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The sociolinguistic intersection of The sociolinguistic intersection of Spanish and EnglishSpanish and English
William Labov, University of Pennsylvania
James E. Alatis plenary Philadelphia
TESOL Convention March 29, 2012
The program
1. The sociolinguistic dimensions of dialect shifting:
black/white/Latino
2. Effects of learning to read in Spanish first
a. The (sh/ch) variable: a superficial substrate
effect
b. The possessive: effects of dialect differences
c. The soft-c rule: greater use of the alphabet
The sociolinguistic The sociolinguistic intersection of Spanish and intersection of Spanish and
EnglishEnglish
S. Poplack. Dialect Acquisition among Puerto Rican bilinguals
Careful
Language in Society 7:89-103, 1978
Careful CasualCasual
[əɪ] [a:]
S. Poplack. Dialect Acquisition among Puerto Rican bilinguals
Careful
Language in Society 7:89-103, 1978
Careful CasualCasual
[əɪ] [a:]
Sociometric diagram of sixth grade at St. Veronica’s
1. The sociolinguistic dimensions of dialect shifting:
black/white/Latino
2. Effects of learning to read in Spanish first
a. The (sh/ch) variable: a superficial substrate
effect
b. The possessive: effects of dialect differences
c. The soft-c rule: greater use of the alphabet
Are there significant differences in reading error profiles to be found among different ethnic groups with different language backgrounds?
are different strategies needed to improve the teaching of reading to members of those groups?
If so,
Spanish [tʃ] = [ʃ] mucho che
English [tʃ] ≠ [ʃ] chip ≠ ship
from the contrastive analysis of Spanish and English
The reading research program
Number of subjects by language/ethnic group and geographic region for the year 2003-2004 (N=246)
Language/ethnic group in Phila in Calif Total
African American 19 33 52
Caucasian 40 17 57
Latino Spanish readers 37 37 74
Latino English readers 37 26 63
Total:_____________________133_______ 113_____ 246
Diagnostic readings at Park School, Philadelphia
The cat took one bite and let out a wail.
Ray said, "Darn, those chips are stale!
It's a shame that you went and bought them on sale.
They taste like the food that's served in a jail."
ch_ and sh_ words in the diagnostic reading Ray and His Cat Come Back
Ray grabbed Matt’s chips
..those chips are stale…
The cat spit out the chips. . .
Matt didn’t reach up to Ray’s chin
I don’t choose to listen…
. . .tried not to shake.
It’s a shame that. . .
Now I’m going to show you. . .
His teeth are as sharp as the edge of a knife . .
chips chin choose shame shake show sharp [3]cheer ch-- ch-- sham sh-- sh-- shapecheer cha sham shack + shock shapecheers chain chase sham shick shoe shapecheese chain chase sharing short + shop shapecheese chair cheat shim shrayke short sharpychest chairs chees shim shuck + shopchildren chan cheese shimmy shopchildren cheer cheese shlame shporechildren chic cheese shom + shropchildren chine cheese shortchildren chip chew-schildren chips chosechildren chips chosechip chips chrosechip chipsh chusschip xxx grammatical errors
chipchipchipchipchipchippieschirpingschosingchurchchurch
Errors with initial sh- ch- for 109 Philadelphia African-Americans
sh_ ch_ errors for 51 Philadelphia Latinos who learned to read in Spanish first
chips chin choose shame shake show sharp [3]ch-- ch-- ch-- chame chair chow shapcheapess cheen chalks chame shack shah sharcheeps cheen chew shamuh shack shahw shar+chip cheen chinsen shay shack shar sharptchip chic choice shem shack + shoes shblattchip chine + choise shem+ sheck shoutchip chins choise shime shockchip chip + chose shirmchip sheen chose shomechip shin chosechip shin chosechip shin chosechip shin chosechip shin chosechup chose xxx grammatical errorsheese chosey xxx sh/ch alternationship choss xxx /i/ -> /iy/ship shoes xxx grammatical & phonologicalship shoortship shooseship shooseships showsships showsshipsshipsshipsshipsshipsshipsships
ch_ reading errors per student by ethnicity, language and region
Spanish language influence on reading of English
Proportion of de-affrication errors (chips -> ships)
Proportion of /i/-tensing errors
(chips -> cheaps)
Proportion of ch -> sh errors, before and after intervention
Proportion of de-affrication errors that are the only errors in the word
In responding to oral reading, we must distinguish between differences in pronunciation and mistakes in reading.
