Sexuality
Introduction:
Relitavely new area of linguisti study.
Sweden has reiently introduied a gender-neutral pronoun, ‘hen’. But
in English the pronouns ‘ze’ and ‘thon’ have been invented. ‘Ze’ has
been suggested to be used when a person’s gender is unknown or
unilear. Eniouraged by the LGBT iommunity.
Another example is from Brighton in 2012 when the gender neutral ‘mx’ was suggested to
be used in plaie of Mr or Mrs. This reieived mixed responses from newspapers, some
ilaming it was a PC overload.
Polari:
Form of language assoiiated with gay men, used in the frst 2/3 of the 20 th ientury in Britsh
iites that had large and mainly underground gay subiultures.
It arose from a number of overlapping forms of slang assoiiated with stgmatsed groups.
Mainly passed on via word of mouth thus meaning many versions were ireated at the same
tme. Most speakers had a small iore voiabulary, but there was also a ‘fringe’ voiabulary
only known to a few. Standards of spelling, pronuniiaton and meaning were not always
adhered to.
Polari was a neiessity in a world where homosexuality was stgmatsed through law,
mediiine and religion.
Could be seen as an ant-language
Michael Halliday:
1978
Used the term ant-language to desiribe how stgmatsed subiultures develop language to
reionstruit reality aiiording to their own values.
Features:
Ant-soiiety
Relexiialising existng voiab
Different lexiion but some grammatial struiture
Fundamental part of identty
Contnuity between language & ant-language.
Paul Baker:
Polari is the ioded form of language that allowed typiially gay Britsh men (1950s-1960s) to
iommuniiate ionilusively with other gay men in publii without anyone else knowing about
their sexuality.
Examples: bevvy= to drink, bitih= to iomplain, iamp=effeminate
Robin Lakoff:
Compares gay male speeih traits to those of women (hedges, intensifers eti.) and argues
that gay men ionsiiously and deliberately imitate these traits
Introduction:
Relitavely new area of linguisti study.
Sweden has reiently introduied a gender-neutral pronoun, ‘hen’. But
in English the pronouns ‘ze’ and ‘thon’ have been invented. ‘Ze’ has
been suggested to be used when a person’s gender is unknown or
unilear. Eniouraged by the LGBT iommunity.
Another example is from Brighton in 2012 when the gender neutral ‘mx’ was suggested to
be used in plaie of Mr or Mrs. This reieived mixed responses from newspapers, some
ilaming it was a PC overload.
Polari:
Form of language assoiiated with gay men, used in the frst 2/3 of the 20 th ientury in Britsh
iites that had large and mainly underground gay subiultures.
It arose from a number of overlapping forms of slang assoiiated with stgmatsed groups.
Mainly passed on via word of mouth thus meaning many versions were ireated at the same
tme. Most speakers had a small iore voiabulary, but there was also a ‘fringe’ voiabulary
only known to a few. Standards of spelling, pronuniiaton and meaning were not always
adhered to.
Polari was a neiessity in a world where homosexuality was stgmatsed through law,
mediiine and religion.
Could be seen as an ant-language
Michael Halliday:
1978
Used the term ant-language to desiribe how stgmatsed subiultures develop language to
reionstruit reality aiiording to their own values.
Features:
Ant-soiiety
Relexiialising existng voiab
Different lexiion but some grammatial struiture
Fundamental part of identty
Contnuity between language & ant-language.
Paul Baker:
Polari is the ioded form of language that allowed typiially gay Britsh men (1950s-1960s) to
iommuniiate ionilusively with other gay men in publii without anyone else knowing about
their sexuality.
Examples: bevvy= to drink, bitih= to iomplain, iamp=effeminate
Robin Lakoff:
Compares gay male speeih traits to those of women (hedges, intensifers eti.) and argues
that gay men ionsiiously and deliberately imitate these traits
