PERGAMON Journal of NEUROLIN(3UI$TICS Journal of Neurolinguistics 14 (2001 ) 93-110 www.elsevier.com/locate/jneuroling Dialectal variants of verbs in narratives of African Americans with aphasia: Some methodological considerations Hanna K. Ulatowska and Gloria Streit Olness University of Texas at Dallas Abstract--A focus on African American Vernacular English (AAVE) verb use in narratives is advantageous for examining the effects of dialect in aphasia. The inherent variability in speakers' use of dialect features is discussed. Verb morpho-syntax is examined in speakers of AAVE who have aphasia, and compared to that of African American normal controls. Dialect features were preserved despite the presence of aphasia, although there was variability in performance that could not readily be attributed to code-switching. While individuals with less mild aphasia used fewer AAVE verb forms in this sample, they also produced shorter narratives. The challenges of research in this area are discussed, and strategies are suggested for future efforts. Key words: African Americans, dialect, aphasia, verb system, narratives Introduction The current article proposes certain key methodological issues for the study of dialectal manifestations among African Americans with aphasia. Points for consideration are drawn from dialectal and clinical studies, in combination with qualitative analysis of an extensive data set of personal narratives produced by African Americans with aphasia, and African-American normal controls. To our knowledge, there have been no systematic studies of dialectal features in the discourse of African-American adults with aphasia. Early work in this area (e.g., Anderson & Ulatowska, 1975) was performed within a traditional clinical fi'amework of repetition, reading, and writing tasks, for purposes of differential diagnosis. Consideration of dialect in discourse would offer the opportunity to explore the robustness of ethnic dialect features among African Americans who have aphasia, in their very context of use. Not only would this offer insights on the relative complexity of the various features of Afi-ican American Vernacular English (AAVE) in natural discourse contexts, but also on the clinical issues important in working with individuals with aphasia who speak an AAVE dialect. A logical first step in any such endeavor would be to plan methodological approaches and anticipate potential complications or pitfalls in 0911-6044/01/$ - see front matter © 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. PI/: S0911-6044(01)00010-0