How can we do this?
Absence of –ed in oral reading: Janal M., 7
The cat spit out the chips and jumped in Ray’s coat
stepped jump
True error
Potential error
Absence of verbal /s/ in oral reading: Jason P., age 7
Hey Black doesn’t eat cats, not even one
He just likes to growl and watch them run.
like grow which
Potential error
True error
True error
How to determine whether a potential error is a true error in the decoding of the text
The Semantic Shadow Hypothesis: An error in the identification of a given word increases the probability of errors in the decoding of the following text.
A potential error type has a significant probability of being a true reading error if the rate of following errors is significantly greater than the rate for correct readings.
W. Labov & B. Baker. What is a reading error? Applied Psycholinguistics 31:735-757.
Frequency of following errors for clear errors and correct reading by dialect type
Frequency of following errors for clear errors, potential errors and correct reading by dialect type [N=567]
Frequency of following errors for clear errors, potential errors and correct readings by dialect type for African American and Latino (S) readers [N=238]
Potential errors
Relation of morphosyntactic zeroes to correct readings and clear errors from frequencies of following errors.
C= correct readings; X = potential errors; E = clear errors.
African-American Latino(Spanish)Verbal -s C ≠ X ≠ E C ≠ X = E
Possessive –s C ≠ X ≠ E C ≠ X = E
Copula –s C ≠ X ≠ E C ≠ X = E
Past tense –ed C = X ≠ E C ≠ X ≠ E
1. The sociolinguistic dimensions of dialect shifting:
black/white/Latino
2. Effects of learning to read in Spanish first
a. The (sh/ch) variable: a superficial substrate
effect
b. The possessive: effects of dialect differences
c. The soft-c rule: greater use of the alphabet
The bilingualism of possession
Tonya Wolford. Variation in the expression of possession by Latino children. Language Variation and Change 18: 1-13.
Margarita M., 8, California: well there's two men alive and one woman alive -- and . . . . . . and -- and the other -- the brother of the other woman has a book and he reads iT. . . . and -- and the man comes to life
Tutor. . . . Do you ever get to baby-sit her? Mark S., 7, Philadelphia. Yeah. Sometimes. At my cousinz house. z
Tutor. Can you tell me the story?Carlos L., 9, Philadelphia: He's a killer and he try to - ah - the -- he kills people and then he cuts in -- in people bodies
1. The sociolinguistic dimensions of dialect shifting:
black/white/Latino
2. Effects of learning to read in Spanish first
a. The (sh/ch) variable: a superficial substrate
effect
b. The possessive: effects of dialect differences
c. The soft-c rule: greater use of the alphabet
The soft-c rule
The letter “c” is pronounced as
English
city cent icy
call cot cute
/s/ before the letters /i, e, y/ elsewhere, as /k/.
Exceptions:
Spanish
cielo Cebuano
cantar con Cuba
Celtics cepstrum none
(orthographic)
On Friday, I was in Aunt Cindy's store,And Ray was with the same old cat that I saw before
I pulled out of my pocket a rusty old dime.I said, "Go spend it, cat, if you've got the time."Ray stared at me and said, "Ten cents?You really think that I am that dense?”
When I got to two, Ray and his cat ran.Ray certainly fell for my new cat plan.
