SSD Chapter 14: Language and Dialectal Variations

What is a dialect?

a mutually intelligible form of a language assocaited with a particular region, social class, or ethnic group

What is dialect leveling?

promulgation of a dialect in a society causing decreases in differences within other dialects compared to itself

Besides dialect leveling, what can cause dialectal decreases?

lack of linguistic contact among groups due to geographical or SES reasons

What did Martin Luther Elementary School Children et al. v Ann Arbor Achool District (1978) do?

provided for the use of a child's home language, including AAE in the educational process

What two factors influence a speaker's use of particular features?

1) context

2) interlocutors (register)

What are registral varieties dependent on?

the participants, setting, and topic

What is dialect density?

the extent to which particular individuals use the available features of their dialect?

What does dialectal density depend on?

SES and geography

What is social diagnosticity?

a sociolinguistic phenomenon where differences in dialectal density are associated with socioeconomic statues

What is gradient stratification?

individuals in lower SES groups used more of the available features of that dialect than individuals in higher SES groups

What is sharp stratification?

linguistic features that more frequently differentiate SES groups based on significant differences in frequency of usage

Features revealing sharp stratification are of greater _____ _____ than those showing gradient stratification

social diagnosticity

In what two ways does misdiagnosis occur for speech and language disorders in children who are speakers of dialects other than GAE?

underediagnosis and over diagnosis

What is the new framework taking the place of "don't confuse dialect vs disorder"?

all children in society are dialect speakers and that only a small proportion of children will present with language impairments

How can SLPs avoid underdiagnosing language impairments in children with different dialects?

focusing on the children with disorders as the clinical population in need of services

When do AAE speakers learn to code switch between AAE and GAE?

early on in child development

The ability to code switch requires a _____ skill set that takes into consideration _____ and _____ processes such as _____ and _____

metalinguistic; pragmatic; cognitive; analysis; control

What are the two major hypotheses accounting for the origin of AAE?

1) Creole hypothesis assumes that AAE descended from plantation creole which developed as a mixture of languages brought into contact during the slave trade period

2) AAE is considered a dialect of english and AAE can be traced back to varieties spoken in Britain English

What is known about preschoolers speaking AAE and GAE in their usage of phonological patterns?

they exhibit similar phonological patterns but with different frequencies

What have developmental differences between typically developing AAE speakers and and those with SSD?

quantitatively and qualitatively different

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in continental US, how many languages/dialects were spoken?

polygot of 200 different dialects and languages

When do immigrants tend to lose their native language?

by the third generation

What did Lau v. Nichols (1974) mandate?

federally funded schools must eliminate language barriers in school programs that excluded nonnative English speakers

What does the IDEA require with native languages?

required that the native language commonly used in the home or learning environment be utilized in all contact for a child with a disability

What is a pidgin?

a communication system used by groups of people who wish and need to communicate with each other but have no means to do so

What is a creole?

a pidgin that becomes the mother tongue of the community

In what 5 ways does creole demonstrate increased complexity compared to pidgins?

increased complexity in syntax, phonology, semantics, lexicon and pragmatics

What are the 4 main creoles that SLPs come in contact with in the US?

1) Gullah

2) Hawaiian Creole

3) Louisiana French Creole

4) Haitian Creole

What is Gullah creole?

spoken by 250,000 to 300,00 individuals mostly on the barrier islands off of the coast of South Carolina and Georgia

What is Hawaiian creole?

it arose in the 19th century comes from polynesian, european, asian and pidgin languages

What is Louisiana French Creole?

evolved native language of the descendants of enslaved West African people brought to southern Louisiana by french colonists

What is Haitian creole?

a caribbean creole spoken in Haiti and has approx. 6 million speakers

How common is Spanish in the US?

second most commonly spoken language in the US

What are the two main dialects of American Spanish?

1) Highland Spanish

2) Coastal Spanish

What are conservative dialects?

where word final consonants are preserved

What are radical dialects?

those where final consonants tend to be deleted

What is an example of a conservative and radical dialect?

conservative dialect: Mexican spanish

radical dialect: Puerto Rican Spanish

What do Spanish dialectal differences tend to affect?

consonant sound classes rather than vowels or a few specific phonemes

What 3 components affect speech sound production characteristics in bilingual speakers?

1) language or languages they speak

2) their communication partner

3) broader linguistic environment

Why should comparing spanish speaking children in the US to monolingual spanish speakers in primarily spanish speaking countries be problematic?

variations in input influencing a how a child produces their speech sounds

When do typically developing Spanish speaking children likely use the dialect features of the community and will have mastered the vowel system and most of the consonant system?

3.5 years of age

What are the 5 most common phonological patterns in a large percentage of spanish speaking children?

