The sociopsychological cost of AAE-to-SAE code-switching

A symbolic interactionist account

Authors

  • Tobias A Kroll Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock
  • Christopher Townsend Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.21167

Keywords:

Black students, Sociopsychological cost, Self, Identity, Qualitative research, African American English, code-switching, Mead, speech-language pathology

Abstract

Objective: This conceptual article outlines the sociopsychological cost that speakers of African American English (AAE) may incur when having to use the Standard dialect of American English (SAE) in academic and professional settings. Its goal is to detail the challenges to speakers’ self-concept resulting from this cost, to outline how clinical work may be affected by it, and to issue a call of action to qualitative researchers in the field of communication sciences and disorders. It will be argued that a symbolic interactionist account of identity, informed by qualitative research data, can guide clinicians into action regarding therapy and advocacy.

Methods: A contrastive definition of code-switching versus code-mixing/code-meshing or translanguaging will be provided. Existing research, cultural artifacts, and personal accounts will be used to illustrate the sociopsychological cost of code-switching, and the ways in which it can have important impacts on individuals’ self-concept and their attitude toward learning. In order to conceptualize these dynamics in interactional terms, Mead’s model of the self will be deployed.

Results: It can be expected that a sizable portion of African American children and adolescents incur sociopsychological cost when faced with the expectation to code-switch from AAE to SAE at school. This cost can be explained using a Meadian model of identity. Little research has explored this cost, the interactional dynamics in which it is incurred, or its impact on speech-language therapy.

Summary and conclusion: Speech-language pathologists’ scope of practice includes therapeutic work with students who speak AAE, as well as advocacy for all students, disordered or not, who are faced with the cost of this particular type of code-switching. Qualitative research in the field of communication sciences and disorders is uniquely well suited to illuminate the precise form of the interactional dynamics in question, and to develop ways of addressing them in clinical and advocacy work. Such research should employ a symbolic interactionist model of identity that is not tied to psychological assumptions, but which can be derived entirely from empirical observations.

Author Biographies

  • Tobias A Kroll, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock

    Tobias A. Kroll, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an associate professor in the Department of Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He received his MA in linguistics from the University of Münster, Germany, and his PhD in applied language and speech sciences from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette under the auspices of Dr. Jack S. Damico. His research expertise is in literacy, focusing on the complexity of eye movements in typical and struggling readers. A second area of expertise is the fine-grained analysis of interpersonal interaction, particularly in clinical and intercultural contexts, and its ramifications for self-concept and identity. Dr. Kroll has published in the Journal of Research Design and Statistics in Linguistics and Communication Science, the Journal of Interactional Research in Communicative Disorders, and Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, among others. In addition, he has co-authored a book chapter in The handbook of qualitative research in communication disorders, and he has presented at numerous conferences from the local to the national level.

  • Christopher Townsend, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock

    Christopher B. Townsend, PhD, LPC, NCC, LCAS, CCS, is an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Counseling and Mental Health at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He is the Director of the Department’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Clinic. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in community counseling. He is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he earned his doctorate in rehabilitation counseling and counselor education. Dr. Townsend is the Faculty Co-Chair of the Universities’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He is a Board of Trustee member of the National Board for Certified Counselors and was appointed to the American Counseling Association Black Male Experiences Committee in 2021. Dr. Townsend has trained on various mental health topics nationally and internationally. He is an emerging multicultural and social justice advocate, activist, and scholar, with research interest in the healing of BIPOC trauma, particularly in African American families.

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2022-05-29

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Vol. 13 No. 1 (2022)

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How to Cite

Kroll, T. A., & Townsend, C. (2022). The sociopsychological cost of AAE-to-SAE code-switching: A symbolic interactionist account. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 13(1), 120–144. https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.21167