Melody Cooper |
Name: Melody M. Cooper
School: Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Major: Communicative Sciences and Disorders Mentor: Dr. Lennette Ivy Expected Graduation Date: May 2008 Organizations & Honors:
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ABSTRACT
Responses of African American College Students toward the Use of African American English
| The purpose of the present research is to examine the attitudes of college students towards students who use African American English and code switch between Standard English and African American English. The importance of the research to educate individuals on African American English and to increase the awareness of the misdiagnosis of language disorders in African American children due to African American English. African-American students represent 14.8% of the general population but 20.2% of the Special Education population (Parrish, 2002). This is a result of teachers’ perception of African American English as a language disorder and not simply as a dialect. The participants in this study were nineteen African American college students from colleges and universities in Mississippi. A survey was administered to each participant to assess their attitudes toward African American English. From the results, it can be inferred that the participants viewed African American English as slang and not as a language. |