Persistence of non-standard dialect in school-age children.
This study investigated the persistence of non-standard dialect production among 114 African American and White children in grades 3, 5, and 7. A dialect shift premise suggests that a large and uniform decline in dialectal features occurs in the language of school-age children. Three experimental tasks were administered. The results indicated that dialect awareness and discrimination increased as grade in school increased; a dialect shift occurred between grades 3 and 5; non-standard dialect production and comprehension of standard dialect were not associated; and that there was no difference in non-standard dialect production among African American and White students.
Isaacs
G J
GJ
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Shaw University, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D044465:White People