John Baugh
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John Gordon Baugh V (born December 10, 1949) is an American academic and
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
. His main areas of study are
sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive, scientific study of how language is shaped by, and used differently within, any given society. The field largely looks at how a language changes between distinct social groups, as well as how it varies unde ...
,
forensic linguistics Forensic linguistics, legal linguistics, or language and the law is the application of linguistic knowledge, methods, and insights to the forensic context of law, language, crime investigation, trial, and judicial procedure. It is a branch of ap ...
, education, and African American language studies. He is currently the Barbara Jordan Distinguished Professor of Linguistics at
Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...
, Professor Emeritus at
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
, Professor Emeritus at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and a former President of the
Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...
. In 2020 Baugh was elected as a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
in the section on Linguistics and Language Sciences, and in 2021 he was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. Baugh was previously a fellow of the
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an interdisciplinary research institution at Stanford University designed to advance the frontiers of knowledge about human behavior and society, and contribute to the resoluti ...
at Stanford University and of the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
. He served as president of the
American Dialect Society The American Dialect Society (ADS), founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society p ...
from 1992 to 1994 and as the Edward Sapir Professor during the 2019 Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute. Baugh is best known for developing the theory of linguistic profiling, which occurs when someone’s speech triggers discriminatory bias against them, such as when they are seeking employment or housing. As a result of this work, Baugh has served as an expert witness and consultant in various legal cases, frequently working with the
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...
, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
, among other organizations. Baugh is the author or co-editor of twelve books, including ''Black Street Speech: Its History, Structure, and Survival''; ''Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice''; ''Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice''; and ''Linguistics in Pursuit of Justice''. He has advised and appeared in several linguistic documentaries such as '' Do You Speak American?'' and ''Talking Black in America,'' and he has been featured in publications including ''
Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'', ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'', and ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
''.


Education

Baugh began his undergraduate studies at Taft College before transferring to
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
, where he completed his
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in Speech, Rhetoric, and Communication. He then earned both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, under the doctoral supervision of sociologist
William Labov William David Labov ( ; December4, 1927December17, 2024) was an American linguist widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has ...
. In addition to Labov, Baugh studied extensively under anthropological linguist
Dell Hymes Dell Hathaway Hymes (June 7, 1927, in Portland, Oregon – November 13, 2009, in Charlottesville, Virginia) was a linguist, sociolinguist, anthropologist, and folklorist who established disciplinary foundations for the comparative, ethnographic ...
and sociologist
Erving Goffman Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born American sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century". In 2007, '' The Time ...
.


Professional career

Baugh's first academic appointment was as lecturer in Black Studies and Linguistics at
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...
in 1975. In 1978, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Black Studies, and Linguistics at Swarthmore. The following year, he began teaching at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
as an Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Foreign Language Education. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 1984. In 1990, Baugh became a Professor of Education and Linguistics at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, where he remained until 2005. During this time, Baugh served as director of the Stanford Teacher Education Program. He became Professor Emeritus at Stanford upon his departure in 2005. Baugh joined the teaching faculty of
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
in 2005 as the Margaret Bush Wilson Professor in Arts and Sciences. He served a term as director of African and African American Studies from 2005 to 2010, and held appointments in the departments of Anthropology, Education, English, Linguistics, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Urban Studies. In 2024, Baugh joined the faculty of Rice University as the Barbara Jordan Distinguished Professor of Linguistics.


