Bio


John R. Rickford is the J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Linguistics and the Humanities at Stanford University. He is also professor by courtesy in Education, and Pritzker University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. He has been at Stanford since 1980.

He received his BA with highest honors in Sociolinguistics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1971, and his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He won a Dean's Award for distinguished teaching in 1984 and a Bing Fellowship for excellence in teaching in 1992.

The primary focus of his research and teaching is sociolinguistics, the relation between linguistic variation and change and social structure. He is especially interested in the relation between language and ethnicity, social class and style, language variation and change, pidgin and creole languages, African American Vernacular English, and the applications of linguistics to educational problems.

He is the author of numerous scholarly articles, and author or editor of several books, including A Festival of Guyanese Words (ed., 1978), Dimensions of a Creole Continuum (1987), Analyzing Variation in Language (co-ed., 1987), Sociolinguistics and Pidgin-Creole Studies (ed., 1988), African American English: Structure, History and Use (co-ed., 1998), African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications (1999), Creole Genesis, Attitudes and Discourse (co-ed., 2000), Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English (co-authored, 2000, winner of an American Book Award), Style and Sociolinguistic Variation (co-ed., 2001), and Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-First Century (co-ed., 2004). He also has two books forthcoming in 2012: Language, Culture and Caribbean Identity (co-ed.) and African American, Creole and Other Vernacular Englishes: A Bibliographic Resource (co-authored). For further details, see the Research Interests statement and the CV on this site.

Academic Appointments


  • Emeritus Faculty, Acad Council, Linguistics

Administrative Appointments


  • President, Linguistic Society of America (2015 - 2016)
  • Fulbright Fellowship teaching and research, UWI, Mona Jamaica (2006 - 2006)
  • Team leader, External Quality Assurance Reviews of the Linguistics programs, University of the West Indies (2006 - 2006)
  • Team leader, External Quality Assurance Reviews of the Linguistics programs, St. Augustine, Trinidad (2006 - 2006)
  • Visiting Professor, University of the West Indies (2006 - 2006)
  • Team leader, External Quality Assurance Review of the Linguistics program, University of the West Indies (2005 - 2005)
  • Erskine Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Canterbury, New Zealand (2002 - 2002)
  • Visiting Erskine Fellowship (teaching), University of Canterbury, New Zealand (2002 - 2002)
  • Ellen Andrews Wright Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Center (1997 - 1997)
  • Ellen Andrews Wright Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Center (1997 - 1997)
  • Vice-Chair, Department of Linguistics, Stanford (1996 - 1996)
  • Instructor, Linguistic Society of America Linguistics Institute, Ohio State University (1993 - 1993)
  • Professor, by courtesy, Education, Stanford (1990 - Present)
  • Professor, with tenure, Linguistics, Stanford (1990 - Present)
  • Director, Stanford Overseas Studies Summer Focus Program, Oxford (1990 - 1990)
  • Fellowship, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, for research at the Center (1990 - 1990)
  • Fellowship, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (1989 - 1989)
  • Associate Professor, by courtesy, Education, Stanford (1988 - 1990)
  • Instructor, Linguistic Society of America Linguistics Institute, Stanford (1987 - 1987)
  • Associate Professor, with tenure, Linguistics, Stanford University (1986 - 1990)
  • Fellowship, Center for Urban Studies (1986 - 1986)
  • Humanities Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation (1984 - 1984)
  • Summer support, Center for Research on Language and Information, Stanford (1984 - 1984)
  • Assistant Professor, Linguistics, Stanford University (1981 - 1986)
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Linguistics, Stanford University (1980 - 1981)
  • Promoted to Reader, Linguistics (intermediate between Associate and Full Professor), with tenure, University of Guyana (1980 - 1980)
  • Assistant Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Guyana (1979 - 1980)
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University (1977 - 1977)
  • Lecturer, Linguistics, University of Guyana (1974 - 1980)
  • Institute Fellowship, Linguistic Society of America (1973 - 1973)
  • Danforth Graduate Fellowship, Danforth Foundation (1971 - 1971)

