Evaluating the grammars of children who speak nonmainstream dialects of english
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-1-2013
Abstract
In this article, we review three responses to the study and evaluation of grammar in children who speak nonmainstream dialects of English. Then we introduce a fourth, system-based response that views nonmainstream dialects of English, such as African American English (AAE) and Southern White English (SWE) as made up of dialect-specific and dialect-universal features. To illustrate the usefulness of a system-based approach and to distinguish our two terms from others in the dialect literature, we present AAE and SWE relative clause data from two previously published studies. Following this, we present new findings from AAE- and SWE-speaking children's use of past tense and past participles to further demonstrate the value of examining larger units (i.e., systems) of a grammar to identify a child's language strengths and weaknesses. We conclude by arguing that a system-based approach moves clinicians, educators, and researchers beyond a preoccupation with the nonmainstream aspects of children's dialects while also moving us beyond Brown's 14 morphemes. Although the focus of the article is on assessment, the content is relevant to the treatment of grammar because effective promotion of any child's grammar (including the grammars of those who speak nonmainstream dialects of English) will occur only when clinicians, educators, and researchers begin to view the child's grammar as a system rather than as a sum of its parts. Copyright © 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Topics in Language Disorders
First Page
140
Last Page
151
Recommended Citation
Oetting, J., Lee, R., & Porter, K. (2013). Evaluating the grammars of children who speak nonmainstream dialects of english. Topics in Language Disorders, 33 (2), 140-151. https://doi.org/10.1097/TLD.0b013e31828f509f
