Analyzing Dialects of English

Here is a list of 40 different language forms or patterns that are associated with Southern varieties of English. This list is adapted from lists published in Oetting and McDonald (2001) and Oetting and Pruitt (2005) (see also the D4 Child Language Sample Transcription and Coding Manual). Unless noted, all forms/patterns are described in the literature as possible in African American English (AAE) and Southern White English (SWE); however, research on these forms has primarily focused on varieties of AAE.  

Zero BE: Instances were copula and auxiliary BE (am, is, are, was, were) are produced as a zero form (e.g., Oscar *is in the can). Zero-marking of be is rare or infrequent in some contexts (e.g., with first person pronouns, in finite contexts, clause final positions, and in contexts with emphatic stress) and the effects of these contexts on be marking differs in AAE, SWE, and GG. April Garrity (LSU Dissertation) and Brandi Newkirk (LSU Dissertation studied these forms Garrity & Oetting, 2013; Newkirk-Turner et al., 2014; 2016).  *is [conaux] [d], *are [unconaux] [d], *was [unconcop]  [d], *were [unconcop] [d] *am [unconcop] [d]

Be2: Instances where be is produced to signify an event or activity distributed intermittently over time or space, including auxiliary and copula contexts that refer to durative or habitual meaning (e.g., It be on the outside). Utterances with zero will and other dialect general overt uses (e.g., I’m going to be a dog) are not included. This pattern most frequently occurs in AAE.    be [flg] [d]

Go copula: Instances where go is produced, but in MAE dialects, a copular BE would be produced (e.g., There go a duck to mean There is a duck). This pattern has been reported in Northern varieties of AAE and has been documented in our urban teen caregiver AAE samples.   go [flg] [d]

I’ma: Instances where i’ma is produced to express i’m going to (e.g., I’ma go peek and see if my class gone out that way). This pattern is mentioned in discussions of reduced gonna forms and is thought to occur primarily in AAE. In our current data, we may also have a few cases of They/a.  i/’ma [flg] [d]

Subject-verb agreement with BE forms: is and was produced with plural subjects. (e.g., When we is about to go to church).  Do not include are or were with singular subjects. we is [unconcop] [flg] [d]; they was [unconaux] [flg] [d] 

Zero auxiliary DO: Instances where auxiliary do, does, and did is produced as a zero form, but in MAE dialects, it is produced as an overt form. Many of these instances involve question inversion (e.g., How you get up here? and What you did?). Questions with zero DO in the initial position of the utterance (e.g., You know what? and You got a baby?) are not coded. See discussion below about the coding of noninverted indirect requests/questions.    *do [d], *did [d], *does [d]

Zero auxiliary HAVE: Instances where auxiliary have, has, and had is produced as a zero form but in MAE dialects, it is produced as an overt form (e.g., I only been there a few times; he got a toy). As demonstrated by these examples, many of these utterances involve the verb been and got. *have [d], *has [d], *had [d]

Zero regular verbal -s: Instances where regular verbal -s on a main verb is produced as a zero form but in MAE dialects, it is produced as an overt form (e.g., But when she poo on herself I don’t change her). Lesli Cleveland (LSU Dissertation) documented striking differences between AAE and SWE child speakers in her study of these forms and verbal -s forms (Cleveland & Oetting, 2013). He walk/*3s [d], they walk/3s [flg] [d]

Historical present use of overt /3s or use of overt /3s with first, second, or third person plural subjects: /3s used to express historical present (e.g., Yesterday he go/3s to the store) or with first, second, or third person plural subjects (I goes, you goes, they goes).  Decisions as to whether the context is present or past tense is based on context. Yesterday, he go/3s [flg] [d], I go/3s [flg] [d]

Zero irregular verbal -s: Instances where a third person singular subject precedes the verbs say, have, and do, and the verbal -s is produced as a zero form (e.g., She just do it herself). Utterances involving don’t are not included since they are coded as a dialect specific and special case of don’t. For the verb, say, almost all zero forms are considered present tense, but for some of these utterances, the child’s meaning may be past rather than present. The decision to code most of the say examples as present is based on the children’s frequent use of historical present with the verbs say (e.g., So she says stop it). Within the sociolinguistic literature, a distinction between regular vs. irregular verb forms is not always made, although some like Myhill and Harris (1986) exclude the verb say in analyses of AAE because it is irregular and it is typically zero-marked in AAE.    She have [3irr] [flg] [d], so she say [3irr] [flg] [d]

