Continuing with the theme of this month this post addresses how linguistic anthropologists have addressed LGBTQI identities and issues. The study of language and society finds its roots within sociolinguistics, but this field of study allows for more specific investigations. This is where lavender linguistics comes into play.
Lavender linguistics is the study of language use among LGBTQI identifying individuals. The lavender portion of the name comes from the long history of this color being associated with LGBTQI populations, and the addition of linguistics simply demonstrates the focus on language. It covers a variety of topics, including the use of language within specific social contexts (e.g., how LGBTQI individuals communicate among others within their group versus outsiders), focal language, phonetics, language and power (as well as discrimination), and more. The field has expanded to include intersectional study of language as it relates to socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and historical contexts, specifically recognizing culturally specific uses of language by geographical area.
This area of linguistics came about in the early 1990s as a result of conversations that occurred at the Berkeley Women and Language Conference. Shortly thereafter, in 1993, a group of linguists from North America, Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa came together for the inaugural Lavender Linguistics conference. This niche area of study has evolved over time in large part due to the fission of linguists who studied what they called queer linguistics. This field of study that came about in the early 2000s encourages macrolevel analysis of language use, specifically looking at how power impacts language use and similarities among LGBTQI focal languages across the world. It also calls for researchers/scholars to examine how their views affect their research into queer identities and language use. Over time, however, the fields have begun to complement each other, rather than existing in opposition, and many scholars borrow from both theoretical perspectives to better understand language use among LGBTQI individuals.
References
Leap, William L. "Lavender Language." Whelehan, Patricia and Anne Bolin. The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2015. Print.
—. "This Month in Linguistics History: Lavender Language/Linguistics." 2019. Linguistic Society of America. Electronic. 5 June 2023.
Moratto, Em. "Lavender Linguistics: An Introduction." 2 August 2021. The Center on Colfax. Electronic. 5 June 2023.
2 comments:
Lavender linguistics is defined as the study of language usage among LGBTQI people in the post. It covers a lot of ground, including phonetics, social situations, focus language, and power dynamics. This makes the breadth of lavender linguistics and its emphasis on analyzing language among LGBT groups very evident. Also, the post emphasizes the historical background of the subject of study by saying that lavender linguistics was founded in the early 1990s and has developed in tandem with the rise of queer linguistics. This displays how shifts in LGBTQI activism and academia have influenced the development of lavender linguistics.
It is interesting to learn about new types of linguistics. Before reading this blog post, I had never heard of lavender linguistics. Lavender linguistics covers many topics, and it is great to hear about how it is expanding.
-McKenzie Williams
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