Syntactic Features of Muncie African-American English: Eight Case Studies

1990 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 141-154
Author(s):  
L. M. Davis ◽  
Xiaozhao Huang
1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla K. McGregor ◽  
Danielle Williams ◽  
Sarah Hearst ◽  
Amy C. Johnson

Contrastive analysis aids the identification of true speech-language errors in cases where there is a mismatch between the linguistic communities of the clinician and the client. This tutorial illustrates the procedure via three case studies of preschoolers who speak African American English (AAE). In these case studies, there was good agreement between the results of contrastive analysis and the results of more well-established comparison metrics, suggesting that contrastive analysis can yield valid profiles that aid in distinguishing difference from disorder in children who speak a nonstandard dialect.


Author(s):  
Nicole Patton Terry

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Lee ◽  
Janna B. Oetting

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.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1083-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra C. Jackson ◽  
Joanne E. Roberts

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.


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