Caregiver–Child Interactions: Utilizing an Ecobehavioral Model to Investigate the Effect of Activity Contexts on African American English Use

Abstract Within an ecobehavioral framework, proximal (e.g., activity context) and distal factors (e.g., public policies) may influence how children and caregivers use African American English (AAE) features. Although prior research has considered isolated factors, considering how these ecological factors interact will improve understanding of the complexity surrounding AAE feature use within caregiver–child interactions. Thirty language samples were transcribed and coded for AAE features from 5-year-olds and their caregiver during a play task. Mixed effects models were estimated to investigate whether speaker (i.e., caregiver, child), activity context (i.e., reading, free play), and language dynamics (e.g., previous AAE use) predicted AAE feature use. The baseline probability of AAE feature use in an utterance was 5.73%, and the probability of AAE feature use: (1) increased when the previous utterance included an AAE feature and was spoken by the same speaker or the speaker changed from child to caregiver, and (2) decreased for the caregiver during the book reading activity. The results of this study suggest that language dynamics within the caregiver–child interaction influence AAE use. Further, caregivers appeared to “suppress” their use of AAE features during the book reading task, reflecting a shift from using more idealized AAE in free play to more idealized Mainstream American English based on activity context.