Honors & Awards


  • Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, Stanford University (2013)
  • Alumni Achievement Award, University of California, Santa Cruz (2009)
  • Endowed chair: J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Stanford University (2009)
  • Nominated and elected a Fellow, Linguistic Society of America (2009)
  • Pritzker University Fellowship in Undergraduate Education, Stanford University (2009)
  • Pritzker University Fellowship in Undergraduate Education, Stanford University (2004)
  • Wordsworth McAndrew Award for outstanding contributions to Guyana's cultural life, Guyana Folk Festival Committee in New York (2004)
  • Award from Associate Dean, Humanities and Sciences, to lead an African and African American Studies Learning Expedition (2003)
  • Collitz Professorship, Linguistic Society of America Institute, Michigan State (2003)
  • Anthropology and the Media Award, American Anthropology Association (2002)
  • Linguistics, Language and the Public Award, Linguistic Society of America (2002)
  • American Book Award (for Spoken Soul), Before Columbus Foundation (2000)
  • Martin Luther King Centennial Professorship, Stanford University (1998)
  • Bing Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford University (1992)
  • Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, Stanford University (1984)
  • First Prize, Stevenson College oratory competition, University of California, Santa Cruz (1970)
  • Wishart Memorial Prize for distinction in English, London University GCE Advanced Level exams (1967)
  • Queen’s College prize for best results, London University General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level exams (1965)
  • Scholarship for secondary education, Guyana Government (1960)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Elected Chair, Stanford University Faculty Senate (2001 - 2002)
  • Member, Sociolinguistics Institute, Stanford (1970 - 1970)
  • Member, California Linguistics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz (1971 - 1971)
  • Member, Linguistic Society of America Linguistic Institute, University of Michigan (1973 - 1973)
  • Member, University Teaching Methods course, taught at University of Guyana by visiting University of London Teaching Methods unit staff (1979 - 1979)
  • Member, Linguistic Society of America Linguistic Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz (1991 - 1991)
  • Mmeber, Linguistic Society of American Linguistic Institute, Michigan State University (2003 - 2003)
  • Director, Program in African and African American Studies, Stanford University (1998)
  • Martin Luther King, Jr Centennial Chair, Program in African and African American Studies, Stanford University (1998)
  • Teaching volunteer, tutorial program, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • President, Black Students’ Association, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Member, Drama Society, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Chairman, University Press subcommittee, Faculty of Arts Grading Subcommittee, University of Guyana
  • Faculty of Arts representative, Academic Board and Research and Publications committee, University of Guyana
  • Member, Academic Board and Research and Publications committee, University of Guyana
  • Member, Subcommittee on Status of Women on Campus, University of Guyana
  • Member, Board for Graduate Studies, University of Guyana
  • Member, Task Force on Priorities in University Offerings, University of Guyana
  • Member, Toastmasters Club, Georgetown, St. George’s Cathedral Vestry
  • Executive committee member, Society for Caribbean Linguistics.
  • Educational Vice-President, Toastmasters Early Risers Club, Palo Alto
  • Cub scout leader, Juana Briones school
  • designer/director (w. Christine Theberge) of lecture program on “Rapping, Reading, and Writing”, Costaño School 6th graders (Mrs. Morrison’s 5th grade), East Palo Alto
  • Guest lecturer, Gunn High School
  • Referee, Language (1974)
  • Classroom volunteer (Mrs. Bader's 6th grade), Costaño School, East Palo Alto
  • Referee, Language in Society (1974)
  • Referee, Studies in Second Language Acquisition (1974)
  • Referee, National Science Foundation (1974)
  • Editorial Board Member, Camden House (1982)
  • Editor, The Carrier Pidgin newsletter (1982 - 1986)
  • Editorial Board Member, Foris Publications (Topics in Socio-linguistics series) (1983)
  • Associate Editor, The Carrier Pidgin Newsletter (1986)
  • Editorial Board Member, American Speech (1986)
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages (1986 - 1996)
  • Member, National Science Foundation Linguistics Panel, reviewing sociolinguistics and other grant proposals (1986 - 1989)
  • Board of Consulting Editors, Multilingua (1987)
  • Editorial Board Member, Papers in Pragmatics (1987)
  • Guest Editor, issue #71, International Journal of the Sociology of Language (“Sociolinguistics and Pidgin-Creole Studies”) (1987 - 1987)
  • Member, Committee of Visitors, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, National Science Foundation (1992 - 1992)
  • Editorial Board Member, Language in Society (1992 - 1998)
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of English Linguistics (1995)
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology (1995)
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Sociolinguistics (1995)
  • Editorial Board Member, Links and Letters (1998)
  • Editorial Board Member, 21st Century Perspectives on Language, Ethnicity, and Education Series, Kluwer Academic Publishers (1999)
  • Editorial Board Member, Language , Identity and Education (2001)
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages (2004)
  • Reviewer, grant proposals in Linguistics, National Science Foundation (2005)
  • Editorial Board Member, Reading Research Quarterly (2007)
  • Co-founder, Bay Area Sociolinguistics Association
  • Chair (with Susan Ervin-Tripp), Bay Area Sociolinguistics Association
  • Member, American Anthropological Association
  • Member, American Dialect Society
  • Member, International Sociolinguistics Association
  • Member, Linguistic Society of America
  • Member, Society for Caribbean Linguistics
  • Member, Society for Linguistic Anthropology
  • Member, Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics
  • Executive Committee Member, Linguistic Society of America [LSA]
  • Member, LSA's Committee on Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics
  • Vice-President, Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics
  • President, Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics
