Date: Fri, 17 Jan 1997 13:17:29 -0500 (EST) From: "Harold F. Schiffman" Subject: Re: Discourse, etc. Sender: owner-linganth@cc.rochester.edu To: "Richard J. Senghas" Cc: linganth@cc.rochester.edu MIME-version: 1.0 Precedence: bulk I think of just one variable in discourse that differs between certain groups in this country, and that is the decibel *volume* (loudness) at which one speaks, and what is considered appropriate and what is not.

I know many teachers consider that students who are "talking too loud" are being disruptive, maybe even aggressive, and evaluate the children negatively because of this. Another variable of this would be how loud one speaks in public spaces, and the appropriateness of projecting ones voice over a large distance to communicate with a distant person, while others are present in a public space, e.g. in a bus, on opposite sides of the platform of public transit, etc. Having been socialized to value "well-modulated" voices I still often have an automatic fear reaction when the volume exceeds what I consider to be the norm, especially if the volume source is near my ear. If this is done in another language, or in a non-standard dialect, things can get more complex...
Hal Schiffman