COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN THE INNER CITY: EFFECTS OF RACE AND DIALECT ON DECODING.
Item
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Title
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COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN THE INNER CITY: EFFECTS OF RACE AND DIALECT ON DECODING.
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Identifier
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AAI8119654
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identifier
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8119654
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Creator
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EDWARDS, THOMAS OLIVER.
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Contributor
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Barry J. Zimmerman
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Date
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1981
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Educational Psychology
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Abstract
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Many studies have examined issues related to communication skills in young children while other investigations have explored and delineated linguistic features of young children's speech. This study integrated research in referential communication and studies of dialects, Standard English and Black English. The problem of this investigation was to determine the effects of race and dialect in communicative effectiveness. It further explored the relationship among race, dialect and communicative topics associated with the cultural background of the subjects being examined. It was hypothesized that decoding within race and within dialect would be more effective than decoding across dialect or across race. It was further hypothesized that decoding within dialects would be equally effective and the decoding of messages relating to stimuli associated with one's background would be more effective than the decoding of messages of stimuli extrinsic to one's cultural frame of reference.;One hundred-five (105) Black children and fifty (50) White children between the ages of 8-10 years old were presented with the Sentence Repetition Test (Baratz, 1969) which assessed their abilities in Standard English and Black English. Three experimental groups of forty (40) each were organized from these results: Black Black English speakers, Black Standard English speakers, and White Standard English speakers. These children decoded Standard English and Black English messages, presented via tape-recorder, about stimuli that were designated Intrinsic to Ghetto Culture or Extrinsic to Ghetto Culture. While decoding messages, the children viewed a photograph of a young Black or White woman. These photographs served as the race of the speaker variable. The children received scores for accuracy in decoding and length of response time.;The results of this investigation showed that sex was not a factor in communicative effectiveness, race differences had minimal effects and dialect differences did significantly influence the communicative effectiveness of both listener and speaker. While Black and White children did not differ in the accuracy measure, Black children required significantly more time to respond to the stimuli whether presented in Standard English or Black English. Standard English was a more effective dialect for decoding even for Black English speakers. Black English speakers needed more time to respond than both Black Standard English and White Standard English speakers. There were no significant differences reported for the type of stimuli except that Black children needed more time to respond. Several interactions were observed among the race and dialect factors.;The more effective performance by the White Standard English speaking children was explained by their greater sensitivity to language, and the better performance in Standard English by all children was attributed to the greater exposure of the children to this mainstream language. The various interactions suggested a situational context explanation for the use of dialect and stimuli associated with a cultural frame of reference. Several implications for education were listed, most notably the consideration of the additional time by Black English speaking children to respond.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Education
