Media and Second Dialect Acquisition

Abstract This article addresses the role that different types of media might play in second dialect acquisition. While many scholars agree that broadcast media such as television have little effect on individual speakers’ language use, research across fields (sociolinguistics, second language learning, laboratory phonology, and phonetics) suggests that high levels of engagement could facilitate dialect learning via mediated speech. I will briefly describe the mechanisms underlying acquisition of new dialect features, discuss how these mechanisms might operate when speakers are exposed to speech via specific types of media, and sketch some avenues for future research.