Mary Bucholtz
· Professor, LinguisticsVerifiedUniversity of California, Santa Barbara · Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Active 1992–2026
About
Mary Bucholtz is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is affiliated with the Latin American & Iberian Studies Program. Her academic focus is in sociocultural linguistics, and she is involved in research related to language and culture within Latin American and Iberian contexts. She serves as the Director of the Latin American & Iberian Studies Program and is actively engaged in the academic community through her administrative roles and contributions to graduate and undergraduate education. Her work emphasizes the intersection of language, identity, and social practices, contributing to the understanding of sociocultural dynamics in diverse linguistic communities.
Research topics
- Sociology
- Political Science
- Social Science
- Linguistics
- Pedagogy
- Gender studies
- Law
- Psychology
- Epistemology
- Political economy
- Criminology
- Philosophy
Selected publications
Language · 2026-04-08
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAbstract In light of the growing number of undergraduates from racially minoritized backgrounds at newly emergent Minority-Serving Institutions and other colleges and universities, linguists have a special responsibility to engage such students, particularly through projects that connect to students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This article describes undergraduates’ learning experiences in a research collective committed to community-centered collaborative work to advance sociolinguistic justice for the Mexican Indigenous diasporic community in California. The discussion centers the voices of undergraduate team members to demonstrate the benefits of students’ learning with respect to the research process, linguistics as a discipline, and understanding of self, family, and community.
The Work Continues: Decolonization and Inclusion in Linguistics in a Time of Crisi <i>s</i>
Journal of Sociolinguistics · 2026-05-16
articleSenior authorABSTRACT Charity Hudley, Mallinson, and Bucholtz respond to the Decolonizing Linguistics and Inclusion in Linguistics Book Symposium with commentaries by Felix Banda, Rodrigo Borba, Dominique Branson, Erica Britt, Vincent Pak, and Tsung‐Lun Alan Wan. The response describes how the volumes’ co‐editors and contributors have moved the work from the dialogue that began during the height of the COVID‐19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter Movement to the actions they have been taking since 2016. They also discuss the backlash to the work and related activities that they have faced, particularly in the context of the anti‐diversity policies of the present political and higher education climate in the United States, and they provide action items and next steps for what they see as the fight for the future of linguistics.
2025-01-01
book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAdvancing social justice and democracy through participatory research
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development · 2025-09-11
article1st authorCorresponding2025-05-06
book-chapterSenior authorNumerous U.S. television series featuring Latinx characters and Spanish-English bilingualism have gained national prominence in the past two decades. In these shows, portrayals of bilingualism range from overtly racist humor to more nuanced representations targeting a Latinx audience. In order to identify trends in these representations over time, the present study analyzes Spanish-language dialogue across six Latinx-themed comedies or comedy-dramas released between 2002 and 2020. The analysis demonstrates that while television representations of Latinx bilingual practices have become more sophisticated and realistic, some practices remain inaudible or inaccurate. As television has become more inclusive of Latinx language and culture, these gaps result in a linguistically amplified yet oversimplified televised representation of Latinidad that does not entirely break free of problematic raciolinguistic ideologies.
2024-03-30 · 1 citations
book-chapterOpen accessSenior authorAbstract This conclusion to Decolonizing Linguistics reflects on how to translate the guiding principles of decolonization into concrete action, with a focus on what can be done by the scholarly community, colleges and universities, departments, and individuals. Returning to the chapters in this volume, the conclusion explores the action plans that the authors lay out. This practical discussion begins with the fundamental recognition that decolonization is both ongoing and imperative and then considers in turn teaching and learning as a decolonizing process; decolonizing research practices; engaging in decolonization as an ongoing process; and refusing to engage in colonial ways of thinking and acting. The chapter, and the volume, concludes by calling for transparency and open, critical dialogue as linguists continue to grapple with the discipline’s colonial legacy and ongoing colonial ideologies and practices and work toward a decolonized future.
Teaching Linguistic Justice through Augmented Reality
arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-04-19
preprintOpen accessThis position paper presents the AR Language Map, a speculative artifact designed to enhance understanding of linguistic justice among middle and high school students through augmented reality (AR) that allows students to map their linguistic experiences. Through a social justice-oriented academic outreach program aimed at linguistically, economically, and racially minoritized students, academic concepts on language, culture, race, and power are introduced to California middle school and high school students. The curriculum has activities for each lesson plan drawn from students' culturally relevant experiences. By enabling interactive exploration of linguistic justice, this tool aims to foster empathy, challenge linguistic racism, and valorize linguistic diversity. We discuss its conceptualization within the broader context of AR in social justice education. The AR Language Map not only deepens students' understanding of these critical issues but also enables them to become co-creators of their learning experiences.
2024-03-21 · 1 citations
book-chapterOpen accessSenior authorAbstract This conclusion to Inclusion in Linguistics provides a set of action plans to make linguistics a genuinely and intersectionally inclusive discipline and profession not merely in philosophy but, crucially, in practice. The resulting roadmap highlights specific recommendations made by the authors of the foregoing chapters, with particular attention to how to foster inclusion intersectionally, structurally, and educationally in all aspects of linguistics research, teaching, community partnerships, public engagement, and institutional and professional service. Central to these goals is the need to dismantle the barriers that make linguistics exclusionary and instead to embrace practices that center, support, and sustain minoritized scholars and students as well as sociopolitically marginalized communities. An inclusive linguistics will not look like the current version of the discipline, and it will not be confined to the ivory tower. Building a truly just, equitable, and inclusive linguistics will require ongoing and collective efforts.
2024-03-21 · 1 citations
book-chapterSenior authorAbstract This introduction to Inclusion in Linguistics begins by explaining the motivation for the volume and its grounding in social justice initiatives within linguistics, the academy, and society more broadly. It then provides an overview of the chapters, organized around the volume’s major themes: intersectional inclusion, disciplinary and institutional pathways for inclusion, creating just and inclusive classrooms, and fostering community partnerships and public engagement. Next, reflecting on the insights of the chapters, a key principle of inclusion in academia is discussed, namely, that inclusion and exclusion are both personal and structural. Finally, the inclusive process of developing and creating the volume is described and the reader is called upon to use this volume and its companion, Decolonizing Linguistics, to develop their own action plan for advancing social justice in linguistics.
Language in Society · 2024-03-05
article1st authorCorrespondingJános Imre Heltai & Eszter Tarsoly (eds.), Translanguaging for equal opportunities: Speaking Romani at school. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2023. Pp. 321. eBook Open Access, Hb. €115. - Volume 53 Issue 3
Frequent coauthors
- 87 shared
Anne H. Charity Hudley
University of Nevada, Reno
- 85 shared
Christine Mallinson
Stanford University
- 34 shared
Elaine W. Chun
- 26 shared
Jon Henner
- 25 shared
Arthur K. Spears
- 25 shared
Ignacio L. Montoya
University of Nevada, Reno
- 25 shared
Nicole Holliday
Pomona College
- 25 shared
Nelson Flores
Labs
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