You Have to Keep Fighting

Interview with John R. Rickford

Bibliographic Data

ID3648418
AuthorsLauren Hall-Lew (0000-0003-3111-0352, University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume29
Issue4
Pages294-301
Publication date2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Sociolinguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-6441 • E-ISSN: 1467-9841
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/josl.12710
OpenAlexW4413834561
LanguageEN
References cited10

In this interview, John R. Rickford reflects on his career working on sociolinguistics in Guyana and the United States. The interview focuses on sociolinguistics and social justice, with particular focus on the potential for linguistic expertise in legal contexts. He addresses the concept of the creole continuum, and the concept of the conflict theory of social class, advocating for the importance of both. The interview also touches on Rickford's stroke and his thoughts on disability and sociolinguistics. Rickford makes a strong case for a positive future for the field of sociolinguistics and its changing position relative to linguistics, more generally. Through personal stories both in and out of academia, Rickford's career is a shining example of how the intertwining of the personal and the political is central to a life in sociolinguistics

Linguistics · Media studies · Sociology · Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Psychology

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