User:Kkanders55/sandbox

Hallo, ich ^teste die sanbox ... schoen schoen.

Article Evaluation of "William Labov" (Assignment #2)

• Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? Everything mentioned in the article is also relevant in my opinion. The presentation of Labov's work is missing some detail as I mention under "Are there viewpoints that are underrepresented." It does not explain why Labov's works were so essential i the study of Sociolingusitic or what they contributed to the field. Additionally, the sub-heading Language in use does not entirely replicate what is stated there and therefore, can be confusing. I suggest: Language Change, Principles of Linguistic, Principles of Sociolinguisitc or Language Change in consideration of Principles in Socioingutics.
  • Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? In my opinion, the article is neutral. There are claims made about him being 'an enormously influential figure in the field' and 'founder of the discipline' but those are also backed up by several sources. The article also mentions scholarly criticism on Labov's work and therefore, gives a good overview of Labov's work.
  • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? Since Labov's Martha's Vineyard study was the first of its kind and revolutionary in the study of Sociolinguistics, I feel it could have been further described in one or two more sentences. Information about the study's particular content, result or contribution in the field would have been interesting. The Martha's Vineyard Wikipedia page mainly gives historical and geographical information. It does not have to be the his Biography section, but could have been addresses in the Work section. Should note that Labov studied English and Philosophy at Harvard. A deeper explanation of Labov's second study on New York City's dialect patterns would also explain the his studies as founder of Sociolinguisitcs. His hypothesis of the populations use of /r/., results, and explanation could be addressed in a couple sentences to give readers a better understanding of his work.
  • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article? Yes, the links were working for all citations I checked.
  • Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? Right in the beginning of the article, Labov is described via direct quote. Even though that gives the article credibility, I thought Wikipedia prefers paraphrasing over direct quotations. Direct quotes occur again under Scholarly influence and criticism. The selection of sources seems neutral. The article refers to A Student's Dictionary of Language and Linguistics to give general information, Labov and Waletzky's work Narrative analysis: Oral versions of personal experience to explain their study, and particular authors' works that criticize Labov's theories and practices.
  • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added? It could be added that Labov retired from teaching in 2014, but is still active in research matters. Simply saying that he "semi-retired" in 2014 can seem confusing.
  • Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? The Talk page discusses the proper pronunciation of Labov's name, the reference to Labov as "founder of the discipline," the lack of pictures in the article.
  • How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? WikiProject Biography/Science and Academia (Rated Start-calss) WikiProject Philadelphia (Rated Start-class, Mid-importance) WikiProject United States/Cape Cod and the Islands (Rated Start-class, Low-importance) WikiProject Linugisitcs (Rated Start-class) WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia WikiProject University of Pennsylvania (Rated Start-class, Low-importance)
  • How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? We have not directly discussed Bill Labov in class, but referred to him and read about him in the 1st chapter of Making Waves
• Optional, but recommended: Alongside the notes you make in your sandbox, choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes: Kkanders55 (talk) 19:09, 24 September 2017 (UTC).

"John R. Rickford" (Assignment #3)

• Additional facts about Rickford's education: B.A. in x,y,z, master's degree?, Ph.D. in x,y,z
• Short overview about the development of his career over time
• Paragraph about how his work impacted the recognition of African American English as an official dialect
• Overviews of other of Rickford's influential and significant works in and outside of the field
• Organizations, motivations, aspirations

Possible relevant sources

• http://www.johnrickford.com/
• Rickford, John R. "an Early Study of the Speech of Young Black Children in California: Why it Matters." American Speech, vol. 89, no. 2, 2014, pp. 121-142.
• Nandakumar, Maya. "Prioritize on-Campus Discussions Instead of Lectures." University Wire, 2015.
• Sparks, S. D. (2014). Language program focuses on dialects. Education Week, 34(3), 1-1, 14, 15.
• Shankar, Shalini. "Linguistic Anthropology in 2016: Now what?" American Anthropologist, vol. 119, no. 2, 2017, pp. 319-332.
• Rickford, John R. “Language.” Language, vol. 59, no. 3, 1983, pp. 670–676.
• Finegan, Edward, and John R. Rickford. Language in the USA : Themes for the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press, West Nyack, 2004

Draft of "John R. Rickford" article - for peer review (for Assignment #4)

John Russell Rickford (born September 16, 1949 in Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese academic and author, who primary focuses his research on Sociolinguistics. Rickford examines the relation between linguistics variation and change and social structure. His book Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English, which he wrote together with his son, Russell J. Rickford, won the American Book Award in 2000. Rickford is the J. E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Linguistics and the Humanities at Stanford University's Department of Linguistics and the Stanford Graduate School of Education, where he has taught since 1980.

