The Development of Syntactic and Semantic Patterns in Child African American English

在国家科学基金会的支持下，丽莎·格林博士将对非洲裔美国人英语(AAE)的儿童发展进行为期三年的研究。AAE在句法和语义(如时/体和否定)方面不同于主流英语。例如，AAE可以用方面标记BE来指示习惯性含义(例如，“这些打印机每分钟打印10页”，这意味着打印机通常每分钟打印10页)。本项目的目标是：(1)在3-5岁的AAE儿童中识别这些模式；(2)分析这些模式；(3)将它们与同一地理区域的青少年和成年人的言语特征进行比较。该项目将依赖于几种类型的数据。自然言语、诱导话语和语法性判断将被用来测试儿童AAE语法的发展，特别关注时/体、否定、存在标记和疑问系统。此外，孩子们还会通过表演句子的意思来显示他们对相关结构的理解。这项研究具有重要意义，因为它确定了儿童AAE使用者做出与成人语法相关的微妙意义区分的发展模式和阶段。该项目的发现可能同时适用于沟通障碍和教育。沟通障碍的研究人员已经意识到准确描述AAE的重要性，因为他们设计了评估语言发展的工具。这项研究中的描述将对他们来说是易懂的。这项研究也可能有助于在Head Start等项目中开发课程。它还可能影响小学的语言和识字教学方法。这项研究的数据描述和分析也将有助于设计有关AAE模式的使用和阅读成绩的心理语言学测试。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Lisa Green will conduct three years of research on children's development of African American English (AAE). AAE differs from mainstream English in its syntax and semantics (e.g., tense/aspect and negation). For instance, AAE can indicate habitual meaning with the aspectual marker BE (e.g., "These printers be printing ten pages per minute" meaning that the printers usually print ten pages per minute). This project aims to: (1) identify such patterns in 3-5 year-old AAE-speakers; (2) analyze the patterns; and (3) compare them to those characterizing the speech of adolescents and adults in the same geographical area. The project will rely on several types of data. Naturalistic speech, elicited utterances, and grammaticality judgments will be used to test children's development of AAE grammar, with particular focus on tense/aspect, negation, existential marking, and question systems. In addition, children will show their understanding of relevant constructions by acting out the meanings of sentences. This research is significant because it identifies developmental patterns and the stages at which child AAE speakers make the subtle meaning distinctions that are associated with the adult grammar. The project's findings may apply to both communication disorders and education. Researchers in communication disorders have realized the importance of accurate descriptions of AAE as they design tools to assess language development. The descriptions in this research will be accessible to them. This research may also help in developing curricula in programs such as Head Start. It might also affect methods of language and literacy instruction in grade school. The data description and analyses resulting from this research will also be useful in devising psycholinguistic tests relating the use of AAE patterns and reading achievement.