Media Assistance: Neil Schoenherr News Writer; Assoc. Record Editor nschoenherr@wustl.edu (314) 935-5235

• Director, African and African American Studies (http://news-info.wustl.edu/group/page/normal/10.html)
• Professor, Psychology (http://news-info.wustl.edu/group/page/normal/47.html)

John Baugh

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• Ph.D. in Linguistics at University of Pennsylvania
• M.A. in Linguistics at University of Pennsylvania
• B.A. in Speech and Rhetoric at Temple University

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Presidential politics Current presidential campaign is becoming "hyper-racial," says expert (http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/11296.html) March 19, 2008 -- Observing that the current presidential campaign is becoming "hyper-racial," a noted linguist and African American studies expert at Washington University in St. Louis suggests voters participate in a "linguistic thought experiment" to determine the extent that candidates are able to discuss race or gender on the campaign trail.

Linguistic profiling Conference to examine many angles of discrimination (http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/7074.html) April 24, 2006 -- The Linguistic Profiling and Linguistic Human Rights conference will be held on campus April 28-29. Sponsored by African and African American Studies in Arts & Sciences and the Ford Foundation, the conference will explore issues surrounding legal considerations of linguistic profiling, fair housing, language restriction on the job and racial, sexual and deaf discrimination, among others.

Diverse dialects Linguistic profiling: The sound of your voice may determine if you get that apartment or not (http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/6500.html) Feb. 2, 2006 -- Many Americans can guess a caller's ethnic background from their first hello on the telephone. Can the sound of your voice be used against you? However, the inventor of the term "linguistic profiling" has found that when a voice sounds African-American or Mexican-American, racial discrimination may follow. In studying this phenomenon through hundreds of test phone calls, John Baugh, Ph.D., the Margaret Bush Wilson Professor and director of African and African American Studies in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has found that many people made racist, snap judgments about callers with diverse dialects. Some potential employers, real estate agents, loan officers and service providers did it repeatedly, he says. Long before they could evaluate callers' abilities, accomplishments, credit rating, work ethic or good works, they blocked callers based solely on linguistics.

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Clips:

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Use it? Or lose it? The Los Angeles Times and 2 others Dec. 5, 2006 -- WUSTL professor and linguistics expert John Baugh comments on the heated debate over the use of the N-word. "A ban -- forced or voluntary -- isn't likely to have much real effect, especially since you can't ban the emotions that fuel its use, from the passion of hatred to the affection of inclusion, he believes. Ban the N-word and another linguistic shorthand will arise to take its place, its historical symbolism still intact."

Use it? Or lose it? The Los Angeles Times and 2 others Dec. 5, 2006 -- WUSTL professor and linguistics expert John Baugh comments on the heated debate over the use of the N-word. "A ban -- forced or voluntary -- isn't likely to have much real effect, especially since you can't ban the emotions that fuel its use, from the passion of hatred to the affection of inclusion, he believes. Ban the N-word and another linguistic shorthand will arise to take its place, its historical symbolism still intact."

He has written several widely acclaimed books. Baugh's first major research contribution was Black Street Speech: Its History, Structure and Survival in 1983. This work examines how many African-Americans negotiate on a daily basis through several distinct linguistic traditions, much as do bilinguals living in a society where several languages are spoken. Baugh has published two other major works: Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice in 1999 and Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice in 2000. In Beyond Ebonics, Baugh debunks many commonly held notions about the way African-Americans speak English and provides a balanced portrayal of a difficult subject. The New Yorker called Beyond Ebonics a "lucid new study" in which "Baugh argues that the good intentions of the Oakland school board were frustrated by elastic definitions of Ebonics that ultimately undermine its scientific validity."

Related Information Related Links: • African and African American Studies Web page (http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~afas/) • Department of Psychology Web page (http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~psych/) Related Groups: