Roger Shuy

Roger Wellington Shuy (born January 5, 1931) is an American linguist best known for his work in sociolinguistics and forensic linguistics. He received his BA from Wheaton College in 1952, his MA from Kent State University in 1954, and his PhD from Case Western Reserve University in 1962, where he studied regional dialectology with Raven I. McDavid, Jr. Shuy took additional linguistic courses at the University of Michigan and Indiana University.

After teaching linguistics at Wheaton College (1958–1964) and Michigan State University (1964–1967), Shuy accepted a position at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C., as head of its newly created program for studying urban language. During his 30 years at Georgetown, Shuy helped create two new organizations, New Ways of Analyzing Variation and the American Association of Applied Linguistics, where he was its second president and was later given the award of Distinguished Scholarship and Service. While at Georgetown, he also began a new phase of work on criminal and civil cases as a consultant and expert witness. Shuy's 1979 testimony regarding undercover audio recordings led to Davis's acquittal.

After Shuy retired from teaching, he made his home among the mountains and rivers of Montana, where he continues to consult on law cases. He has written extensively about many of these cases in his books and journal articles. In 2009, he was elected Fellow of the Linguistics Society of America.