Research


African American language studies

Baugh’s early research focused on the language and culture of African Americans, employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative sociolinguistic methods. Baugh conducted the first longitudinal linguistic study of African American adults, described in his first book, ''Black Street Speech: Its History, Structure, and Survival''. Its title was chosen in consultation with those whom Baugh interviewed for the project; they often described their vernacular, or most informal manner of speech, as "street speech". In 1999, while at Stanford University, Baugh wrote ''Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice''. The book contains a combination of linguistic and educational research, including specific ideas about ways to increase literacy among African Americans, who often fall victim to various forms of educational malpractice. In response to an educational and legal controversy that resulted from a 1996 resolution by the
Oakland Unified School District Oakland Unified School District is a public education school district that operates a total of 80 elementary schools (TK–5), middle schools (6–8), and high schools (9–12). There are also 28 district-authorized charter schools in Oakland, ...
in California that declared Ebonics to be the indigenous language of its 27,000 African American students, Baugh wrote ''Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice''. Baugh debunked many of the misconceptions about the concept of Ebonics (a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of "ebony" and "phonics", for "black sounds", a term coined by social psychologist
Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...
) as well as some of the educational policies that emerged in the wake of the controversy. In 2022, Baugh was named to the advisory board of the Oxford Dictionary of African American English.


Sociolinguistics

Baugh and Joel Sherzer edited ''Language in Use: Readings in Sociolinguistics'', a volume of sociolinguistic studies that includes a combination of qualitative and quantitative studies of language usage in diverse speech communities. His next editorial collaboration in sociolinguistics was a
festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
in honor of his mentor
William Labov William David Labov ( ; December4, 1927December17, 2024) was an American linguist widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has ...
that was produced under the editorial leadership of Gregory Guy of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. This work, ''Towards a Social Science of Language'', was published in two volumes: ''Variation and Change in Language and Society'' and ''Social Interaction and Discourse Structures''. The studies in both volumes pay tribute to Labov’s influence on the field of sociolinguistics.


Linguistic profiling

Baugh's research on linguistic profiling began with his own experience seeking housing in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
as an African American. Baugh noticed that landlords who had given him an appointment after he utilized Standard American English over the phone later denied him the opportunity to rent after meeting in person. Baugh conducted a series of experiments, initially described by Thomas Purnell, William Idsardi, and Baugh in the 1999 article "Perceptual and Phonetic Experiments on American English Dialect Identification", showing that discrimination can occur based on dialect and that listeners can identify ethnicity through short samples of speech alone. Baugh’s findings have been replicated by others, affirming that people who speak with a
dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
or accent that is devalued where they live may fall prey to linguistic profiling — having goods or services denied to them, typically sight unseen, during telephone calls after inquiring about those otherwise available goods or services. With long-standing support, primarily from the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
, Baugh has continued to study various forms of linguistic discrimination in housing, education, medicine, and the law. His work, initially concentrated in the United States, has expanded to other countries and regions, including Brazil, the Caribbean, France, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.


Forensic linguistics and legal relevance

Forensic linguistics Forensic linguistics, legal linguistics, or language and the law is the application of linguistic knowledge, methods, and insights to the forensic context of law, language, crime investigation, trial, and judicial procedure. It is a branch of ap ...
is the application of linguistic knowledge, methods, and insights to legal contexts, especially those concerned with linguistic evidence and language use in the judicial process. The field can be traced to the Cullen Davis murder trial, in which
Roger Shuy Roger Wellington Shuy (born January 5, 1931, in Akron, Ohio) is an American linguist best known for his work in sociolinguistics and forensic linguistics. He received his BA from Wheaton College in 1952, his MA from Kent State University in ...
, a professor emeritus of linguistics at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
, served as an
expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...
, using
discourse analysis Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is an approach to the analysis of written, spoken, or sign language, including any significant semiotic event. The objects of discourse analysis (discourse, writing, conversation, communicative sy ...
methods to evaluate the speech of suspects and the defendant. Since then, other linguists have engaged in forensic linguistic analyses. For instance, in the Unabomber case, Shuy and FBI Agent James Fitzgerald used the language in Ted Kaczynski’s manifesto to discern his location and age. Baugh’s contributions to forensic linguistics have built upon his formulation of linguistic profiling, and his work has been used in legal cases involving hostile work environments, unequal access to housing, and murder. Baugh has served as a consultant and as an expert witness in both civil and criminal trials.


