STARTER: discussion Why might people create a secret language? What might you expect to see in a secret language?

LANGAUGE AND SEXUALITY Key term: lavender language The special dialect and vocabulary of the language of the gay community LANGAUGE AND SEXUALITY LO: to understand how language may be influenced by sexuality

Language use may be affected by sexuality Recently, Sweden introduced a gender neutral pronoun – what might the advantages/disadvantages of such a move be? This has been tried in English – ‘ze’ and ‘thon’ being better known examples of pronouns to address transgender people who may feel uncomfortable being addressed by ‘he’ or ‘she’ – such pronouns perpetuate the idea that cis-gender identification is the ‘norm’. More recently, in Brighton in 2012, the use of the gender neutral pronoun ‘Mx’, short for ‘Mixter’ has been suggested and was met with a range of headlines. On the next slide, identify the attitude of the newspaper reporting on this.

‘Mx’ and ‘Mixter’ Sunday Express Telegraph Daily Mail BBC News

Any problems? Does the new pronoun still reinforce difference based on sexuality?

Polari Click on this link and listen to the explanation of what polari is. N.B. Polari is particularly associated with maritime culture because of the relative freedom of expression on long trips abroad – certainly until homosexuality was legalised in 1967.

Polari Read this article for further information – highlight anything you find particularly interesting. What do you consider the main reasons were for the development of Polari amongst the gay community? Although Polari has declined significantly, some words have survived, such as ‘camp’ and ‘butch’. Using your iPads, carry out some research about Polari words which have still survived.

What do you think is the effect of this. Is it exclusive What do you think is the effect of this? Is it exclusive? A form of convergence? A sense of identity? Research findings? In Language and A Woman’s Place by Robin Lakoff (remember her from the gender research?), it is suggested that gay male speech traits are similar to those of women, and that gay men consciously and deliberately imitate these traits. Such a view seems to simply reinforce stereotypes and make the assumption that all gay men speak in an effeminate way; this is clearly not the case. According to Bill Leap, co-ordinator of the 10th Annual American University Conference on Lavender Languages and Linguistics, the LGBT community do communicate with each other in ways that are ‘different from the linguistic practices of non-lesbian/gay-identified persons’. Paul Baker, in The Guardian, has spend several years researching these ‘different’ ways and the speech of this social group. Research has suggested that the language is characterised by acronyms, plays on words, double meanings and a range of lexis that is only intended to be understood by the gay community.

Plenary What have you learnt and how does it contribute to your understanding of language and gender?