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ERIC Number: EJ741279
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Apr
Pages: 9
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-1461
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Comprehension of Third Person Singular /s/ in AAE-Speaking Children
Johnson, Valerie E.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v36 n2 p116-124 Apr 2005
Purpose: This investigation examined the comprehension of third person singular /s/ in 30 African American English (AAE)-speaking children as a subject-number agreement marker on a comprehension task. Method: A comprehension task was presented to 30 typically developing AAE-speaking children between the ages of 4 and 6. The children were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups to hear prerecorded counterbalanced stimuli. The comprehension task was designed to mask plurality of subject; therefore, the children had to focus on the verb as an indicator of subject number. Results: Repeated measure analysis revealed that AAE-speaking children in this investigation did not understand third person singular /s/ as a number agreement marker. An additional analysis, d' (pronounced "d prime"), indicated that the AAE-speaking children are not sensitive to the third person singular /s/ as a clue to subject number. Clinical Implications: The inclusion of comprehension tasks of third person singular /s/ to help diagnose language impairment in this population may be problematic.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 301-897-5700, ext. 4164; Fax: 301-897-7348.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A