ERIC Number: ED217411
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981
Pages: 88
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Influence of Spoken Language Patterns on the Writing of Black College Freshmen.
Scott, Jerrie Cobb
A study explored the relationship between oral and written patterns produced by a group of black college freshmen enrolled in remedial writing classes. Forty students were asked to produce, in formal language style, both oral and written summaries of a reading selection. The data were analyzed to determine (1) the extent to which patterns, classified as general American English (GAE), black American English (BAE), and intralectal (IL)--neither GAE or BAE--varied from oral to written language; (2) the effects of nonedited American English (NAE) patterns (categorized as dialect patterns, speech code errors, and print code errors) on text effectiveness; and (3) the extent to which more proficient and less proficient writers differed in their use of NAE patterns. The results of the analysis revealed that subjects did vary in their oral and written production of non-GAE patterns and that the variations occurred in different forms. Specifically, it was found that dialect patterns had a greater effect on text effectiveness scores than did patterns in the other NAE categories and that high and low proficiency writers differed both quantitatively and qualitatively in their use of NAE patterns. (Appendixes contain definitions of terms, forms used in the study, and copies of coded writing samples.) (FL)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL. Research Foundation.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Table 4 may not reproduce well due to small type.