  • Immediate Past President, Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics
  • Elected Vice President, Society for Caribbean Linguistics, at SCL Dominica meeting
  • President Elect, Society for Caribbean Linguistics, at SCL Dominica meeting
  • President, Society for Caribbean Linguistics (2008 - 2010)
  • Immediate Past President, Society for Caribbean Linguistics (2010 - 2012)
  • Faculty Advisor, Stanford Upward Bound program (academic enrichment program for low income minority high school students) (1989 - 1989)
  • Member, Committee on Black Performing Arts, Stanford University (1981 - 1982)
  • Freshman Advisor, Stanford University (1981 - 1984)
  • Member, Search Committee, Assistant Dean, Memorial Church, Stanford University (1983 - 1984)
  • Member, Committee on Undergraduate Residential Affairs, Stanford University (1987 - 1988)
  • Member, Committee on Improvement and Evaluation of Teaching, Stanford University (1987 - 1988)
  • Member, Search Committee, Dean, Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University (1987 - 1988)
  • Member, Faculty Steering Committee, Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford University (1988 - 1990)
  • Member, Committee on Curriculum and Teacher Education, Stanford University (1988 - 1990)
  • Resident Fellow, Arroyo House, Wilbur Hall, Stanford University (1988 - 1991)
  • Member, Advisory Board, Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University (1988)
  • Faculty Sponsor and PI, Upward Bound Program, Stanford University (1989 - 1991)
  • Chair, Search Committee, Director, African and Afro-American Studies (1989 - 1990)
  • Member, Stanford Judicial Council, Stanford University (1990 - 1991)
  • Resident Fellow, Kimball Hall, Stanford University (1991)
  • Member, Search Committee, Vice President for Student Resources, Stanford University (1991 - 1992)
  • Member, Student Resources Advisory Committee on Budget Cuts, Stanford University (1992 - 1992)
  • Member, African American Mentoring Group, Stanford University (1992 - 1992)
  • Member, Stanford Committee on Legislative Conduct, Stanford University (1992 - 1993)
  • Member, Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid, Stanford University (1992 - 1993)
  • Member, Advisory Committee on Selection of 1993 Bing Teaching Fellows, Stanford University (1993 - 1993)
  • Member, Commission on Undergraduate Education (and Academic Environment subcttee), Stanford University (1993 - 1994)
  • Member, Advisory Committee, Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University (1994 - 1996)
  • Chair, Steering Committee, Program in African and Afro-American Studies, Stanford University (1996 - 1997)
  • Member, Committee on Independently Designed Majors, Stanford University (1996 - 1997)
  • Director, Program in African and African American Studies, Stanford University (1998 - 2005)
  • Member, Faculty Steering Committee, Stanford University (1998 - 2005)
  • Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University (1998 - 2005)
  • Member, Stanford Faculty Senate and Task Force on Faculty Diversity, Stanford University (1999 - 2003)
  • Member, Senate Steering Committee, and Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Search Committee, Stanford University (2000 - 2001)
  • Chair, Stanford Faculty Senate and Senate Steering Committee, Stanford University (2001 - 2002)
  • Chair, Graduate Student Subcommittee, Provost's Diversity Action Council, Stanford University (2002 - 2005)
  • Member, Planning and Policy Board, Stanford University (2003 - 2004)
  • Member, Advisory Board, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University (2004 - 2005)
  • Member, Provost’s Search Committee for new Humanities and Sciences Dean, Stanford University (2006 - 2007)
  • Member, Steering Committee, African and African American Studies, Stanford University (2006)
  • Member, Graduate Diversity Steering Committee, Stanford University (2007 - 2007)
  • Member, Residential Education Advisory Committee, Stanford University (2010 - 2010)
  • Member, Center for Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee, Stanford University (2010 - 2012)
  • Undergraduate Co-advisor, Stanford University (1981)
  • Member, Carrier Pidgin Production Committee, Stanford University (1981 - 1989)
  • Member, Search Committee, Assistant Professor, Phonetics, Stanford University (1982 - 1983)
  • Member, Graduate Student Admissions Committee, Stanford University (1982 - 1984)
  • Chair, Departmental Majors Day Program, Stanford University (1983 - 1983)
  • Chair, Departmental Majors Day Program, Stanford University (1984 - 1984)
  • Member, Graduate Degree Program Review Committee, Stanford University (1984 - 1985)
  • Member, Phonetics Lab Committee, Stanford University (1985 - 1986)
  • Chair, Teaching Equipment Committee, Stanford University (1985 - 1986)
  • Member, Search Committee, Asst. Prof., Universals/Sociolinguistics, Stanford University (1986 - 1987)
  • Member, Authentic Discourse Research Group, CSLI, Stanford University (1986 - 1987)
  • Chair, Undergraduate Studies Committee, Stanford University (1987 - 1991)
  • Member, Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (1987)
  • Member, Tenure review committee, William Poser, Stanford University (1989 - 1990)
  • Chair, Ad hoc committee on possible promotion of Gregory Guy, Stanford University (1990 - 1990)
  • Member, Faculty Search Committee (Semantics/Sociolinguistics position), Stanford University (1992 - 1993)
  • Chair, Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (1992 - 1993)
  • Chair, Sociolinguistics Search Committee, Stanford University (1993 - 1993)
  • Chair, Undergraduate Studies Committee, Stanford University (1995)
  • Vice Chair, Department of Linguistics, Stanford University (1996 - 1997)
  • Chair, Library Committee, Linguistics, Stanford University (2000 - 2001)
  • Member, Phonetics/Sociolinguistics Search Committee, Stanford University (2002 - 2002)
  • Member, Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2002 - 2005)
  • Undergraduate Advisor, Stanford University (2005 - 2005)
  • Chair, Undergraduate Advising, Stanford University (2005 - 2005)
  • Chair, Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2006 - 2007)
  • Chair, Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2007 - 2008)
  • Member, Sociolinguistics and Syntax Search Committee, Stanford University (2009 - 2010)
  • Undergraduate Advisor, Stanford University (2009 - 2010)
  • Chair, Undergraduate Advising, Stanford University (2009 - 2010)
  • Member, Linguistics Faculty Search Committee, Stanford University (2010 - 2011)