1) cluster reduction

2) unstressed syllable deletion

3) stopping

4) liquid simplification

5) assimilation

What know about the errors and error types between Mexican and Puerto Rican spanish speakers?

very similar errors and error types

Many, but not all Asian languages are what?

tone languages

What are tone languages?

ones in which differences in word meaning can be signified in differences in pitch

What are register tones?

level tones, usually signaled by a high, mid, or low tone

What are contour tones?

a combination of register tones over a single syllable

When does perceptual discrimination in tone for Asian children typically attained?

around 10 months

What are two main points about Arabic to note?

1) there is a separate written (standard) form and a spoken (colliquial) form

2) there are many dialects in Arabic, and not all are mutually intelligible

Why is it important to identify the dialect of an Arabic client before finding an interpreter?

not all speakers of Arabic speak using the standard form, but they might understand one another using the written form

What bilingual population will SLPs in the US likely be serving?

1bilingual children acquiring a language in addition to english

What is known about the development of phonology in bilingual vs monolingual children?

phonological development is similar between monolingual and bilingual children

What is known about the time component of development for phonology in bilingual versus monolingual speakers?

proceeds along the same course

What 3 differences are seen in phonology between bilingual and monolingual speakers?

1) bilingual children may exhibit error types that are less common in monoligual speakers

2) bilingual children are more likely to show cross-linguistic effects

3) bilingual speakers may be less accurate on some aspects of the phonological system in comparison to their monolingual speakers

What is known about the influence each language has one another in bilingual speakers?

it is bidirectional meaning a tendency exists for both languages to affect each other

What are the 4 ways phonology in one language has an affect on the phonology of another language?

1) the specific phonemes and allophones in the inventories of each language will not be the same

2) differences in the distribution of sounds exist across languages

3) consonants may have different places of articulation in each language

4) how and when pronunciation is acquired may contribute to the influence of one language on another

What is known about the differences or similarities types of information gathered for children of culturally and linguistically diverse populations versus children who are not?

they gather the same types of information

In the case history of culturally competent evaluations, what is especially important to ask the family?

if a family history of speech or language impairment exists

What is a prime consideration when assessing children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?

accounting for dialectal features

What should be done to minimize the possibility of misdiagnosis in culturally diverse populations?

they should take into account all the features of the dialect and not score them as errors

What 3 things can the SLP do to account for dialectal features of any particular linguistic group?

1) become thoroughly familiar with features of the dialect and language

2) sample the adult speakers in the child's linguistic community

3) obtain information from interpreters/support personnel

What is a Minimal Competency Score (MCC)?

was developed to decrease bias in the assessment of AAE children and is the least amount of knowledge that one must exhibit to be judged as normal within a given age range

What must SLP realize about their own dialect?

It can have potential affects on a client or family

What two things could a detailed phonological assessment include?

formal and informal assessment measures

What might the SLP use in the absence of formal measures for assessing phonology?

informal client observations with siblings, peers, parents, and asking a series of questions designed to determine the adequacy of the child's phonological system

What 4 alternatives may the SLP consider when they do not speak the language of the individual they are assessing?

using a bilingual consultant, bilingual diagnostician, training bilingual aids, or using interpreters/translators

What are the limitations of the I/T in assessment?

they should assist the SLP, but not be conducting the assessments

If the SLP has knowledge, skills, competencies, and training in providing services to individuals with limited or non-english proficiency, what can the monolingual SLP do?

assess in english, administer an oral mech exam hearing screening, and nonverbal assessments

What is the traditional role of the SLP for providing clinical services?

to provide services for communication disorders, not dialectal differences

What is important to remember if a client wants to receive elective services for their dialect?

elective therapy does not always mean that the client wants to eliminate the first dialect, but would prefer to be bidialectal

What are 6 principles for SLPs who seek to guide speakers who want to acquire a second dialect?

1) develop a positive attitude toward the client's home dialect

2) compare the features of the home dialect to the one being acquired

3) select targets based on the language acquisition norms, frequency of occurrence of features, and the speakers attitude toward the features

4) know the rules of the speakers home dialect and the one being acquired

5) take the speaker's learning style into account

6) integrate language issues into the larger culture of the speaker

Modifying dialect is more than simply just having the person produce the consonants and vowels as a native speaker would say them, it is also what?

correcting the suprasegmental aspects of speech such as pitch, stress, and intonation

What must SLPs understand a relationship between?

dialects and SSDs

What is a Type 1 impairment?

atypical patterns regardless of the speaker's dialect

What is a Type II impairment?

cross dialectal difference in the normative form

What is a Type III impairment?

influence forms that are shared across dialects but are applied with different frequency

What are the two main approaches for providing intervention to bilingual children?

1) bilingual approach

2) cross linguistic approach

What is the bilingual approach?

propose that the SLP should improve the child's skills common to both languages

What is the cross linguistic approach?

suggests that clinicians should focus on skills distinct in each language

Why is the cross linguistic approach likely to be used in conjunction with the bilingual approach?

because of the differences in the phonological structures of both languages

Although little specific information is available to guide the intervention of SSDs in speakers of languages other than or in addition to English, wwhat can be done?

specific intervention approaches developed for english speaking children might be adapted for used with those from culturally and linguistically diverse populations