Despite decades of sociolinguistic research, African American Language (AAL) remains stigmatized throughout the United States education system. There have been proposals to counteract this through curricula and/or ideological interventions targeted at teachers that seek to validate AAL while maintaining Dominant American English (DAE) as an…

For educators committed to promoting social equity, the question of how to address dialect hegemony is increasingly important. While linguists have long accepted the concept of dialect equality, educators have struggled with the issue, sparking a history of controversy and debate underscoring larger social issues of diversity and equity. For…

African-American students continue to lag behind White peers in nationwide test scores, in part due to deficits in literacy skills which may be connected to use of African American English (AAE) in the school setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exposure to varying levels of mainstream American English (MAE)…

The present article compares and contrasts linguistic findings from longitudinal studies of low-income Americans derived from evidence of recorded family speech interactions. Hart and Risley (1995) employed research assistants who spent 1 hour per month observing language usage among families from different socioeconomic backgrounds in their homes…

This article draws attention to the role one's language plays in socialization and explains the misunderstandings and conflicts over integration of the Roma in the Czech Republic. Recognizing the role of home language leads to successful socialization. By not demanding that schools account for home language in the process of teaching, the Roma…

A study investigated whether students comprehend more from a Black teacher using Black English and whether Black students view a Black teacher using Black dialect as being more credible than one without Black speech characteristics. The research consisted of a pilot study with White students to test the appropriateness of the instruments and…

Examines debates involving three speech communities in the United States: standard English, Black English, and Spanish. The analysis focuses on languages in which electoral activities take place and in which public school instruction is conducted. The major American ideologies of language are similar in their denial of linguistic inequality.…

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…

Essays on varieties of English in the United States include: "Research Trends in the Study of American English" (Edgar W. Schneider); "Piney Woods Southern" (Lee Pederson); "Foundations of American English" (William A. Kretzschmar, Jr.); "The Comparability of Linguistic Atlas Records: The Case of LANCS an…