Program Affiliations


  • Center for Latin American Studies

Professional Education


  • Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Linguistics (1979)
  • M.A., University of Pennsylvania, Linguistics (1973)
  • B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz, Sociolinguistics (1971)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


I am a variationist sociolinguist (someone who studies language variation, often quantitatively, in relation to society and culture). I’m interested in understanding the relations between language variation, social structure and meaning, and language change, from descriptive, theoretical and applied perspectives.

A lot of my work has been devoted to understanding the linguistic, social and stylistic constraints on specific linguistic variables, like the variation between Guyanese pronouns am, she, and her in “e like am” (deep creole, basilect) versus “e like she” (intermediate creole, mesolect) versus “He likes her” (standard English, acrolect). Or, to take an American example, the variation between all and like as quotative introducers in “He’s all/like ‘I don’t know’.” But I’ve also been concerned with trying to figure out where such variables come from historically, and whether they represent ongoing or completed change. I’ve also used the data from specific variables to address larger methodological and theoretical concepts in sociolinguistics, like how best to conceptualize the speech community and analyze linguistic variation by social class and ethnicity, or to assess the role of addressee versus topic in style shifting or the validity of the hyothesis that linguistic and social constraints are essentially independent (in their effects, not frequencies).

My data come primarily from English-based creoles of the Caribbean (especially my native Guyanese Creole, but also Jamaican and Barbadian) and from colloquial American English (especially African American Vernacular English, but also, recently, from computer corpora, like Google newsgroup data). I’ve also been interested, increasingly since the 1990s, in how sociolinguistic research can be applied to help us understand and overcome the challenges that vernacular and creole speakers face in schools, where standard/mainstream varieties are expected.

2023-24 Courses


All Publications


  • Racial disparities in automated speech recognition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Koenecke, A., Nam, A., Lake, E., Nudell, J., Quartey, M., Mengesha, Z., Toups, C., Rickford, J. R., Jurafsky, D., Goel, S. 2020

    Abstract

    Automated speech recognition (ASR) systems, which use sophisticated machine-learning algorithms to convert spoken language to text, have become increasingly widespread, powering popular virtual assistants, facilitating automated closed captioning, and enabling digital dictation platforms for health care. Over the last several years, the quality of these systems has dramatically improved, due both to advances in deep learning and to the collection of large-scale datasets used to train the systems. There is concern, however, that these tools do not work equally well for all subgroups of the population. Here, we examine the ability of five state-of-the-art ASR systems-developed by Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, and Microsoft-to transcribe structured interviews conducted with 42 white speakers and 73 black speakers. In total, this corpus spans five US cities and consists of 19.8 h of audio matched on the age and gender of the speaker. We found that all five ASR systems exhibited substantial racial disparities, with an average word error rate (WER) of 0.35 for black speakers compared with 0.19 for white speakers. We trace these disparities to the underlying acoustic models used by the ASR systems as the race gap was equally large on a subset of identical phrases spoken by black and white individuals in our corpus. We conclude by proposing strategies-such as using more diverse training datasets that include African American Vernacular English-to reduce these performance differences and ensure speech recognition technology is inclusive.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1915768117

    View details for PubMedID 32205437

  • Crafting a more integrated, specific, and community-sensitive approach to applied sociolinguistics LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY Rickford, J. R. 2018; 47 (3): 364–68
  • LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS ON TRIAL: HEARING RACHEL JEANTEL (AND OTHER VERNACULAR SPEAKERS) IN THE COURTROOM AND BEYOND LANGUAGE Rickford, J. R., King, S. 2016; 92 (4): 948-988
  • Labov's contributions to the study of African American Vernacular English: Pursuing linguistic and social equity JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS Rickford, J. R. 2016; 20 (4): 561-580

    View details for DOI 10.1111/josl.12198

    View details for Web of Science ID 000389051900010

  • Neighborhood effects on use of African-American Vernacular English. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Rickford, J. R., Duncan, G. J., Gennetian, L. A., Gou, R. Y., Greene, R., Katz, L. F., Kessler, R. C., Kling, J. R., Sanbonmatsu, L., Sanchez-Ordoñez, A. E., Sciandra, M., Thomas, E., Ludwig, J. 2015; 112 (38): 11817-11822

    Abstract

    African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is systematic, rooted in history, and important as an identity marker and expressive resource for its speakers. In these respects, it resembles other vernacular or nonstandard varieties, like Cockney or Appalachian English. But like them, AAVE can trigger discrimination in the workplace, housing market, and schools. Understanding what shapes the relative use of AAVE vs. Standard American English (SAE) is important for policy and scientific reasons. This work presents, to our knowledge, the first experimental estimates of the effects of moving into lower-poverty neighborhoods on AAVE use. We use data on non-Hispanic African-American youth (n = 629) from a large-scale, randomized residential mobility experiment called Moving to Opportunity (MTO), which enrolled a sample of mostly minority families originally living in distressed public housing. Audio recordings of the youth were transcribed and coded for the use of five grammatical and five phonological AAVE features to construct a measure of the proportion of possible instances, or tokens, in which speakers use AAVE rather than SAE speech features. Random assignment to receive a housing voucher to move into a lower-poverty area (the intention-to-treat effect) led youth to live in neighborhoods (census tracts) with an 11 percentage point lower poverty rate on average over the next 10-15 y and reduced the share of AAVE tokens by ∼3 percentage points compared with the MTO control group youth. The MTO effect on AAVE use equals approximately half of the difference in AAVE frequency observed between youth whose parents have a high school diploma and those whose parents do not.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1500176112

    View details for PubMedID 26351663

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4586846

  • Neighborhood effects on use of African-American Vernacular English PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Rickford, J. R., Duncan, G. J., Gennetian, L. A., Gou, R. Y., Greene, R., Katz, L. F., Kessier, R. C., Kling, J. R., Sanbonmatsu, L., Sanchez-Ordonez, A. E., Sciandra, M., Thomas, E., Ludwig, J. 2015; 112 (38): 11817-11822
  • AN EARLY STUDY OF THE SPEECH OF YOUNG BLACK CHILDREN IN CALIFORNIA: WHY IT MATTERS AMERICAN SPEECH Rickford, J. R. 2014; 89 (2): 121-142
  • Girlz II women: Age-grading, language change and stylistic variation JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS Rickford, J., Price, M. 2013; 17 (2): 143-179

