The subjects in this study, 18 fifth- and sixth-grade students from a middle-class area, were asked to listen to a tape recording with excerpts of conversations by speakers of three dialects: middle-class white, lower-class white, and lower-class Negro. Subjects were asked to rate the personality of each speaker by voice cues alone. In addition, the children listened to the tape again in order to determine race and probable occupation. It was predicted and confirmed that this technique would elicit stereotypes based on the dialects. The middle-class white speakers were judged significantly higher than the lower-class white speakers, who in turn were rated significantly higher than the lower-class Negro speakers. Thus, it was found that children of 10 and 11 years of age are indeed aware of the social significance of language differences. (Author/JD)