Portrait photo of noted UC Davis linguist
UC Davis linguistics professor Robert Bayley has been named to the American Dialect Society's inaugural class of fellows.

American Dialect Society Honors UC Davis Linguist

Robert Bayley, professor of linguistics, was recently named to the inaugural class of fellows of the American Dialect Society for his scholarly achievements and service to the society.

A sociolinguist, Bayley studies language variation and language socialization, especially in bilingual and second-language populations. Among his 140 publications are The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics (co-editor) and The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL (co-author), the first empirical study of Black American Sign Language. Research findings of The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL are featured in a documentary Signing Black in America that began screening on public television stations and college campuses in 2020.

A UC Davis faculty member since 2006, Bayley served as the American Dialect Society’s president in 2015–17 and as editor of its publication series during 2006–19.

He is one of 10 inaugural fellows who were selected by a vote of the society’s executive committee in a virtual meeting in December.

The American Dialect Society, founded in 1889, is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages influencing it or influenced by it.

Learn more

“Black, Deaf and Extremely Online,” The New York Times, 1/23/21

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