John R. Rickford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John R. Rickford
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Rickford speaks as president of the Linguistic Society of America in 2016
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John Russell Rickford
September 16, 1949 |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Cruz; University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Academic and author |
| Employer | Stanford University |
John Russell Rickford (born September 16, 1949) is a writer and professor from Guyana, who also became an American citizen. He is a very important professor of Linguistics (the study of language) at Stanford University. He has taught there since 1980.
Professor Rickford is famous for his book Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English. He wrote this book with his son, Russell J. Rickford. It won a special award called the American Book Award in the year 2000.
Contents
Life and Work
Early Education
John Rickford started his college studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He studied something called sociolinguistics, which is about how language is used in different groups of people. He received a special scholarship to help him study there from 1968 to 1971.
After that, he went to the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his master's degree in linguistics in 1973. Later, in 1979, he completed his Ph.D. in linguistics, which is the highest degree you can get.
Teaching Career
Before joining Stanford University, Professor Rickford taught linguistics at the University of Guyana. He was also an Assistant Dean there from 1979 to 1980.
In 1980, he began teaching at Stanford University as a visiting professor. He became a full professor in linguistics in 1986. Even while working in the United States, he has continued to help the University of Guyana. He checks their language courses and helps with master's and Ph.D. projects.
What He Studies
Language and Society
Professor Rickford's main area of study is how language changes and how it connects to different groups of people. He looks at how language is used by people from different backgrounds. He is very interested in the different ways English is spoken by groups who might not always have a strong voice.
His research often focuses on African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). This is a special way of speaking English used by many African Americans. He also studies how understanding language can help in schools. His goal is to help people from different cultures understand each other better through language.
African-American Vernacular English
Professor Rickford is a leading expert on African-American Vernacular English, sometimes called Ebonics. This topic became very well known in the U.S. when a school board in Oakland, California, said that AAVE was a real dialect of English. They even trained teachers to understand it better.
Professor Rickford strongly believes that AAVE is a real language system. He says it has its own rules, just like any other natural language. He has written many books and articles about this. He was a big supporter of the Oakland school board's decision.
Pidgin and Creole Languages
Professor Rickford also studies pidgin and creole languages. These are languages that develop when different language groups need to communicate. He often studies creole languages that are based on English. These include languages spoken in the Caribbean, like Guyanese Creole, Jamaican, and Barbadian.
Important Groups He Belongs To
- He was chosen to be a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.
- He became a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2021.
Selected Books
Professor Rickford has written or helped write many important books about language. Here are a few:
- Dimensions of a Creole Continuum (1987)
- African American English (1998)
- African American Vernacular English: Features and Use, Evolution, and Educational Implications (1999)
- Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English (2000) – This book won an American Book Award!
- Raciolinguistics: How Language Shapes Our Ideas About Race (2016)
Personal Life
John Rickford is married to Angela Rickford, who is also a professor. They have four children together.