    View details for DOI 10.1111/josl.12017

    View details for Web of Science ID 000318242400001

  • African American, Creoles and Other English Vernaculars in Education: A Bibliographical Resource Rickford, J., Sweetland, J., Rickford, A. E., Grano, T. NY: Lawrence Erlbaum and National Council of Teachers of English. 2013
  • The social and the linguistic in sociolinguistic variation: Mii en noo (Me ain’t know) Language, Culture and Caribbean Identity Rickford, J. R. edited by Allsopp, J., Rickford, J. R. Kingston, Jamaica, and Cave Hill, Barbados: Canoe Press and the Centre for Caribbean Lexicography, The University of the West Indies. 2012: 51–59
  • Language, Culture and Caribbean Identity Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J., Allsopp, J. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. 2012
  • The Living Language The American Heritage Dictionary Rickford, J. R. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2011: 5th
  • LePage’s theoretical and applied legacy in sociolinguistics and creole studies Variation in the Caribbean Rickford, J. R. edited by Hinrichs, L., Farquharson, J. Creole Language Library. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 2011
  • Relativizer omission in Anglophone Caribbean Creoles, Appalachian, and African American Vernacular English Language from a Cognitive Perspective: Grammar, Usage and Processing (Studies in Honor of Thomas Wasow) Rickford, J. R. edited by Bender, E. M., Arnold, J. E. Stanford: CSLI Publications. 2011: 139–160
  • The sociolinguistics of a short-lived innovation: Tracing the development of quotative all across spoken and internet newsgroup data LANGUAGE VARIATION AND CHANGE Buchstaller, I., Rickford, J. R., Traugott, E. C., Wasow, T., Zwicky, A. 2010; 22 (2): 191-219
  • The sociolinguistics of a short-loved innovation: Tracing the development of quotative all across spoken and usernet data Language Variation and Change Buchstaller, I., Traugott, E. C., Wasow, T., Zwicky, A., Rickford, J. R. 2010: 1–29
  • Variation, versatility, and contrastive analysis in the classroom Sociolinguistic Variation: Theories, Methods and Applications Rickford, A. E., Rickford, J. R. edited by Bayley, R., Lucas, C. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2009: 276–96
  • From outside agitators to inside implementers: Improving the literacy education of vernacular and creole speakers Ethnolinguistic Diversity and Literacy Education Rickford, A. E., Rickford, J. R. edited by Farr, M., Seloni, L. London: Routledge. 2009
  • AAVE/creole copula absence A critique of the imperfect learning hypothesis JOURNAL OF PIDGIN AND CREOLE LANGUAGES Sharma, D., Rickford, J. R. 2009; 24 (1): 53-90
  • Intensive and quotative all: Something old, something new AMERICAN SPEECH Rickford, J. R., Wasow, T., Zwicky, A., Buchstaller, I. 2007; 82 (1): 3-31
  • Down for the count? The Creole Origins Hypothesis of AAVE at the hands of the PF Ottawa Circle, and their supporters JOURNAL OF PIDGIN AND CREOLE LANGUAGES Rickford, J. R. 2006; 21 (1): 97-155
  • African American English: Roots and Branches English and Ethnicity edited by Brutt-Griffler, J., Davies, C. E., Rickford, J. R. Palgrave Macmillan. 2006
  • Against consensus: Challenging the New Anglicists' contentions concerning the development of AAVE Texas Linguistic Forum Rickford, J. R. 2006; 49: 22-38
  • Foreword Code-Switching: Teaching Standard English in Urban Classrooms Wheeler, R. S., Swords, R., Rickford, J. R. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. 2006: xi-xii
  • The creolist/anglicist quest for the roots and branches of AAVE Studies in Contact Linguistics: Essays in Honor of Glenn G. Gilbert Rickford, J. R. edited by Thornburg, L., Fuller, J. M. Bern/New York: Peter Lang. 2006: 27–43
  • Using the Vernacular to Teach the Standard Ebonics in the Urban Education Debate Rickford, J. R. edited by Ramirez, D., Wiley, T., de Klerk, G., Lee, E., Wright, W. E. Long Beach: Center for Language Minority. 2005; 2nd: 18–40
  • Against consensus: Challenging the New Anglicists' contentions concerning the development of AAVE Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Symposium on Language and Society, Austin Rickford, J. R. edited by Newdick, V. 2005: 15–17
  • African American English and other vernaculars in education: A topic-coded bibliography Journal of English Linguistics Rickford, J. R. 2004; 32 (3): 230-320
  • Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-First Century Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J., Finegan, E. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004
  • Spoken Soul: The Beloved, Belittled Language of Black America Sociolinguistic Variation: Critical Reflections Rickford, J. R. edited by Fought, C. New York: Oxford U Press. 2004: 198–208
  • "Introductions" to thirteen of the twenty-six chapters Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-First Century Rickford, J. R. edited by Finegan, E., Rickford, J. R. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004
  • Pidgins and Creoles Oxford Encyclopedia of Linguistics Rickford, J. R. edited by Bright, W. Oxford University Press. 2003; 2nd: 340–344
  • African American Vernacular English Oxford Encyclopedia of Linguistics Rickford, J. R. Oxford University Press. 2003; 2nd
  • Linguistics, education, and the Ebonics firestorm Georgetown-University Round Table Meeting on Language and Linguistics RICKFORD, J. R. GEORGETOWN UNIV PRESS. 2002: 25–45
  • Style and Sociolinguistic Variation Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J., Eckert, P. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2002