Historical present use of overt [3irr] or use of overt [3irr] with first, second, or third person plural subjects: [3irr] used to express historical present (e.g., Yesterday they says, we want to go) or with first, second, or third person plural subjects (I says, you says, they says).  Decisions as to whether the context is present or past tense is based on context. Yesterday, she says [3irr] [flg] [d], they has [3irr] [flg] [d]

Subject-verb agreement with don’t: Instances where a third person singular subject precedes do and the child produces don’t (e.g., And he don’t go to school).  This is a case of zero irregular verbal -s so many do not code this as a separate category.  Cleveland & Oetting (2013) showed that rates of zero don’t are much higher than other zero irregular third person forms. Given this, we code these uses of don’t separately.  he don’t [3irr] [flg] [d]

Zero regular past: Instances where a zero regular verb form is produced to express the simple past (e.g., I dress them before).  /*ed [d]

Zero irregular past: Instances where a zero irregular verb is produced to express the simple past (e.g., yesterday, I fall). Fall [ptirr] [flg] [d]

Dialect specific overt past tense forms: Using a dialect specific past tense form that is not produced in MAE dialects. These can involve regular or irregular verbs.  Use of participles to express past are common (e.g., I seen it; he eaten my sandwich).  Other dialect specific overt forms include fount, spilt, drunk, etc (e.g., Course I brung him up real fast). spilt [ptirr] [flg] [d], drank [ptirr] [flg] [d]

Zero past or passive participle:  Instances when a participle is produced as a zero form, and in MAE dialects, an overt form is required (e.g., But her whole head got break, She had it drink before lunch, He was tire, The hotdog was eat).  was [unconcop] break [pp] [flg] [d], got [ptirr] drop/*ed [pp] [d]

Dialect specific overt participles: Instances where an overt simple past form is produced to express a participle or a dialect specific past participle form is produced (it was broked; it was breaked; it was ate) was breaked [pp] [flg] [d], was ate [pp] [flg][d], was aten [pp] [flg] [d]

Preterite had + Ved: Instances where had + a verb is produced to express the simple past (e.g., One day I had went on the back of the levee to the beach). This structure can occur with regular and irregular verbs and the verb can be overtly marked (had walked) or zero marked (had walk).  This pattern has been documented to occur primarily in narratives. This pattern has been reported and documented for AAE, although several colleagues have offered examples of this form produced within other dialects in the urban areas of the Northeast.    had walk/ed [HAD] [d] or had walk [HAD] [d] 

Regularization: Instances where regular past tense marking is used with an irregular verb form (e.g., She drinked it all, she felled, she falled).    drink/ed [flg] [d]

Ain’t: Instances where ain’t is used to express BE, DO, or HAVE (e.g., We ain’t got none).   ain’t [flg] [d]

Multiple negation: Instances where negation is marked more than once in the utterance (e.g., Cause she don’t want no people on the rocks). This pattern often occurs with don’t and ain’t. Can involve 2 or 3 negative markers in an utterance. don’t want none [flg] [d]

Indefinite article: Instances where indefinite article a is used and the following context involves a vowel (e.g., It’s a animal story). The omission of the article a, an, or the is NOT considered appropriate for the MAE and NMAE dialects we study.  A for an is thought to occur in AAE.  a [flg] [d] animal, a [flg] [d] orange

Zero progressive: Instances where the progressive is produced as a zero form (e.g., Yep I’m build one of those). In our data, this pattern is rare, especially by the time children are six years of age; it is so rare in our data that we no longer consider zero progressive as a dialectal variant, but we have kept it on the list because others list it.  walk/*ing [d]

Zero plural: Instances where the regular plural inflection is produced as a zero form (e.g., Six dollar and fifty-five). This pattern is thought to occur most frequently with nouns of weights and measures or with nouns preceded by quantification.  Also includes somewhere/s [d], nowhere/s [d], and anywhere/s [d].  cat/*s [d]

Zero possessive: Instances where the possessive inflection is produced as a zero form (e.g., We need the baby shoes). baby/*z shoe/s [d]

Zero infinitive to: Instances where infinitive to is produced as a zero form. Omission of to as a preposition is not included (e.g., My sister asked me if I wanted her bake some cookies with the sugar).  Andy Riviére (LSU Dissertation examined zero to in a study of SWE-speaking children classified as presenting Cajun English heritage (see also Riviére et al., 2018).   *to [d]

For to/to: Instances where for to is produced to express infinitive to (e.g., I mean for to take a walk; For to go to store and pay). Very rare in our data.   for to [flg] [d]

