Various Age Groups Reading AAVE Taylor Powell

Various Age Groups Reading AAVE

Taylor Powell

There is a difference in the ways in which children process African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) across age groups. Age as well as race play a role in processing AAVE. While the initial goal of the research was to determine whether or not children of African or non-Northern European descent read and comprehended AAVE differently, the evidence suggested that the largest factor in reading comprehension is the age at which children learned to read. Both younger and older children read and understood excerpts from the novels without AAVE (The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle and My Little Golden Book About Frida Kahlo by Silvia López) better than the novel with AAVE (Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurtson) which they often remarked was “difficult” or “hard.” However, children who learned to read around the age of three had better pronunciation and focused on comprehension whereas children who learned to read at age four or older focused more on pronouncing the words correctly and could not relay what they had read only seconds prior. Despite the age at which children began reading being a larger factor in their performance, race still played a factor in their comprehension. If the research were to be conducted again, scientists should ensure that the children are alone in an isolated environment and unaware that other children will be participating.