  • Implicational Scales The Handbook of Language Variation and Change Rickford, J. R., Chambers, J. K. edited by Trudgill, P., Schilling-Estes, N. Oxford: Blackwell. 2002: 142–167
  • Language mastery, cultural affirmation, and the success of African American and other students Proceedings of the Los Angeles Unified School District Conference on Developing a Culturally Relevant Education Program that Benefits African American and All Other Students Rickford, J. R. edited by Stevens, F. I. 2002
  • Introduction Style and Sociolinguistic Variation Rickford, J., Eckert, P. edited by Eckert, P., Rickford, J. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2001: 1–18
  • Sociolinguistics and the public: Digging and being dug in return American Speech Rickford, J. R. 2001; 75 (3): 273-275
  • The Ubiquity of Ebonics American Language Review Rickford, J. R., Rickford, R. J. 2001; 5 (2): 20-23
  • Ebonics and Education: Lessons from the Caribbean, Europe and the USA Ebonics and Language Education Rickford, J. R. edited by Crawford, C. New York and London: Sankofa World Publishers. 2001: 263–284
  • Style and Stylizing from the Perspective of a Non-Autonomous Sociolinguistics Style and Sociolinguistic Variation Rickford, J. R. edited by Eckert, P., Rickford, J. R. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2001: 220–231
  • Sociolinguistics and the public: Digging and being dug in return AMERICAN SPEECH RICKFORD, J. R. 2000; 75 (3): 273-275
  • The Living Language The American Heritage Dictionary Rickford, J. R. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2000
  • Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English Rickford, J. R., Rickford, R. J. New York: John Wiley. 2000
  • African American Vernacular English: Features and Use, Evolution, and Educational Implications Rickford, J. Oxford: Blackwell. 1999
  • Variation in the JC copula: New Data and Analysis Creole Genesis, Attitudes and Discourse: Studies Celebrating Charlene Sato Rickford, J. R. edited by Rickford, J. R., Romaine, S. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 1999: 143–156
  • Phonological and Grammatical Features of African American Vernacular English African American English Rickford, J. R. Malden, MA, and Oxford, UK: Blackwell. 1999: 3–14
  • The Ebonics Controversy in my Backyard: A Sociolinguist's Experiences and Reflections Journal of Sociolinguistics Rickford, J. R. 1999; 3
  • Creole Genesis, Attitudes and Discourse: Studies Celebrating Charlene Sato Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J., Romaine, S. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 1999
  • Language diversity and academic achievement in the education of African American students - An overview of the issues Conference of the Coalition on language Diversity in Education RICKFORD, J. R. CENTER APPLIED LINGUISTICS. 1999: 1–29
  • Using the Vernacular to Teach the Standard Ebonics in the Urban Education Debate Ramirez, D. edited by Wiley, T., Klerk, G., Lee, E. Long Beach: Center for Language Minority Education and Research, California State University, Long Beach. 1999: 23–41
  • The Creole Origins of African American Vernacular English: Evidence from Copula Absence African American English Rickford, J. R. edited by Mufwene, S. S., Rickford, J. R., Bailey, G., Baugh, J. London: Routledge. 1998: 154–200
  • African American English Rickford, J. edited by Mufwene, S. S., Rickford, J. R., Bailey, G., Baugh, J. London: Routledge. 1998
  • Unequal partnership: Sociolinguistics and the African American speech community Stanford-University Linguistics Colloquium RICKFORD, J. R. CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. 1997: 161–97
  • Prior Creolization of AAVE? Sociohistorical and Textual Evidence from the 17th and 18th Centuries Journal of Sociolinguistics Rickford, J. R. 1997; 1 (3): 315-336
  • Suite for Ebony and Phonics Discover Rickford, J. R. 1997; 18 (12): 82-87
  • Preterite ''had''+v-''ed'' in the narratives of African-American preadolescents AMERICAN SPEECH RICKFORD, J. R., Rafal, C. T. 1996; 71 (3): 227-254
  • An optimality theoretic approach to variation in negative inversion in AAVE 23rd Annual Conference on New Ways of Analysing Variation Sells, P., Rickford, J., Wasow, T. SPRINGER. 1996: 591–627
  • Foreword Sociolinguistic Variation: Data, Theory and Analysis: Selected Papers from NWAV23 at Stanford Rickford, J. R. 1996
  • Language Contact and Language Generation: Pidgins and Creoles The Handbook of Sociolinguistics Rickford, J. R., McWhorter, J. edited by Coulmas, F. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 1996: 238–256
  • Negative Inversion in African American Vernacular English Natural Language and Linguistic Theory Sells, P., Wasow, T. A., Rickford, J. R. 1996; 14 (3): 591-627
  • Preterit had in the Narratives of African American Adolescents American Speech Rafal, C. T., Rickford, J. R. 1996; 71: 227-254
  • Copula Variability in Jamaican Creole and African American Vernacular English: A Reanalysis of DeCamp's Texts Towards a Social Science of Language: A Festschrift for William Labov Rickford, J. R. edited by Guy, R. G., Baugh, J. G., Schiffrin, D., Feagin, C. Philadelphia and Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 1996: 357–372
  • SYNTACTIC VARIATION AND CHANGE IN PROGRESS - LOSS OF THE VERBAL CODA IN TOPIC-RESTRICTING AS FAR AS CONSTRUCTIONS LANGUAGE RICKFORD, J. R., MendozaDenton, N., WASOW, T. A., ESPINOZA, J. 1995; 71 (1): 102-131
  • Textual Evidence on the Nature of Early Barbadian English, 1676-1870 Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages Handler, J. S., Rickford, J. R. 1995; 9 (2): 221 - 255
  • Regional and Social Variation in Language Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching Rickford, J. R. edited by McKay, S., Hornberger, N. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1995: 151–194
