Newfoundland Dialect Interference in Oral Reading

Abstract

The hypothesis that dialect differences exert an interference effect in the acquisition of literacy skills remains unproven on the basis of research into the relationship between Black English and reading. Supplementary evidence was sought by studying the oral reading performance of grade three students in Newfoundland where a distinct dialect prevails. A comparison was made of oral reading performances of subjects reading Standard English material and equivalent material containing validated syntactic structures of the local dialect. Significant differences favouring the Standard English readings were revealed for three measures of oral reading proficiency so the interference hypothesis was not supported. The findings showed the language flexibility possessed by eight-year old dialect speakers and pointed to the research hazards of inferring written language ability on the basis of oral performances.