Language variation, socialization and attitudes: a sociolinguistic investigation of school-aged bidialectal English speakers

The original purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationships between dialect, cultural identity, and literacy for Jamaican-Canadian Creole speakers (JCS), but was expanded to focus more broadly on language socialization due to low recruitment. Fourteen participants (5 children, aged 5-6 and 9 adults) from JCS families within the Toronto area were recruited for this study. Language attitudes and use measures: questionnaire, interview, and Matched-Guise Test. Language and literacy measures: Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation and Assessment of Literacy and Language. Child results showed that language dominance was Standard English for both use and exposure, and to date, language and literacy results are only described due to small sample size. In relation to identity and Creole use, interpretation of qualitative measures revealed that language attitudes were not always reflected in language use. However, findings provide initial insights regarding the relationship between language, identity, and literacy that warrant deeper investigation. Keywords: sociolinguistics, dialect, Jamaican Creole, bidialectal, cultural identity, Jamaican-Canadian, language, literacy