Carmen Fought

~ biography ~

Dr. Carmen Fought is a Professor of Linguistics at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. She holds an MA in Linguistics from Stanford University and a PhD in Linguistics from University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Chicano English in Context (2003, Palgrave/Macmillan), Language and Ethnicity (2006, Cambridge University Press), and Language and Gender In Children’s Films (2022, Cambridge University Press, with Karen Eisenhauer).

~ linguistics ~

Carmen’s sociolinguistic research focuses on issues of language and social identity, including gender, ethnicity, bilingualism, the dialects of California, and the representation of language in the media. Her research on language and gender in Disney and Pixar has been discussed in several major news outlets such as The Washington Post and a special issue of National Geographic. She was featured in the PBS documentary “Do You Speak American?” and has also appeared as a resource on language issues for programs such as The Today Show, The Jim Lehrer NewsHour, and BBC Radio. 

~ poetry ~

Carmen’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in 2River View, Driftwood Press, Kestrel, The Lascaux Review, RHINO and elsewhere. Her poem “North by Her Compass” was awarded a finalist prize by the Lascaux Review Poetry Contest in 2024. She is proud to be a leader for the Thursday Night Poetry Workshop, based at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, which provides a poetry writing and learning space for people with aphasia and traumatic brain injuries.