End of ADS-L Digest - 8 Oct 1994 to 9 Oct 1994

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There are 4 messages totalling 110 lines in this issue.



Topics of the day:



 1. Phila. dialect

 2. Language and Education (2)

 3. Antilogies



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Date:  Mon, 10 Oct 1994 08:31:46 EDT

From:  Wayne Glowka <wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.GAC.PEACHNET.EDU>

Subject: Re: Phila. dialect



As a poor soul who used to ride into Philadelphia for several years by

taking the bus from West Whester and then the el from 69th street (one can

watch the Pepsi bottles fly off the roofs of bombed out houses toward the

metal band on the el car), I can tell you that the dialect situation in

Philadelphia is extremely complex. Neighborhoods are important since they

are tied directly in many cases to ethnicity and social/economic status. I

learned this summer just how similar West Philadephia speech out by the GE

plant is to Dublin English. Accent also changes as one takes the train out

the mainline to Paoli and beyond. By the time you're out in West Chester,

you're out in a different world. Folks out there sound like upper

Chesapeake folks--depending on many things, of course. But these are all

uninformed impressions.



By the way, Sledd (if I may take his name in vain) was mercilessly cruel in

class on atlas treatment of cities like Philadelphia.





Wayne Glowka

Professor of English

Director of Research and Graduate Student Services

Georgia College

Milledgeville, GA 31061

912-453-4222

wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]mail.gac.peachnet.edu