Linguistic Profiling
Discrimination or preferential treatment toward someone based on how their voice sounds and the race or ethnicity associated with their speech.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is linguistic profiling?
(Hyter, p. 266)
These cultural beliefs connect racial identity with ways of speaking and may position the language practices of racialized groups as inferior.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What are raciolinguistic ideologies?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
This assessment was developed to evaluate language while accounting for language variation.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation (DELV)?
(Hyter, p. 266)
This assessment approach examines a person's learning potential and modifiability rather than focusing only on what they already know.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is dynamic assessment?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Jordan is a 9-year-old African American student who speaks AAE. Before considering his grammatical patterns “incorrect,” the SLP needs to determine this.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is whether Jordan's grammatical patterns are consistent with AAE?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
Linguistic profiling can occur even when the listener cannot see the speaker because judgments can be made using this alone.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is a person's voice?
(Hyter, p. 266)
A white speaker uses non-standard slang and is called “innovative,” while a person of color uses similar language and is called “uneducated.” This differs because of this factor.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is the listener's interpretation based on the speaker's perceived racial identity?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
Rather than measuring dialect-specific features, the DELV focuses more heavily on these aspects of language.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What are universal aspects of language?
(Hyter, p. 266)
This type of task assesses how well a child naturally learns unfamiliar vocabulary through context.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is an incidental word-learning task?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Jordan uses several grammatical features associated with AAE, but his standardized assessment expects Standard English. Automatically marking those features incorrect could result in this.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is mistaking a language difference for a language disorder?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
A landlord hears a caller's voice, perceives the caller as African American, and says an available apartment is suddenly unavailable. The landlord is making the decision based on these features of the caller.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What are auditory or linguistic cues associated with perceived race or ethnicity?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Raciolinguistic ideologies often center this idealized speaker and listener as the linguistic norm.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is the white speaking and listening subject?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
In the DELV semantics section, children are asked to figure out the meanings of made-up words. This helps reduce bias related to this factor.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is prior exposure to specific words?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Incidental word-learning tasks are an example of this type of measure.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is a process-dependent measure?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Jordan gets a low score on a vocabulary test. The test includes words he may not have been exposed to before. What could have affected his score?
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is limited prior exposure to the tested words?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Linguistic profiling can involve discrimination, but it can also result in this more favorable type of treatment for certain speakers.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is preferential treatment?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Two speakers use similar language, but one is evaluated more negatively because of the race listeners associate with that speaker. This demonstrates that judgments about language can be influenced by this rather than the linguistic features alone.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is the racialization of the speaker?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
When assessing an AAE speaker, an SLP should focus on this rather than simply measuring how closely the child's speech matches Standard English.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What are the child's underlying language abilities?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
Two children receive different vocabulary scores because one has encountered many of the test words before while the other has not. The difference may reflect this rather than their actual ability to learn language.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What are differences in prior exposure?
(Hyter, p. 266)
To determine whether Jordan can learn new language rather than simply testing what he already knows, the SLP could add this approach to the evaluation.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is dynamic assessment?
(Hyter, p. 266)
An SLP hears dialect features associated with AAE and immediately considers them grammatical errors because they differ from Standard English. This creates this major diagnostic risk.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is mistaking a language difference for a language disorder?
(Hyter, p. 266)
Assuming that Standard English is inherently more intelligent, professional, or correct than other legitimate language varieties reflects this type of judgment.
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is judging language ability according to a dominant linguistic standard?
(Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
Even when an assessment such as the DELV was designed to account for language variation, clinicians should avoid doing this when making a diagnostic decision.
Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is relying on a single assessment measure in isolation?
Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
Jordan scores poorly on a test of previously learned vocabulary but quickly learns unfamiliar words after brief instruction. His success during teaching provides evidence of this.
(Hyter, p. 266)
What is learning potential or modifiability?
(Hyter, p. 266)
The SLP uses the DELV, dynamic assessment, information about AAE, process-dependent measures, and other sources of evidence before making a diagnostic decision. Together, these practices represent this overall approach.
(Hyter, p. 266; Braun-Martin et al., 2026)
What is culturally and linguistically responsive assessment?
(Hyter, p. 266; Braun-Martin et al., 2026)