  • Dialect Readers Revisited Linguistics and Education Rickford, A. E., Rickford, J. R. 1995; 7: 107-128
  • Addressee- and Topic-Influenced Style Shift: A Quantitative Sociolinguistic Study Perspectives on Register: Situating Register Variation within Sociolinguistics McNair-Knox, F., Rickford, J. R. edited by Biber, D., Finegan, E. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1994: 235–276
  • TEXTUAL EVIDENCE ON THE NATURE OF EARLY BARBADIAN SPEECH, 1676-1835 JOURNAL OF PIDGIN AND CREOLE LANGUAGES RICKFORD, J. R., Handler, J. S. 1994; 9 (2): 221-255
  • ETHICS, ADVOCACY AND EMPOWERMENT - COMMENTS LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION RICKFORD, J. R. 1993; 13 (2): 129-131
  • Phonological Features in Afro-American Pidgins and Creoles and their Diachronic Significance: Comments on the Papers by Holm and Carter Africanisms in Afro-American Language Varieties Rickford, J. R. edited by Mufwene, S. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 1993: 346–363
  • Linguistic and Cultural Diversity as Challenge and Opportunity: American and European Perspectives Migration in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities Rickford, J. R. edited by Dörrenbächer, H., Kramer, K., Baughman, S. Berlin: Stanford Program in Berlin. 1993: 70–84
  • Grammatical Variation and Divergence in Vernacular Black English Internal and External Factors in Syntactic Change Rickford, J. R. edited by Gerritsen, M., Stein, D. Berlin and New York: Mouton. 1992: 175–200
  • The Creole Residue in Barbados Old English and New: Studies in Language and Linguistics in Honor of Frederic G. Cassidy Rickford, J. R. edited by Hall, J., Doane, N., Ringler, D. New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc.. 1992: 183–201
  • Contemporary Source Comparison as a Critical Window on the Afro-American Linguistic Past Verb Phrase Patterns in Black English and Creole Rickford, J. R. edited by Edwards, W., Winford, D. Detroit: Wayne State U Press. 1991: 302–322
  • Rappin on the Copula Coffin: Theoretical and Methodological Issues in the Analysis of Copula Variation in African American Vernacular English Language Variation and Change Rickford, J. R., Ball, A., Blake, R., Jackson, R., Martin, N. 1991; 3 (1): 103-132
  • Representativeness and Reliability of the Ex-Slave Narrative Materials, with Special Reference to Wallace Quarterman’s Tape and Transcript Emergence of Black English: Texts & Commentary Rickford, J. R. edited by Bailey, G., Maynor, N., Cukor-Avila, P. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 1991: 191–212
  • Implicational Scaling and Critical Age Limits in Models of Linguistic Variation, Acquisition and Change Cross Currents in Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theories Rickford, J. R. edited by Ferguson, C. A., Huebner, T. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 1991: 225–246
  • Pidgins, Creoles and Language Change Oxford International Encyclopedia of Linguistics Rickford, J. R. edited by Bright, W. Oxford: Oxford U Press. 1991: 224–232
  • Sociolinguistic Variation in Cane Walk: A Quantitative Case Study English Around The World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives Rickford, J. R. edited by Cheshire, J. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1991: 609–616
  • NUMBER DELIMITATION IN GULLAH - A RESPONSE TO MUFWENE AMERICAN SPEECH RICKFORD, J. R. 1990; 65 (2): 148-163
  • DIALECTS IN CONTACT - TRUDGILL,P (Book Review) LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY Book Review Authored by: RICKFORD, J. R. 1990; 19 (2): 268-274
  • Contraction and Deletion of the Copula in Barbadian English Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society Rickford, J. R., Blake, R. 1990: 257–68
  • Sociolinguistic Research on the Caribbean Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook Q the Science of Language and Society Rickford, J. R. edited by Ammon, U., Dittmar, N., Mattheir, K. J. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter. 1988: 1313–1324
  • Language Contact, Variation and Diffusion: Microlevel Community Perspectives Language Spread and Public Policy: Issues, Implications, and Case Studies Rickford, J. R. edited by Lowernberg, P. Washington, DC: Georgetown U. Press. 1988: 25–44
  • The Evolution of Creole Languages: Real and Apparent Time Evidence Linguistic Change and Contact: NWAV-XVI Rickford, J. R. edited by Ferrara, K., Brown, B., Walters, K., Baugh, J. Austin: University of Texas. 1988: 298–309
  • CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND PIDGIN-CREOLE STUDIES INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE RICKFORD, J. R. 1988: 51-57
  • SOCIAL-CLASS GROUPINGS IN SOCIOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH AMERICAN SPEECH Schuhmacher, W. W. 1987; 62 (3): 281-285
  • THE HAVES AND HAVE NOTS - SOCIOLINGUISTIC SURVEYS AND THE ASSESSMENT OF SPEAKER COMPETENCE LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY RICKFORD, J. R. 1987; 16 (2): 149-178
  • ARE BLACK AND WHITE VERNACULARS DIVERGING AMERICAN SPEECH FASOLD, R. W., Rickford, J., LABOV, W., VAUGHNCOOKE, F. B., Bailey, G., WOLFRAM, V. W., Spears, A. K. 1987; 62 (1): 3-80
  • PAST MARKING IN THE GUYANESE MESOLECT - A CLOSE LOOK AT BONNETTE 15TH ANNUAL CONF ON NEW WAY OF ANALYZING VARIATION IN LANGUAGE ( NWAV-XV ) RICKFORD, J. R. STANFORD LINGUISTICS ASSOC. 1987: 379–394
  • Variation in Language Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J. Department of Linguistics, Stanford University. 1987
  • Dimensions of a Creole Continuum Rickford, J. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 1987
