 -0500

From: ALICE FABER FABER%LENNY[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]VENUS.CIS.YALE.EDU

Subject: TV and dialect diversity



For a grant proposal that I am preparing with a tight deadline, I need

specific print references defending the statement that TV viewing doesn't

lead to a reduction in dialect differences or a homogenization of dialect

variation. (Of course, I'd love anecdotes, also, but, for purposes of the

proposal, citations are better.) I recall seeing a reference somewhere in

something by Labov that extensive TV viewing doesn't make BEV-speaking

children any less vernacular (or more "standard"). And there's also a claim

out there that hearing children of deaf parents don't learn spoken language at

all through TV. And one could make a claim (tho I don't know if it's been

made) that any network connection between a person and an electronic source is

weaker than any connection that person has with his/her social network.



Thanks in advance for any leads you can provide.



Alice Faber

Faber[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]Yalehask.bitnet

Faber%Yalehask[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]venus.ycc.yale.edu