A content analysis of literature written in South Midland dialect; and a study of the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of middle school language arts and secondary English teachers related to dialect in literature and in the classroom

Dialects have been a representation of cultures for centuries. In the United States, authors have been writing literature in dialect for over one hundred years. This dissertation is a study of literature written in the South Midland dialect; and of the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of educators concerning literature written about sociocultural groups, literature written in dialect, and dialects spoken in the United States. The dissertation reviews the relationship between culture and dialect, how dialect regions are created, educational practices concerning dialect in reading and writing, and attitudes about the use of dialect. The dissertation includes a content of analysis of four young adult books: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter, Shiloh, and Shiloh Season both by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The content analysis covers the author's purpose for his/her writing style, characteristics of young adult novels, dialect consistency, variance between dialect and standard English, examples of possible stereotypes and prejudices presented by the author, and credentials of the author for writing in dialect. The dissertation continues with a descriptive analysis of the results of a survey concerning the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of middle school language arts and secondary English teachers. The survey covers literature written about sociocultural groups, literature written in dialect, and the dialects spoken in the United States. The results of the content analysis indicate that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the only book in which the dialect is accurate and consistently written. Mark Twain is the only author who has credentials for writing in the dialect that represents the setting of the story. The results of the survey indicate that many of the respondents have little knowledge of literature written about sociocultural groups and literature written in dialect. Many of the respondents have little interest in teaching literature written in dialect, because they feel that the dialects undermine the use of standard English. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the content analysis and survey responses, the implications for educators, and the implications for further research.