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Metalinguistics, stress accuracy, and word reading: does dialect matter?
Linda Jarmulowicz1, Valentina L Taran, Jamie Seek
1The University of Memphis, TN, USA. ljrmlwcz@memphis.edu
Summary
This study found that while mainstream American English speakers performed better on reading tasks, morphophonology involving stress accuracy was consistently linked to word reading in both dialect groups. This suggests a potential area of language convergence.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Education
Background:
- Nonmainstream American English (NMAE) and mainstream American English (MAE) represent distinct linguistic varieties.
- Understanding dialectal differences is crucial for educational and developmental assessments.
- Previous research has explored phonological and morphological awareness but less on morphophonology in relation to reading.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of demographic variables on NMAE usage.
- To compare NMAE and MAE speakers on metalinguistic skills, reading, and morphophonology.
- To examine the relationships between these measures within each dialect group.
Main Methods:
- Study included 42 typically developing 3rd graders (21 MAE, 21 NMAE) from Memphis, TN.
- A battery of tests assessed phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness (MA), morphophonology (lexical stress in derived words), decoding, and word identification (WID).
- Socioeconomic status was controlled for in the analysis.
Main Results:
- MAE speakers showed higher scores in PA, decoding, and WID compared to NMAE speakers.
- No significant difference was found in stress accuracy between the two dialect groups.
- Phonological awareness and morphological awareness were strongly related to decoding and word identification only for NMAE speakers.
Conclusions:
- Stress accuracy demonstrated a consistent relationship with reading measures, irrespective of PA and MA.
- Morphophonology, particularly suprasegmental aspects like stress, may serve as a point of convergence between language varieties.
- The findings highlight the importance of considering morphophonological skills in understanding reading development across different English dialects.
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