Craig Holly K, Kolenic Giselle E, Hensel Stephanie L
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2014 Feb;57(1):143-57. doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2013/12-0157).
The purpose of this longitudinal study was twofold: to examine shifting from African American English (AAE) to mainstream American English (MAE) across the early elementary grades, when students are first exposed to formal instruction in reading; and to examine how metalinguistic and cognitive variables influenced the students' dialectal adaptations from AAE to MAE in a literacy context with higher expectations for MAE.
Participants were 102 typically developing AAE-speaking students enrolled in public schools in the northern Midwest. They were enrolled in the project at kindergarten and tested 3 times a year, for 3 years. Approximately half were male and half female, and two-thirds were from low socioeconomic status homes.
A style shifting coefficient (SSC) was created to measure amounts of dialect change between contexts and over time by individuals. Some students shifted to MAE in literacy contexts, and shifting was not related to grade. Metalinguistic skills and SSC predicted reading, and metalinguistic skills predicted the SSC at 2nd grade. The findings indicated that cognitive executive functions may contribute to the SSC.
The results provide strong support for the dialect shifting-reading achievement hypothesis and indicated that metalinguistic and perhaps executive functioning are important influences on this linguistic adaptation.
这项纵向研究的目的有两个：一是研究在小学低年级阶段，即学生首次接受正式阅读教学时，从非裔美国英语（AAE）向美国主流英语（MAE）的转变情况；二是研究在对MAE有更高期望的读写环境中，元语言和认知变量如何影响学生从AAE到MAE的方言适应。
研究对象为102名发育正常、说AAE的学生，他们就读于中西部北部的公立学校。他们在幼儿园时参与该项目，连续三年每年接受三次测试。大约一半为男性，一半为女性，三分之二来自社会经济地位较低的家庭。
创建了一个风格转换系数（SSC），以衡量个体在不同情境下以及随着时间推移的方言变化量。一些学生在读写情境中转向了MAE，且这种转变与年级无关。元语言技能和SSC可预测阅读能力，元语言技能可预测二年级时的SSC。研究结果表明，认知执行功能可能对SSC有影响。
研究结果为方言转换 - 阅读成绩假说提供了有力支持，并表明元语言以及或许执行功能对这种语言适应有重要影响。
