Investigated African American Vernacular English dialect features in the midwestern community of Davenport, Iowa, and compared them to those reported by Pollock and Berni (1997) for Memphis, Tennessee--specifically productions of vocalic and postvocalic /r/ across African-American speakers from Davenport and Memphis. (Author/VWL)

This article summarizes African American Vernacular English (AAVE) phonological features from the perspective of phonetic transcription. Relevant International Phonetic Alphabet symbols and diacritics are discussed, as well as the importance of transcription detail when differentiating dialect variation from phonological delay or disorder. A chart…

Recruiters (n=65) rated effect of specific social dialect characteristics on job interview and rated their perceptions of social dialect speakers. Results revealed that 58% of Appalachian English variables presented and 93% of Black English variables presented were considered to have negative effect on job interview. For both dialects, nonstandard…

Describes the origins and characteristics of six southern dialects: (1) South Midland; (2) Florida Cracker; (3) Gullah; (4) Southern Black Dialect; (5) Acadian French; and (6) Cajun English. Suggests books representative of each that can be used to introduce these dialects to elementary children. (NH)

This paper reviews research about how speaking a dialect can influence students' writing and how writing should be taught to students who speak a dialect of English. Literature on the writing errors commonly made by speakers of Black English and other American dialects is summarized. (PP)

The definition of and distinction between two variations of American English, African American English Vernacular (AAEV) and Gullah, the American creole spoken on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, are discussed. It is argued that while these and other varieties are defined typically by their basilects, the reality encountered in the field…

A study investigated requests as speech acts in "Zulu English," the English of Zulu first-language speakers, seeking to explain miscommunication in interactions between Zulu- and English-speakers by pointing to pragmatic transfer as one possible cause. Data were collected by means of a series of discourse completion tests in Zulu, Zulu…