Dialect influence and the use of dialect features across informal and formal tasks in the spoken text and written text of African American students enrolled in an urban high school

The research reveals both evidence of dialect influence and evidence against dialect influence in the writing of students who speak African American vernacular English (AAVE). The research also reveals that students tend to use fewer dialect features for academic tasks. The findings to this study revealed that although some students did use dialect features on both informal and formal speaking and writing tasks, they tended to use fewer on formal writing tasks. Hence, subjects have varying degrees of skill in dialect-switching.;The 12 AAVE-speaking at-risk high school students that participated in this study responded orally to two interview questions (formal, informal) and wrote two assignments (formal, informal).;The following is the general research question that guided this study: What is the frequency with which AAVE dialect features (forms of omission and of addition) are used in spoken and written communication?;Considering AAVE dialect features of omission, there was evidence of dialect influence for both the spoken tasks combined and the written tasks combined. Considering AAVE dialect features of addition, there was no evidence of dialect influence. More features of omission occurred than did features of addition for all four tasks. More features of both omission and addition occurred during the informal tasks than during the formal tasks. The following features of omission occurred more frequently during the formal tasks: Third person singular -s, be verb (copula or auxiliary), past tense -ed, and plural -s. The following features of addition occurred more frequently during the formal tasks: Multiple negation, pronomial apposition, plural -s, and verbal -s.;To prepare students for academic and work-related assignments, teachers can prepare lessons targeting the above-stated dialect features, thereby strengthening students dialect-switching skills. Also, students need to engage in more non-required reading in order to develop writing skills, the SE code, and an appreciation for language varieties.