  • Sociolinguistics and Pidgin-Creole Studies International Journal of the Sociology of Language Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J. Mouton, The Hague. 1987
  • Past Marking in the Mesolect: A Close Look at Bonnette Variation in Language Rickford, J. R. edited by Dennings, K., Inkelas, S., Mc-Nair-Knox, F., Rickford, J. R. Stanford: Department of Linguistics. 1987: 379–394
  • Decreolization Paths for Guyanese Singular Pronouns Pidgin and Creole Languages: Essays in Honor of John E. Reinecke Rickford, J. R. edited by Gilbert, G. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii. 1987: 130–138
  • ME TARZAN, YOU JANE - ADEQUACY, EXPRESSIVENESS, AND THE CREOLE SPEAKER JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS RICKFORD, J. R. 1986; 22 (2): 281-310
  • SOCIAL CONTACT AND LINGUISTIC DIFFUSION - HIBERNO-ENGLISH AND NEW-WORLD BLACK-ENGLISH LANGUAGE RICKFORD, J. R. 1986; 62 (2): 245-289
  • Concord and Contrast in the Characterization of the Speech Community Sheffield Working Papers in Language and Linguistics Rickford, J. R. 1986; 3: 87 - 119
  • Studies in Caribbean Language Journal of Caribbean Education Rickford, R. R. 1986
  • Note (On the Significance and Use of Documentary Pidgin-Creole Texts) Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages Rickford, J. R. 1986; 1 (1): 159 - 163
  • Riddling and Lying: Participation and Performance The Fergusonian Impac Rickford, J. R. edited by Fishman, J. A. The Hague: Mouton. 1986: 89–106
  • Me Tarzan, You Jane: Cognition, Expression and the Creole Speaker Journal of Linguistics Rickford, J. R. 1986; 22 (2): 281-310
  • THE NEED FOR NEW APPROACHES TO SOCIAL-CLASS ANALYSIS IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION RICKFORD, J. R. 1986; 6 (3): 215-221
  • Symbol of Powerlessness and Degeneracy, or Symbol of Solidarity and Truth? Paradoxical Attitudes towards Pidgins and Creole The English Language Today Rickford, J. R., Traugott, E. C. edited by Greenbaum, S. Oxford: Pergamon. 1985: 252–261
  • The Social Context of Creolization Studies in Second Language Acquisition Rickford, J. 1985; 7: 343-350
  • Some Principles for the Study of Black and White Speech in the South Language Variety in the South: Perspectives in Black and White Rickford, J. R. edited by Montgomery, M., Bailey, G. U. of Alabama Press. 1985: 38–62
  • Standard and Non-Standard Language Attitudes in a Creole Continuum Language of Inequality Rickford, J. edited by Wolfson, N., Manes, J. The Hague: Mouton. 1985: 145–160
  • ETHNICITY AS A SOCIOLINGUISTIC BOUNDARY AMERICAN SPEECH RICKFORD, J. R. 1985; 60 (2): 99-125
  • COMPARATIVE AFRO-AMERICAN - AN HISTORICAL-COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOME AFRO-AMERICAN DIALECTS IN THE NEW-WORLD - ALLEYNE,M (Book Review) LANGUAGE Book Review Authored by: RICKFORD, J. R. 1983; 59 (3): 670-676
  • What Happens in Decreolization Pidginization and Creolization as Language Acquisition Rickford, J. R. edited by Andersen, R. Rowley, Ma.: Newbury House. 1983: 298–319
  • Standard and Non-Standard Language Attitudes in a Creole Continuum Society for Caribbean Linguistics Occasional Paper 16 Rickford, J. R. 1983
  • A Variable Rule for a Creole Continuum Variation Omnibus Rickford, J. R. edited by Sankoff, D., Cedergren, H. Carbondale and Edmonton: Linguistic Research, Inc.. 1981: 201–208
  • Analyzing Variation in Creole Languages Theoretical Orientations in Creole Studies Rickford, J. R. edited by Valdman, A., Highfield, A. New York: Academic Press. 1980
  • How Does DOZ Disappear Rickford, J. R. edited by Day, R. 1980: 77–96
  • Cut-Eye and Suck-Teeth: African Words and Gestures in New World Guise Perspectives on American English Rickford, J. edited by Dillard, J. The Hague: Mouton. 1980: 347–366
  • A Festival of Guyanese Words Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J. 1978
  • Non-Standard Words and Expressions in the Writing of Guyanese School-Children A Festival of Guyanese Words Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J. R. Georgetown: University of Guyana. 1978: 40–56
  • Cut-Eye and Suck-Teeth: African Words and Gestures in New World Guise Readings in American Folklore Rickford, J. edited by Brunvand, J. H. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., Inc. 1978: 355–373
  • The Field of Pidgin-Creole Studies: a Review Article on Loreto Todd’s Pidgins and Creoles World Literature Written in English (MLA Division #33) Ricford, J. R. 1977; 16: 477 - 513
  • The Question of Prior Creolization in Black English Pidgin and Creole Linguistics Rickford, J. R. edited by Valdman, A. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana U. Press. 1977: 126–146
  • CUT-EYE AND SUCK-TEETH - AFRICAN WORDS AND GESTURES IN NEW WORLD GUISE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLKLORE RICKFORD, J. R., RICKFORD, A. E. 1976; 89 (353): 294-309
  • Communicating in a Creole Continuum New Directions in Creole Studies Rickford, J. edited by Cave, G. Georgetown: Society for Caribbean Linguistics. 1976
  • A Festival of Guyanese Words Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J. Georgetown: University of Guyana. 1976
  • Non-Standard Words and Expressions in the Writing of Guyanese School-Children A Festival of Guyanese Words Rickford, J. edited by Rickford, J. R. Georgetown: University of Guyana. 1976: 25–45
  • Carrying the New Wave into Syntax: the Case of Black English BIN Analyzing Variation in Language Rickford, J. edited by Fasold, R., Shuy, R. Washington, D. C.: Georgetown U. Press. 1975: 162–183
  • The Insights of the Mesolect Pidgins and Creoles: Current Trends and Prospects Rickford, J. edited by DeCamp, D., Hancock, I. Washington, D. C.: Georgetown U. Press. 1974: 92–117