Zero of: Instances where the preposition of is produced as a zero form (e.g., I can’t tell too much the story yet).  *of [d]

Zero THAT or WHAT as a relative: Instances where or a subject relative pronoun is produced with a zero form (e.g., They paid the student made the stimuli) or the relative pronoun what is produced (e.g., Anything what my momma brings) Relative pronouns in the subject position but not object position of the relative clause are included. All dialects of English allow for object relatives to be produced as a zero form. *that [d], what [flg] [d]

Stressed BIN: Stressed BIN contexts describe an event that is thought to be on-going or the completive activity is in the remote past (e.g., Because I BIN having them for a bunch of times. And I BIN had shots). Been uses involving clear cases of zero HAVE are not included in this category but are included as instances of zero HAVE (see above). BIN is thought to occur in AAE.  Green (2002) has written extensively on this form.   been [flg] [d]

Unstressed BEEN: Unstressed been, transcribed as BEEN, occurs when been is used as a copula or auxiliary BE form (I been walking). Jessica Richardson Berry (LSU dissertation; Berry & Oetting, 2017) found these in her Gullah/Geechee – influenced AAE child speakers, and this form has been well documented for Gullah, Gullah/Geechee, Saltwater Geechee. We have yet to document this form in our child samples. 

Done + verb: Instances where done + verb indicates a completive action or event (e.g. He’s looking for his cat but it done went down the garbage can).    done went [ptirr] [flg] [d]

Fixing, fixin, fitna and dialect specific double modal: Instances where fixing and fitna are used as a main verb and followed by an infinitive (e.g., he is fixing to go off the roof like that). We also include use of double modals (might gotta and might can) (e.g., I might gotta take you somewhere) in this category.    Fix/ing [flg] [d], might gotta [flg] [d]

Dialect specific pronoun: Instances where the dialect specific pronoun form is produced. Most common are accusative pronoun forms produced as part of a compound subject phrase (e.g., Me and my sister do it sometimes), and use of nominative marking for they instead of genitive their (e.g., they cat).  See additional directions in coding manual.   me [flg] [d] and john went. Note that the literature reports that in AAE and SWE in the south and with elderly individuals, it is also felicitous to use masculine forms for feminine (e.g., The girl, he do it). We code these as [flg] because they are so very rare (we have had maybe one child who was typically developing in a rural area produce he for a female referent). Gayatri Brown and Emily Sossaman (both LSU MA theses) focused their research on these forms.

Dialect specific reflexive: Instances where a dialect specific reflexive pronoun form is produced (e.g, My daddy once went by hisself because he didn’t want to be worried about us). Hisself and theyself, are most common. hisself [flg] [d], theyself [flg] [d]

Dialect specific demonstrative: Instances where the accusative pronoun form is produced to express demonstrative case (e.g., He wrecked them back tires).    them [flg] [d]

Personal dative: Instances where a personal dative is produced (e.g., I take me a shot).  me [flg] [d]

Y’all varieties: Instances where a variant of a second person plural form is produced (e.g., Y’all take turns). y’all [flg] [d]

Appositive: Instances where both a pronoun and noun are used to refer to the same person(s) or object (s) (e.g., But my friend, he have a gate). This pattern occurs in all dialects of English (MAE and NMAE varieties) but is thought to be more frequent in AAE and SWE varieties.    my sister, she [flg] [d]                       

Existential it and they: Instances where it or they is used to express there (e.g., My dad grabs it with a paddle whenever it’s only men).    it [flg] [d]

Wh- Question non-inversion: Instances where a Wh- question form begins the utterance or clause, but the auxiliary is not inverted (e.g., Why this one won’t sit?, What this is doing? How old he is?).  This does not include instances where a statement with rising intonation is used, and the auxiliary is not inverted (e.g., This is fake?).   why this one won’t sit [flg] [d]?, What this is do/ing [flg] [d]?

Below is a list of the 10 most frequently produced nonmainstream forms or patterns of the African American English and Southern White English dialects we have studied. In Oetting and McDonald (2002) and Oetting and Pruitt (2005), we showed that nonmainstream form densities calculated with these 10 patterns are highly correlated (r > .85) to nonmainstream form densities calculated with a wider range of patterns.

zero be - He walking to the store; zero regular third - He want to go with you; zero auxiliary do - Which one you want?; S-V agreement with don't - He don't want to go; zero irregular past - He fall down already; multiple negation - I don't want no more; S-V agreement with be - They was going to do it; alternative pronoun - Me and him are going; zero regular past - Yesterday he jump; appositive - My sister, she takes piano.

