DAPHNE, Ala.— Some may look down upon the southern accent, calling it “quaint” or “folksy.”

But the southern drawl this week finally got the respect it deserves when students from W.J. Carroll Intermediate, Daphne Elementary and Daphne High recorded their dialects for  Scientific Learning Corporation’s reading comprehension program.

The purpose of the research project—conducted by Sarah Stillings, contact production associate for Scientific Learning—is to collect samples from southern readers to refine the voice recognition software.

The schools for four years have used Scientific Learning’s Reading Assistant, a computer-based reading fluency program, to sharpen students’ comprehension skills. Reading Assistant involves students choosing a selected work and recording their newly retained knowledge by speaking into the computer program with a microphone. The program then checks the students’ answers against a preset speech memory pattern.

But Reading Assistant’s modeled readings are based on northern accents and don’t account for southern dialect’s subtle nuances.

“We’re hoping the data we collect here will improve the product,” Stillings said.

“Right now, it is a speech model based on northern accents.”

Students have been unfairly penalized for registering ‘wrong’ answers.

For instance, a commonly misrepresented word like “ask” sounds more like “ax” in the southern tongue, Stillings said.

“Another example of the southern dialect would be cutting off the ‘-ing’ and using ‘-in’, like “goin’ ” instead of “going,” she said. “ ‘Ya’ll’ is another one that could be a problem for the software.”

This can give false measurements of reading skills—a deficiency that has been known for quite a while, according to Daphne teachers.

The software’s manufacturer has researched corrective measures for six months, Stillings said.

Students’ grades have been unaffected by the misrepresentation of the southern dialect, according to Kathy Smith, a WJC resource teacher who said WJC’s use of the program was established as a “demonstration project.”

Daphne educators saw the comprehension program as one way to boost test scores, in accord with the No Child Left Behind Act, which awards school funding based on performance.

Scientific Learning is conducting its study because of complaints from students, parents and teachers from across the south, Stillings said.

Smith said she looks forward to seeing the study’s results because she anticipates the positive impact it will have on students’ reading tendencies.

“I’m so excited that Scientific Learning has felt it worthwhile to make the investment by coming to Daphne to enhance the product,” Smith said.

“We want (the student) to emerge from being a reluctant reader to a recreational reader,” Smith said. “Students will become more successful and confident readers.”

Stillings also sees the possibility for improvement in students’ reading comprehension skills based on this research, which will take some time.

 “It’s a long process but we’re on our way,” she said.