Language is an inherently sociocultural phenomenon, and so linguistic structure cannot be separated from language users. But if it is important to study society in order to understand language, it is equally important to study language in order to understand society. In a world of infinite diversity based on race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, social class, region, nationality, and many other dimensions, language provides a way of organizing social similarity and difference. In this process, linguistic features are not mere indicators of pre-existing identities but resources that speakers can draw on and shape to their social and interactional needs. This insight—that we are what we say—is one of the most exciting contributions of sociocultural approaches to linguistics. My own research interest lies in trying to understand how linguistic forms take on social meanings through their association with particular kinds of speakers and settings, and how these associations can be reinforced or altered in specific contexts. Through ethnographic methods, we can examine speakers’ own perspectives on this phenomenon: What identities matter in a local context? What ideologies about language and social categories influence speakers’ choices? To answer these questions, rather than examine a single linguistic feature or level, I prefer to investigate how multiple elements of language—from phonology to syntax to the lexicon—work together in discourse, as well as how elements of language are represented ideologically through metalinguistic means. This sociocultural approach reveals the real-world consequences of language as a resource for social power as well as social identity.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Styles and stereotypes: The linguistic negotiation of identity among Laotian American youth. Pragmatics 14(2-3):127-147, 2004

Theorizing identity in language and sexuality research. Language in Society 33(4):501-547, 2004 (with Kira Hall)

Language and woman’s place: Text and commentaries. Revised and expanded edition. By Robin Tolmach Lakoff, ed. Mary Bucholtz. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004

Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies 7(4-5):585-614, 2005 (with Kira Hall)

Word up: Social meanings of slang in California youth culture. In Jane Goodman & Leila Monaghan, eds., A cultural approach to interpersonal communication: Essential readings. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 243-267, 2006

CURRENT PROJECTS

• language, race, and subcultural identities among California teenagers
• theories, methods, and politics of linguistic transcription
• language use and academic achievement among Latino migrant high school students in Southern California
• the linguistic representation of African American Vernacular English in popular culture
• social interaction and gender among math and science undergraduates

COURSES TAUGHT

• Linguistics 70: Language in Society
• Linguistics 131: Sociolinguistics
• Linguistics 132: Language, Gender, and Sexuality
• Linguistics 136: African American Language and Culture
• Linguistics 230: Methods in Sociocultural Linguistics
• Linguistics 232: Foundations of Sociocultural Linguistics
• Linguistics 233: Language, Gender, and Sexuality
• Linguistics 258A-B: Seminar in Sociocultural Linguistics
  - Recent seminar topics: Language and Identity; Doing Difference, Using Difference (co-taught with Gene Lerner, Sociology)