An Investigation of T-Units in African American English-Speaking and Standard American English-Speaking Fourth-Grade Children

Abstract

This study investigated the dialectal sensitivity of the T-unit to determine if it provides a nonbiased alternative for assessing the oral grammatical skills of school-age, nonstandard English speakers. Language samples obtained from 9-year-old children (14 African American English [AAE] speakers and 14 Standard American English [SAE] speakers) were analyzed using words per T-unit, clauses per T-unit, and words per clause across three speaking conditions: questions task, picture task, and story task. The samples were also analyzed to examine the frequency of occurrence of complex syntax for speakers of AAE versus speakers of SAE. The results revealed no significant differences between the groups for any of the measures taken under any of the speaking conditions. The findings suggest that the T-unit may be a culturally fair, dialectally nonbiased measure with which to assess the language abilities of school-age children. However, the results also suggest that AAE and SAE fourth-grade children may not use all types of complex syntax in a similar manner.