Characteristics of dialects or linguistic variance to consider when teaching reading
- A dialect is a difference in the way a language is spoken by a group of people. It is rule governed and systematic and can be spoken by a group based on race, ethnicity, and/or geographic region.
- There are several phonological differences between African American English (AAE) and General American English (GAE). In AAE there is a reduction of consonant blends at the end of a word being reduced to a single sound, so cast becomes cas. In AAE the g is dropped when saying the suffix ing, making running become runnin. There are also several differences between voiced and unvoiced th sounds replacing the th with f, t, or d depending on the position and voicing of the sound.
- There are also several things to consider if students are speaking Appalachian English. In GAE when adding a plural ending to a word that ends with “s,” “z,” or “sh,” it is pronounced with “iz”. But Appalachian English also adds this suffix to words that do not end in “s,” “z,” or “sh,” For example, risks and hosts, become riskes and hostes. Using two helping verbs like “might could” or “should would,” are common in Appalachian English. Adding the suffix est to words ending in “ing” is also common to make them more powerful such as, “She’s the gardeningest person in the neighborhood”.
References
Austin, C. R., Moore, K. A., Kocherhans, S., & Herman, K. (2024). Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, and Spelling: When Home and School Dialect Differ. The Reading League Journal.
Reed, P. E. (2020). Phonological Possibilities in Appalachian Englishes. In Appalachian Englishes in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 20–35). essay, West Virginia University Press.
Renwick, Margaret E. L. (n.d.). Appalachian English. https://mrenwick.franklinresearch.uga.edu/southern_speech/AE
Recommendations for instructing students who speak linguistic varieties of English
- Teachers need to be aware of the dialects that their students speak and the differences between them and General American English. It is important for teachers to learn to distinguish the difference between a student’s dialect and an error caused by phonological mismatch.
- Reading is based on language, and being able to read means you are able to understand the written form of spoken language. Dialect can impact all five domains of language (phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax,and pragmatics). Students with linguistic differences need explicit, direct instruction in foundational skills to become successful decoders and encoders.
- Teachers should not try to change a student’s dialect. Teachers can bring awareness of these differences to their students, but often dialects have strong roots in history, culture, and a student’s way of life and students should not be made to feel that their dialect is inferior or wrong.
References
Austin, C. R., Moore, K. A., Kocherhans, S., & Herman, K. (2024). Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, and Spelling: When Home and School Dialect Differ. The Reading League Journal.