MARGIN²²: 0cm 0cm 0pt">06 Television

Television-----the most pervasive¹ and persuasive² of modern technologies, marked by rapid change and growth-is moving into a new era, an era of extraordinary sophistication and versatility³, which promises to reshape our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, made possible by the marriage of television and computer technologies.

The word "television", derived⁴ from its Greek (tele: distant) and Latin (visio: sight) roots, can literally⁵ be interpreted as sight from a distance. Very simply put, it works in this way: through a sophisticated system of electronics, television provides the capability⁶ of converting an image (focused on a special photoconductive plate within a camera) into electronic impulses, which can be sent through a wire or cable. These impulses, when fed into a receiver (television set), can then be electronically reconstituted into that same image.

Television is more than just an electronic system, however. It is a means of expression, as well as a vehicle for communication, and as such becomes a powerful tool for reaching other human beings.

The field of television can be divided into two categories determined⁷ by its means of transmission. First, there is broadcast television, which reaches the masses through broad-based airwave transmission of television signals. Second, there is nonbroadcast television, which provides for the needs of individuals or specific interest groups through controlled transmission techniques.

Traditionally, television has been a medium of the masses. We are most familiar with broadcast television because it has been with us for about thirty-seven years in a form similar to what exists today. During those years, it has been controlled, for the most part, by the broadcast networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS, who have been the major purveyors of news, information, and entertainment. These giants of broadcasting have actually shaped not only television but our perception of it as well. We have come to look upon the picture tube as a source of entertainment, placing our role in this dynamic medium as the passive viewer.

07 Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and , in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted in part from his ability to sell the product and in part from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments.

Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society. He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others to help themselves. "He who dies rich, dies disgraced," he often said.

Among his more noteworthy contributions to society are those that bear his name, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history. He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-Mellon University. Other philanthrophic gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts.

Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie's generosity⁸. His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus⁹ of the public library system that we all enjoy today.

08 American Revolution

The American Revolution was not a sudden and violent overturning of the political and social framework, such as later occurred in France and Russia, when both were already independent nations. Significant changes were ushered¹⁰ in, but they were not breathtaking. What happened was accelerated evolution rather than outright¹¹ revolution. During the conflict itself people went on working and praying, marrying and playing. Most of them were not seriously disturbed by the actual fighting, and many of the more isolated¹² communities scarcely knew that a war was on.

America's War of Independence heralded¹³ the birth of three modern nations. One was Canada, which received its first large influx¹⁴ of English-speaking population from the thousands of loyalists who fled there from the United States. Another was Australia, which became a penal¹⁵ colony now that America was no longer available for prisoners and debtors¹⁶. The third newcomer-the United States-based itself squarely on republican principles.

Yet even the political overturn was not so revolutionary as one might suppose. In some states, notably¹⁷ Connecticut and Rhode Island, the war largely ratified¹⁸ a colonial self-rule already existing. British officials, everywhere ousted¹⁹, were replaced by a home-grown governing class, which promptly²⁰ sought a local substitute for king and Parliament.

09 Suburbanization²¹

If by "suburb" is meant an urban margin that grows more rapidly than its already developed interior, the process of suburbanization began during the emergence²³ of the industrial city in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Before that period the city was a small highly compact cluster in which people moved about on foot and goods were conveyed by horse and cart. But the early factories built in the 1840's were located along waterways and near railheads at the edges of cities, and housing was needed for the thousands of people drawn²⁴ by the prospect²⁵ of employment. In time, the factories were surrounded by proliferating²⁶ mill towns of apartments and row houses that abutted²⁷ the older, main cities. As a defense²⁸ against this encroachment²⁹ and to enlarge their tax bases, the cities appropriated their industrial neighbors. In 1854, for example, the city of Philadelphia annexed³⁰ most of Philadelphia County. Similar municipal maneuvers³¹ took place in Chicago and in New York. Indeed, most great cities of the United States achieved such status only by incorporating the communities along their borders.

With the acceleration³² of industrial growth came acute urban crowding and accompanying social stress-conditions that began to approach disastrous³³ proportions when, in 1888, the first commercially successful electric traction³⁴ line was developed. Within a few years the horse-drawn trolleys³⁵ were retired³⁶ and electric streetcar networks crisscrossed and connected every major urban area, fostering a wave of suburbanization that transformed the compact industrial city into a dispersed³⁷ metropolis³⁸. This first phase of mass-scale suburbanization was reinforced by the simultaneous emergence of the urban Middle Class, whose desires for homeownership in neighborhoods far from the aging inner city were satisfied by the developers of single-family housing tracts³⁹.

10 Types of Speech

Standard usage includes those words and expressions understood, used, and accepted by a majority of the speakers of a language in any situation regardless of the level of formality. As such, these words and expressions are well defined and listed in standard dictionaries. Colloquialisms⁴¹, on the other hand, are familiar words and idioms that are understood by almost all speakers of a language and used in informal speech or writing, but not considered appropriate for more formal situations. Almost all idiomatic⁴² expressions are colloquial⁴⁰ language. Slang, however, refers to words and expressions understood by a large number of speakers but not accepted as good, formal usage by the majority. Colloquial expressions and even slang may be found in standard dictionaries but will be so identified. Both colloquial usage and slang are more common in speech than in writing.

Colloquial speech often passes into standard speech. Some slang also passes into standard speech, but other slang expressions enjoy momentary⁴³ popularity followed by obscurity. In some cases, the majority never accepts certain slang phrases but nevertheless retains them in their collective memories. Every generation seems to require its own set of words to describe familiar objects and events. It has been pointed⁴⁴ out by a number of linguists⁴⁵ that three cultural conditions are necessary for the creation of a large body of slang expressions. First, the introduction and acceptance of new objects and situations in the society; second, a diverse population with a large number of subgroups; third, association among the subgroups and the majority population.

Finally, it is worth noting that the terms "standard" "colloquial" and "slang" exist only as abstract labels for scholars who study language. Only a tiny number of the speakers of any language will be aware that they are using colloquial or slang expressions. Most speakers of English will, during appropriate situations, select and use all three types of expressions.