The Sociolinguistically Trained Speech-Language Pathologist: Using Knowledge of African American English to Aid and Empower African American Clientele

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-131
Author(s):  
Anne H. Charity Hudley ◽  
Christine Mallinson ◽  
Kenay Sudler ◽  
Mackenzie Fama
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist

Addressing African American English in Early Literacy Assessment and Instruction

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Patton Terry
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
American English ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
African American English ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Early Literacy Assessment

Abstract Determining how best to address young children's African American English use in formal literacy assessment and instruction is a challenge. Evidence is not yet available to discern which theory best accounts for the relation between AAE use and literacy skills or to delineate which dialect-informed educational practices are most effective for children in preschool and the primary grades. Nonetheless, consistent observations of an educationally significant relation between AAE use and various early literacy skills suggest that dialect variation should be considered in assessment and instruction practices involving children who are learning to read and write. The speech-language pathologist can play a critical role in instituting such practices in schools.

African American English: An Overview

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Harper Charity
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Educational Issues ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

Abstract This article presents a summary of African-American English (AAE) for the speech-language pathologist. An overview of research on AAE and of the specific linguistic characteristics of AAE is presented. Examples of lexical, phonological, grammatical, and prosodic features of AAE and their implications for assessment are discussed. Linguistic variation within AAE is also described. Educational issues surrounding AAE and teachers' attitudes concerning student use of AAE are considered. The challenges in assessment that AAE presents for the SLP are highlighted along with resources for further information regarding AAE.

Zero Marking of Past Tense in Child African American English

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Lee ◽  
Janna B. Oetting
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Grammatical Function

Zero marking of the simple past is often listed as a common feature of child African American English (AAE). In the current paper, we review the literature and present new data to help clinicians better understand zero marking of the simple past in child AAE. Specifically, we provide information to support the following statements: (a) By six years of age, the simple past is infrequently zero marked by typically developing AAE-speaking children; (b) There are important differences between the simple past and participle morphemes that affect AAE-speaking children's marking options; and (c) In addition to a verb's grammatical function, its phonetic properties help determine whether an AAE-speaking child will produce a zero marked form.

Complex Syntax Production of African American Preschoolers

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1083-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra C. Jackson ◽  
Joanne E. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
Environment Factors ◽  
Complex Syntax ◽  
The Mean ◽  
American Children ◽  
Mean Length Of Utterance

This study examined changes in the complex syntax production of 85 3- and 4-year-old African American children and the role of child (i.e., gender, age, African American English) and family (i.e., home environment) factors. The mean percentage of utterances containing one or more complex syntax forms was 6.2% at 3 years and 11.7% at 4 years. Girls produced more complex syntax forms than did boys. Complex syntax production increased significantly between age 3 and age 4 and correlated positively with mean length of utterance in words. Children from more responsive and stimulating home environments produced more complex syntax at 4 years. African American English was not related to the amount of complex syntax used.

Eighteenth-Century Sierra Leone English

1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
African American ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
American English ◽  
African American English ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nova Scotian

This essay examines the language of an expatriate community as found in letters and petitions written by African Americans who migrated to Sierra Leone by way of Nova Scotia in 1792. These documents provide some of the earliest first-hand evidence of African American English and contribute to debates about the history of that variety. The paper compares selected grammatical features in that variety to modern-day African Nova Scotian English for insights to the history of African American English and develops a case for the principled use of manuscript documents for reconstructing earlier stages of colloquial English.

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