One way to describe an aspect of a speaker's nonmainstream dialect is to quantify the speaker's use of salient  forms and patterns that are associated with that dialect. An index of a speaker's rate of these dialect-specific forms and patterns is also referred to as a speaker's density of nonmainstream (NM) forms. In the literature, there are at least three ways to calculate the density of a speaker's nonmainstream form use. In Oetting & McDonald (2002), we showed that these three ways of calculating nonmainstream form densities are highly correlated (r > .90). The first method is the fastest and one we recommend for clinical practice. For research and when time is not limited, we often use the second method, because it leads to the greatest spread between our participants' nonmainstream form densities.  Nevertheless, with correlations of .90 or higher, all three methods lead to speaker ratings that are highly consistent with each other.

Three Methods:

Number of utterances with one or more nonmainstream form divided by the total number of utterances produced by the speaker.

Number of nonmainstream forms produced by the speaker divided by the total number of utterances produced by the speaker.

Number of nonmainstream forms produced by the speaker divided by the total number of word produced by the speaker.

Density metrics reflect a speaker's use of nonmainstream forms within their dialect and not their use of their dialect. When speakers of a dialect produce utterances, every utterance and every word/form within the utterance reflects their use of their dialect (unless they are code switching or changing their dialect to accommodate the listener). In other words, nonmainstream dialects include mainstream forms (dialect general forms) and nonmainstream forms (dialect-specific forms).  Nonmainsteam form density metrics are based on the nonmainstream forms of a dialect only; thus, density metrics should never be used in isolation to describe a children's use of their dialects. 

One of the fastest ways to classify a person's dialect and density of nonmainstream form use is to use a listener judgment task. As illustrated in Oetting and McDonald (2002), our blind listener judgment task is constructed in the following way.

We randomly select a 1 to 3-minute excerpt from an audio taped sample of a person speaking (we typically use a 1-minute excerpt from conversational speech). We ask three graduate students who are familiar with the dialect of interest to independently listen to the excerpt. To facilitate their ratings, we ask them to consider four types of linguistic behaviors (vocabulary, grammar, phonology, and stress/intonation) and we give them a rating sheet with a 7-point Likert scale. Below is an example of a scale created for Cajun English. For dialect type, we may classify someone as a Cajun English speaker if two or more listeners rate the excerpt with a score of 2 or higher. For dialect density, we average the three listener ratings together.

1 = no use of Cajun English 3 = little use of Cajun English (present in less than 25% of utterances) 5 = occasional use of Cajun English (present in 25% to 40% of utterances) 7 = heavy use of Cajun English (present in 40% or more of utterances)

___1 ___2 ___3 ___4 ___5 ___6 ___7 ___No Use Heavy Use

If you are interested in using this type of rating scale, a copy of a full scale is listed in the appendix of Oetting & McDonald (2002).

Strategic scoring systems optimize one's ability to distinguish children with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)  or Specific Language Impairment (SLI) within child AAE and SWE. Strategic scoring can be contrasted with unmodified scoring sytems and broad dialect modified scoring systems. ,

Unmodified Scoring Systems: These scoring systems are developed for General American English (GAE) or other Mainstream English (ME) dialects as spoken in other countries. Most published tests are designed for ME dialects. Corrent answers match adult ME responses and are typically specified in the manual. Diagnostic accuracy information provided for published tests within manuals are typically based on using unmodified scoring systems.

Broad Dialect Modified Scoring Systems: These systems encourage clinicians to count as correct any response that is appropriate for a child's dialect.  Many standardized tests now include a section or appendix in the manual that lists possible responses for various named dialects (e.g., AAE, SWE, Spanish-influenced English).  This scoring approach makes it very difficult to capture developmental changes and individual differences in children's use of their dialect(s). Measures of dialect that are sensitive to individual differences are critical for distinguishing between children with and without DLD and SLI. Mutiple studies have shown that this approach, while well intended lacks validity and under-identifies children with DLD/SLI (Hendricks & Adlof, 2018; Oetting et al., 2019; 2021)

Strategic Scoring Varies by Task  

Language Samples and Elicitation Probes

 

Sentence Recall Tasks

 

Grammatical Judgment Tasks

 

 

We are happy to share our experimental stimuli with other researchers. Please email Dr. Oetting if you are interested in this stimuli. Our newest stimuli is an animation of our past tense probe.