Volume 14, Number 1, Spring 2019

The Impact of African American English on Language Proficiency in Adolescent Speakers

AUTHOR(S):

  • June Graham-Bethea, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, USA
  • Alan Kamhi, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

ABSTRACT

To examine previous findings that AAE use is related to complex syntax in spoken language, this study examined the relationship between AAE, complex syntax, and lexical diversity in adolescent African American English-speaking students in spoken and written language. There were no significant differences in syntactic complexity, type token ratio, and vocabulary use as a function of AAE use. The only significant correlations between AAE use and these measures were in the low moderate range (r = .32-.36). The findings of this study were thus inconsistent with previous studies by Craig and Washington (1994, 1995), but were consistent with the more recent study by Jackson and Roberts (2001). Future studies should continue to examine how AAE changes over time and how AAE use may influence syntactic and lexical aspects of language.

DOI:

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