This research will examine the production and development of African American English (AAE) through early adolescence, the potential impact of vernacular dialect on the literacy acquisition of African Americans from entry to school through middle school, and the youth, family, and school factors that may affect this linkage. Even though youth have acquired most of their primary linguistic structures prior to adolescence, they make important adjustments to their language based on social context and peer relations during this critical life phase. These adjustments include the choice of vernacular or standard dialect and the development of style shifting ability. This study builds on a unique, longitudinal database collected over the past 14 years for a group of 70 African-American adolescents from low- and middle-income families whose language skills, literacy skills, and family and school environments, have been progressively documented since infancy. This research will also include an additional sample of 70 friends of the original study participants. During these middle school years, AAE production in formal and informal activities with friends and adult examiners and reading skills will be measured. Additional measures of the youth (e.g., metalinguistic skills, school attitudes), family (e.g., responsiveness of the home environment), and school (e.g., SES of school, teacher-student relationship) characteristics will also be collected. Hypotheses will be tested with respect to the trajectory of AAE variants from the elementary though middle school years, the relationship of formality of context to vernacular variations in the middle school years, the relationship of vernacular dialect to the literacy acquisition of African Americans from entry to school through middle school, and the specific youth characteristics that may explain these vernacular literacy associations, including school attitudes and metalinguistic skills. Growth curve methods will be used to quantify patterns of change in the development of specific aspects of youths' vernacular dialect to determine their relation to literacy development. Such data address the possible role of vernacular dialect prominence in literacy achievement during those periods of schooling when the gap in achievement between Caucasian- and African-Americans widens greatly.
This project will describe the longitudinal development of African American English (AAE) from school entry through middle school, the youth, family, school factors that influence these patterns, and the impact of these factors on African American youth literacy. The study will address the social and educational implications of the most significant sociocultural variation of American English. Understanding the sociocultural factors that affect the vernacular variations and literacy achievement of African-American adolescents is critical for addressing the academic achievement gaps between African Americans and their non-minority peers in American society. The findings will be of great interest to parents, students, teachers, other educators, and researchers concerned with issues related to the school success of African-American youth and risk factors for school failure.