Soft-c words in the diagnostic reading Ray and His Cat Come Back
Cindy’s cents certainly
Cindy charl dk can coins dk are crut dkcindy chatee dk can coins dk called curtail dkcandia's cindy dk cans coins dk came curtain dkcandies cities dk cans coins dk cant dk dkcandily's clan's dk can't coins dk care dk dkcandy collie's dk cants+ coins dk carefully dk feelCandy condy's dk cat coins dk carried dk forCandy condy's dk cat coins k- + cart dk fountcandy cried k- cats coins + kenny cartenly dk itchescandy crying's k- cats come kents casidell dk k-candy cryme's kala cats counts kents cat dk kangilycandy c's kare-de cats counts kents + caught dk kartimitlycandy dk kate cent counts kets cayrent dk kaynlycandy's dk kendy' cent coy kits cert dk k-ceracandy's dk kenny's cent dk kittens clearly dk kellycandy's dk kiddy's cent dime kittens clearly dk kertCandy's dk kindy's ceret dk sent continue dk overCandy's dk Kindy's close dk tets cota dk quitecandy's dk kindy's coats dk your+ could dk reachcandy's dk kins coin dk couldn't dk saidcandy's dk sally coin dk couldn't dk scared himcandy's dk seal + coin dk couldn't dk scored himcandy's dk sender coins dk counted dk screwedcandy's dk story coins dk cracked dk sentinycandy's dk why coins dk crackilly dk seriouslycandy's dk coins dk crah dk ser-reallycandy's dk coins dk cried dk suntalalycard dk coins dk cried dkCarry's dk coins dk cried dk
Soft-c errors of 109 Philadelphia African-American readers
Cindy's cents certainly
cindy kin din cant cair-than say-ur-tenlycindy kindy ce- candily scratchlycindy s- cenents carefully searchedcindy seat cent centainly senentenlycindy see cent centerly sentreecindy sid center certain-olly sentrincandy sidi's cert cert-aint-lyseranlychildren sidy dk certaynly sernlycidy sindings dk cer-ten-in-lee sert+cind sin's dk certully setcindy sunday's dk certully setcindy sunday's kent cet-lonely sintanelycindy kets dk sirtenlycindy + sen dk stcindy+ sense dk startletcity sent dkcity sent karcity sets+ kertenncleande reclinelydk s-dk saiddk sair-ten-leedk san+dk sardtangentkin sayree
Soft-c errors of 109 Philadelphia Latinos who learned to read in Spanish first
don’t know
African Americans: 79
Latinos who learned to read in English first: 14
Soft-c reading of Cindy’s, cents, certainly
Soft-c and hard-c reading by ethnic group, language and region
The soft-c rule
In Spanish, the letter “c” is pronounced as
/s/ before the non-low front vowels
(phonological)
/k/. elsewhere
/i. e / cielo Cebuano este
The soft-c rule
In Engllsh, the letter “c” is pronounced as
/s/ before the non-low front vowels /i, iy, e/
,
(phonological)
city decease cent
and before the low central nucleus
/ay/ cycle decide incisor
/k/. elsewhere
Pretest Post-pretest
African-American n.s. n.s.
Latino (English) -.10* -.12*
Latino (Spanish) .37*** .24***
California .08* n.s.
Female ,09** n.s.
100% correct = 1.0, 100% wrong = 0.0
Regression analysis of soft-C reading scores
Pretest Post-pretest
African-American n.s. n.s.
Latino (English) -.09* n.s.
Latino (Spanish) n.s. n.s.
California .07** .05*.
Female n.s. n.s.
100% correct = 1.0, 100% wrong = 0.0
Regression analysis of possessive reading scores
1. The merger of the ch- and sh- word classes has no direct consequences for reading or comprehension.
2. The immediate grasp of the soft-c rule reflects a greater tendency to use alphabetic combinations in decoding.
3. Use of the periphrastic possessive gives more support to understanding the possessive inflection than the use of the zero attributive form.
Three linguistic consequences of learning to read in Spanish first
www.ling.upenn.edu/labov
