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Dialect variation and phonological knowledge: Phonological representations and metalinguistic awareness among beginning readers who speak nonmainstream American English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2012

NICOLE PATTON TERRY
NICOLE PATTON TERRY*
Affiliation:
Georgia State University
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Nicole Patton Terry, Department of Educational Psychology & Special Education, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3979, Atlanta, GA 30302-3979. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Children's spoken nonmainstream American English (NMAE) dialect use and their knowledge about phonological representations of word pronunciations were assessed in a sample of 105 children in kindergarten through second grade. Children were given expressive and receptive tasks with dialect-sensitive stimuli. Students who produced many NMAE features in speech nonetheless demonstrated considerable knowledge of “standard” English forms on the tasks, and their phonological representations were not deficient. In regression analyses, an inverse relationship between NMAE use and reading skill was observed, but mediated by phonological awareness. The findings are inconsistent with the view that print–speech mismatches interfere with young NMAE speakers’ reading acquisition, and instead suggest that dialect variation among beginning readers reflects metalinguistic differences that influence reading acquisition.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 155 - 176
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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