Janina Brutt-Griffler, born in Lublin, Poland, studied Slavic
Languages and Literatures and English at the Ohio State University.
She continued her study of language and culture at the doctoral
level, receiving her Ph.D. from the same university. Dr
Brutt-Griffler’s research program continues to focus on the
understanding of language use in society, specifically the
exploration of multilingualism, contemporary dialogue on heritage
languages, and language maintenance. Her influential first book,
World English: A Study of its Development, revised our
understanding of how English came to its globally dominant position
today, and drew out the implications of its rapid spread for
languages and cultures like Polish. The book was honored by the
Modern Language Association of America in 2004 with its Kenneth W.
Mildenberger Award for the outstanding book in the field of
language, culture and literature. Her most recent volume English
and Ethnicity (2006) offers a scholarly exploration of the complex
interaction between the English language and the (de) construction
of ethnicity/identity in other languages. Centered in (socio)
linguistics, the volume demonstrates that the constructs of both
English and ethnicity are contested sites of identity formation in
the English-speaking world. It illustrates that while for some
English use indexes ethnicity, for others its usage involves
equally significant processes of de-ethnicization. The volume draws
implications for sociolinguistic theory and constructing diaspora
identity in multicultural communities.
Dr Brutt-Griffler has been on the faculty of a number of
research universities in the US and United Kingdom. She came to
SUNY Buffalo from the University of York, England, as founding
director of the graduate program in applied linguistics. As
Director of Polish Studies, she has focused program’s mission
toward a broad approach to the discipline that situates Polishness
in its historical contexts of cosmopolitanism, transnationalism and
diaspora, as reflected in the rich history of the Polish community
in Buffalo.
Dr Brutt-Griffler serves on the Modern Language
Association’s executive committee for General Linguistics and
English Today.