Biography

John Russel Rickford is married to Angela Rickford. The two have four children; Shiyama, Russel, Anakela, Luke

Education

After receiving his BA in Sociolinguistics from the University of California, Santa Cruz (1968-1971), Rickford continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned his MA in Linguistics (1971-1973) and his Ph.D. in Linguistics in 1979.

Work

Before working at Stanford University, Rickford held lectures in Linguistics at University of Guyana and was named Assistant Dean, Faculty of Arts between 1979-1980. He later started teaching at Stanford University in 1980 as Visiting Assistant Linguistics Professor before being named Associate Professor, with tenure, in Linguistics (1986). While working in the United States, Rickford kept engaging with the University of Guyana as external examiner for Linguistics courses, MA and PhD theses (1982- present).

Courses taught at Stanford included African American Vernacular English, Vernacular English and Reading, Sociolinguistic Theory and Analysis, Sociolinguistics and Pidgin-Creole Studies,Spoken Soul--Black English and its Controversies, Language in the USA et al.

Field of Expertise

Rickford's research in Sociolinguistic focuses on the relation between language variation and ethnicity, social class, variation and change. He pays special attention to African American Vernacular English and the role linguistics plays in the educational context. Rickford also engages in research regarding pideon and creole languages.

Most of Rickford's data comes from English-based creoles of the Caribbean. Especially, Guyanese Creole, Jamaican and Barbadian and American English.

Memberships in Professional Societies

Member: American Anthropological Association, American Dialect Society, International Sociolinguistics Association, Linguistic Society of America et al.

Executive Committee Member: Linguistic Society of America [LSA], et al.

Vice-President, President and Immediate Past President: Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, Society for Caribbean Linguistics, Linguistic Society of America e al.

Publications

Earlier publications

“The Insights of the Mesolect.”  In Pidgins and Creoles: Current Trends and Prospects, ed. D. DeCamp and I. Hancock, 92-117. Washington, D. C.: Georgetown U. Press, 1974.

“The Question of Prior Creolization in Black English.” In Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, ed. A. Valdman, 126-46.  Bloomington, Indiana:  Indiana U. Press, 1977.

(Ed.), A Festival of Guyanese Words. Georgetown: University of Guyana. Second edition, revised and expanded, 1978.

“The Question of Prior Creolization in Black English.” In Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, ed. A. Valdman, 126-46.  Bloomington, Indiana:  Indiana U. Press, 1985.

African American English, ed. by Salikoko S. Mufwene, John R. Rickford, Guy Bailey and John Baugh. London: Routledge, 1998.

Spoken Soul:  The Story of Black English.  (With Russell J. Rickford) New York: John Wiley, 2000. [Winner of a 2000 American Book Award]

Later publications

Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-First Century, ed. (With Edward Finegan). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

“Girlz II Women: Age-grading, language change, and stylistic variation.” Journal of Sociolinguistics, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 143-179, 2013.

“Style shifting in a creole-speaking community.”  PAPIA, São Paulo, vol. 24 no. 1, pp. 217-238, 2014.

“Teaching English to Vernacular Speakers in US and Caribbean Schools.” (With Angela E. Rickford.)  In Hazel Simmons-McDonald and Ian F. Robertson, eds. Education Issues in Creole and Creole-Influenced Contexts, 271-29, 2014.

“African American Vernacular English in California: A vibrant half century of study.” In Oxford Handbook of African American Language,ii eg. by Sonja Lanehart, 299-315. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.

“Language and linguistics on trial:  Hearing Rachel Jeantel and other vernacular speakers in the courtroom and beyond.”  Language vol. 92, no. 4, 2016, pp. 948-988.

Summary of most popular works/impact of his work on the academic world