Annotated Bibliography

Topic: Linguistic Profiling- Background and history (research completed by John Baugh) of the term and how and why it is a more subtle, but just as serious form of discrimination. Along with proof it exists and examples of linguistic profiling limiting the rights and equal consideration of others. A more in depth consideration of the consequences linked to linguistic profiling.

Erard, Michael. "Language Matters." Legalaffaris.org Jul. 2002. 18 Nov. 2009. <http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2002/story_erard_julaug2002.msp>

Within this online article from a magazine that intersects law and life, Legal Affairs, Michael Erard acknowledges John Baugh’s term-linguistic profiling and gives the background on how Baugh realized this theory. The examples of his personal experience will be an excellent way to help readers connect to the idea and concept of what linguistic profiling is and not just the term. Baugh uses this theory to show the importance of recognizing the “subtle discrimination” within linguistic profiling and how it affects different ethnic groups and races, and this is not limited to African Americans, but a range of non-Standard English speakers. Also, there are statistics included about Baugh’s research that can be used as evidence proving people are capable and do identify who a person is based on hearing their voice. Erard states, “ …fair-housing advocates think that a firm legal precedent acknowledging linguistic profiling can’t do any harm, and will only make legislation easier.” Using this statement will show how linguistic profiling could become useful as assistance in the courtroom. He also points out how many insurance and home mortgage companies conduct negotiations and transactions entirely by phone. The importance of this observation will help to demonstrate how the linguistic profiling could easily happen in the business world. This article is a great resource of evidence and expansion of linguistic profiling, especially since it likewise includes John Baugh.

Johnson, Patrice. “Linguistic Profiling.” Theblackcommentator.com 5 Apr. 2002. 18 Nov. 2009. <http://www.blackcommentator.com/linguistic_profiling.html>

Patrice Jonhson confirms linguistic profiling and also uses the evidence of John Baugh to help readers understand and explore the process of linguistic profiling. Johnson endorses, “ Research by John Baugh and others has demonstrated that racial identification by speech takes place all the time, and it has had several legal implications.” Within “Linguistic Profiling” Johnson also parallels linguistic profiling with racial profiling:

“ ....a practice infamously employed by police officers, who stop and search Blacks simply because they fit a ‘profile.’ In linguistic profiling, however the racial cues are verbal rather than visual.”

A humorous definition Johnson uses is TWB- Talking While Black. This demonstrates how people use a telephone conversation to determine the race of someone based solely on the way the individual sounds. “Apparently if a speaker on the telephone sounds African-American, he is subject to the same kind of racial discrimination as he might be in a face-to-face encounter,” declares Patrice Johnson. The following questions are intellectually challenging questions proposed to make readers realize the significance in maintaining awareness of linguistic profiling. After all, they may be well educated, and gainfully employed; in other words they look great on paper. What could possibly put them at a disadvantage? These questions equally exemplify how linguistic profiling is not a fair act to anyone. At the close of this article Johnson proposes the following solution that will accommodate the conclusion in my paper to what can be done about linguistic profiling: “The only way to put a stop to linguistic profiling is for those who know about it to report it and make the offenders pay.” I believe the use of these vivid quotes and examples in correlation to the problem of linguistic profiling will be aid to prove linguistic profiling exists whether it is done consciously or subconsciously. Because this is a form of discrimination it is important to make the readers aware of the consequences and problems that derive from such an act.

An Example Annotation

Dear All,

This week, your blog assignment is to lay the groundwork for your final paper by doing research. By assessing and summarizing research, you prepare yourself to use it in your paper. This is what an annotated bibliography entry looks like (you will be doing two of these):

Topic: The use of dialect for humorous and moral commentary in nineteenth-century literature.

Cox, James M. “Toward Vernacular Humor.” Critical Essays on American Humor. Ed. William Bedford Clark and W. Craig Turner. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1984, 107-120. Print.

James Cox analyzes the humorous projection of Huck Finn's voice, asserting that Huck’s illiterate writing of the book is another element of the inversion that leads to the climactic statement of “All right, then, I’ll go to hell!” Cox links the ability to discover the right moral choice (to steal Jim out of slavery) with the lack of rationalizing education which is reflected in Huck's ungrammatical speech. Cox also traces Holden Caulfield's (from J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye) improvement of grammar as he matures and learns. However, Holden is not a typical bildingsroman because of his sexualized humor and his “protective” swearing. Cox's article offers nuanced arguments for the use of dialect in the nineteenth century (and the twentieth) as a way of establishing the “natural” morality of a character. I would use Cox’s article to suggest that one can romanticize a non-standard dialect to the point that it achieves a form of elitism – it is viewed as more natural, and therefore more moral. However, I want to argue that while this sort of romanticizing can do positive work on people’s language ideologies, I believe that the work of linguists to prove the equal validity of all dialects to be more important.