Publications


Books


As author

* ''Black Street Speech: Its History, Structure, and Survival'' (1983).
University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...
. * ''Language in Use: Reading in Sociolinguistics'' (1984).
Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was a major American publishing#Textbook_publishing, educational publisher. It published print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market. It was an independent company throughout the bulk of the twentieth cen ...
College Div. * ''Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice'' (1999). University of Texas Press. * ''Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice'' (2000).
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. * ''Linguistics in Pursuit of Justice'' (2018).
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
.


As editor

* (with Sherzer) ''Language in Use: Readings in Sociolinguistics'' (1984). Prentice Hall. *(with Guy, Feagin, and Schiffrin) ''Towards a Social Science of Language: Papers in honor of William Labov. Volume 1: Variation and change in language and society'' (1996).
John Benjamins Publishing Company John Benjamins Publishing Company is an independent academic publisher in social sciences and humanities with its head office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was founded in the 1960s by John and Claire Benjamins and is currently managed ...
. * (with Guy, Feagin, and Schiffrin) ''Towards a Social Science of Language: Papers in honor of William Labov. Volume 2: Social interaction and discourse structures'' (1997). John Benjamins Publishing Company. *(with Mufwene, Rickford, and Bailey) ''African-American English: Structure, history, and use'' (1998).
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
. * (with Alim) ''Talkin Black Talk: Language, Education, and Social Change'' (2006).
Teachers College Press Teachers College Press is the university press of Teachers College, Columbia University. Founded in 1904, Teachers College Press has published professional and classroom materials for over a century and currently publishes 70 titles per year. Hi ...
.


Select articles and chapters

* "Racial Identification by Speech" (2000). ''
American Speech ''American Speech'' is a quarterly academic journal of the American Dialect Society, established in 1925 and currently published by Duke University Press. It focuses primarily on the English language used in the Western Hemisphere, but also publi ...
''. 75 (4):362–364. *"The Ebonics Controversy" (2001). In R. Mesthrie (ed.), ''The Encyclopedia of Sociolinguistics.'' Kluwer. * "It Ain't About Race: Some Lingering (Linguistic) Consequences of the African Slave Trade and Their Relevance to Your Personal Historical Hardship Index" (2006). ''
Du Bois Review The ''Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering multidisciplinary and multicultural social science research and criticism about race. The journal was established in 2004 and is published by Cam ...
''. 3 (1):145–159. *"Attitudes towards Variation and Ear-Witness Testimony: Linguistic Profiling and Voice Discrimination in the Quest for Fair Housing and Fair Lending" (2007). In R. Bayley and C. Lucas (eds.), ''Sociolinguistic Variation: Theory, Methods, and Applications''.
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
. 338–348. *"At Last—Plantation English in America: Nonstandard Varieties and the Quest for Educational Equity" (2007). ''Research in the Teaching of English''. 41 (4):465–472. *"African American Vernacular English/Ebonics" (2012). In J. Banks (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education.''
SAGE Publishing Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American Independent business, independent Academic publishing, academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park, California, ...
. 49–54. *"SWB: (Speaking while Black): Linguistic profiling and discrimination based on speech as a surrogate for race against speakers of African American vernacular English" (2015). In S. Lanehart (ed.), ''The Oxford Handbook of African American Language''.
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. Chapter 41, 755–769. * "Linguistic Profiling and Discrimination" (2016). In N. Flores and O. Garcia (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of Language and Society''. Oxford University Press. 349–368. *"Sociolinguistic Evaluations of Inequality" (2020). ''
International Journal of the Sociology of Language The ''International Journal of the Sociology of Language'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of sociology of language. It was established in 1974 by the eminent sociologist of language Joshua Fishman, who has served many years ...
''. 263: 59–66. *"Linguistic Profiling and Language-Based Discrimination" (2021). In M. Aronoff (ed.), ''Oxford Bibliographies in Linguistics''. Oxford University Press.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baugh, John Living people 1949 births Linguists of English Linguistic Society of America presidents Fellows of the Linguistic Society of America Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 20th-century American linguists 21st-century American linguists Temple University alumni University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Stanford University Department of Linguistics faculty