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Language and Linguistics on Trial: Hearing Rachel Jeantel (and Other Vernacular Speakers) in the Courtroom and Beyond

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

John R. Rickford  and
Sharese King
John R. Rickford*
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Sharese King*
Affiliation:
Stanford University
*
[rickford@stanford.edu]
[sharese@stanford.edu]
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Abstract

Rachel Jeantel was the leading prosecution witness when George Zimmerman was tried for killing Trayvon Martin, but she spoke in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and her crucial testimony was dismissed as incomprehensible and not credible. The disregard for her speech in court and the media is familiar to vernacular speakers and puts Linguistics itself on trial: following Saussure, how do we dispel such ‘prejudices’ and ‘fictions’? We show that Jeantel speaks a highly systematic AAVE, with possible Caribbean influence. We also discuss voice quality and other factors that bedeviled her testimony, including dialect unfamiliarity and institutionalized racism. Finally, we suggest strategies for linguists to help vernacular speakers be better heard in courtrooms and beyond.

Keywords

AAVEvernacular dialectsforensic linguisticslanguage attitudessociolinguisticsof what use is linguistics?

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 92 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 948 - 988
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 Linguistic Society of America

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