> Hamid, there was a National Public Radio "All Things Considered" sequence > during the past 30 days that looked at the use of audio cassettes as a means of > continuing an "oral tradition" in North African Arab culture. I vaguely > remember the content as having something to do either with poetry, or with a > religious "talk" that was passed from person to person, with each adding their > own commentary or interpretation of the original "talk." What word do we use > to refer to a "text" of spoken, not written, language. > If you come up with many responses to this, I'd be interested in a copy. Robert, thanks for your lead. My limited time and a deadly deadline made it impossible for me to contact NPR. At any rate, I had to write a piece on the use of audiocassettes in propagating Islamic ideology and politics. The piece should appear in 1995-6 in the Encylopedia of Modern Islamic World published by Oxford Univ. press. Screen-l proved a dismal route to tracking down any source on this topic. Perhaps there are other electronic data bases more suitable for this topic--I don't know!. All the best. Hamid. [log in to unmask] > Regards, > Robert > > Robert Withers > Film Department That was zen, this is tao . . . > Brooklyn College > Brooklyn, New York 11210 Bitnet: [log in to unmask] > (718) 951-5664 Internet: [log in to unmask] >