Journal of Speech and Hearing Research Vol.21 96-102 March 1978.
© American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Comprehension of Pronominal Reference by Speakers of Black English
Nicholas Bountress
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
This study was concerned with the comprehension of pronoun reference by children from north Texas who used features of black English in their oral language. Forty-eight children were included in the study, eight selected from each chronological age group from four through nine years. Tasks required that the children listen to 15 sentences, five of which included a pronoun with unrestricted reference and 10 of which included a pronoun operating under the nonidentity requirement with restricted reference to a subject outside of the sentence. In response to specific questions, subjects were required to point to toy figures that represented the pronoun referents in the sentences. Results showed a significant and uniform increase in comprehension as a function of chronological age, with no subject attaining less than 90% comprehension among the seven-, eight-, and nine-year-old children.
Copyright © 1978 by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.