This document presents a series of lectures on various aspects of the language problems of inner-city children delivered during the second semester of the 1969-70 academic year at the Department of Urban and Overseas English Programs of the School of Education of Indiana University. The papers are: Roger W. Shuy, "Sociolinguistic Strategies for…

Samples of taped readings recorded by a black and a white speaker, each reading the identical two stories, were played to four groups of white teachers, 87 in number. The latter were asked to evaluate certain characteristics of the speakers, using an adjective checklist and multiple choice questions. Results indicated that the black speaker and…

Previous studies have demonstrated that certain differences in speech behavior can be related to the social characteristics of speakers. However, these studies have not explicitly examined the effect of level of linguistic analysis on correlations observed between language variables and status variables. Three levels of analysis of a linguistic…

This study considers the occurrence of noun plural marker deletion in black English. It questions the cause of the phenomenon and investigates four factors which could be involved: presence or absence of a quantifier expression, phonological constraints, age of the speaker, and interaction between quantifier expressions and phonological…

The essays in this book point out an unhappiness with existent forms of English teaching and emphasize possibilities for a future in which the human-ness and humane-ness of literary, linguistic, and writing experiences will be encouraged. Authors and papers are (1) Louise M. Rosenblatt, "Literature and the Invisible Reader"; (2) Muriel Crosby,…

Drawing a distinction between lexical and phonological variation reveals differences in sociolinguistic patterning. A comparison of dialects within the Durham, England speech community is discussed on these levels. Phonetic motivation, speech style, and social and situational factors are shown to interact in complex ways in connected speech…

Investigates the role of dialect variation in the acquisition of American English by adult second language learners. The study revealed that dialect differences present problems for learners and cause variable intelligibility and negative learner attitude toward some varieties of English and its speakers. This attitude could negatively affect a…

This document evaluates the effectiveness of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Academic English Mastery Program, a program designed to serve students whose lack of proficiency in standard American English is an impediment to academic performance. This study used random sampling, experimental and control groups, and three principle data…

Relates the English language spelling system to sound and examines whether spellers make use of the information available in that relationship when spelling words. Describes how certain phonological features of a dialect spoken along the northeast coast of Newfoundland influence spelling errors among fourth graders. (SB)

A growing trend in bilingual education is to provide instruction in standard ("mainstream") English for children who are native speakers of an English dialect, such as black English. Debate over the practice focuses on effectiveness and the potential drain on bilingual education funding. Although not criticizing or devaluing the nonstandard…

Background: Both academic research and educational policy have focused on the diverse language resources of young schoolchildren. African American Language (AAL) in particular has a rich history of scholarship that both documents its historical evolution and sociolinguistic complexity and reveals the persistent lack of knowledge about AAL in our…

A literature review was conducted to discover what programs, philosophies, and methodologies are recommended on the college level for teaching oral Standard English (SE) to speakers of Vernacular Black English (VBE) and to suggest areas of research needs in oral SE training. Most of the speech communication courses in this area are part of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles are concerned with a variety of topics related to the following: the use and teaching of English in bilingual, bidialectal, and bicultural situations, including studies of reading achievement and dialect; language…

Each of the 12 articles in this book deals with an aspect of linguistics theory and its application to understanding or teaching reading. The topics covered include: defining reading in proper perspective, the relevance of applied linguistics for teachers of reading, why children should want to learn to read, dialects and reading, the features of…

This report presents some of the findings of several years research on the relations between the non-standard English used by Negro speakers in various urban ghetto areas (NNE) and standard English (SE). The immediate subject is the status of the copula and auxiliary "be" in NNE. The approach to the problem combines the methods of…