Date of Award
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Vesperi, Maria
Keywords
Baltimore, Maryland, Sociolinguistics, Ethnography, AAVE, Education
Area of Concentration
Anthropology
Abstract
I performed sociolinguistic ethnographic research at The SEED School of Maryland, a statewide public boarding school targeting students whose socioeconomic status hinders their academic potential. During the participant observation, I interviewed staff, teachers and students while collecting written and spontaneous speech samples from the classroom, dorms and cafeteria. The situationally-specific frequencies of AAVE-marked and AAVE-unmarked English measures assimilation into both academic and boarding school culture, offering a nuanced insight into the dimorphic social world of the students. In the end, I relate behavioral and linguistic developments to teaching styles, motivational tactics and the discipline system.
Recommended Citation
Needham, Kade Doyle, "I Be Goin Places: Sociolinguistic Assimilation in a Baltimore Boarding School" (2014). Theses & ETDs. 1.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/1