Volume 17, No. 1, 2022

A Compilation of Speech Sound Features of African American English

AUTHOR(S):

  • Shanna Caprice Lee, Ph.D., CCC-SLP.D, Department of Health and Human Sciences, Southeastern Lousiana University, Hammond, LA, USA
  • Jay R. Lucker, Ed.D., CCC-A/SLP, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
  • Katherine Picho-Kiroga, Ph.D., Department of Human Development and Psycho-Educational Studies, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
  • Wilhelmina Wright-Harp, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Howard University Washington, DC, USA
  • Silvia Martinez, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA

ABSTRACT

African American English (AAE) is an American dialect spoken by many African Americans and people of other racial/ethnic groups. In the current study, AAE-related literature was reviewed, and AAE speech sound patterns were compiled, including examples and regional information regarding the dialect. A convenient chart was created upon the review and compilation of AAE speech sound patterns from previous scholarly works. Further, a thorough literature search was completed on Google Scholar and EBSCO databases and recent articles and seminal works were prioritized. Then, a current and more comprehensive chart of AAE speech sound patterns was developed and organized by phoneme for SLPs to use clinically when accessing AAE speakers. Also, AAE speech sound patterns were described using non-deficit terminology as outlined by Hamilton et al. (2018). Several previous scholarly works outlined AAE speech sound patterns; however, there was a need for a current compilation of data across the literature and the need for the inclusion of positive terminology in reporting AAE speech sound features. While this manuscript might not provide a fully comprehensive list of AAE speech sound features, it provides a more comprehensive, clinically feasible chart for SLPs to efficiently use when assessing AAE speakers suspected of having a speech sound disorder.

 DOI:

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