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Article published In:
Journal of Language and Sexuality
Vol. 6:1 (2017) ► pp.128–176

Style shifting and the phonetic performance of gay vs. straight

A case study from French

| University of California, Davis, USA
This article examines the phonetic characteristics of speech performed in straight and gay styles by French males. Analysis considers features shown in other languages or in antecedent literature to be associated with perceptions of sexual identity: segmental quality (vowels, /s/, liquids), suprasegmental features (pitch, duration), and a number of language-specific variables. Results suggest that straight performances are characterized by decreased segmental duration and gay performances by differential use of vowel space, especially F2, nasal vowel duration, and fundamental frequency. A closing section provides comparison of these results to previous study and to other languages, while also addressing epistemological concerns raised by questions of identity, performance, and linguistic form.
Keywords: French, gay, straight, performance, phonetics
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
  • 3.Methodology and foci
    • 3.1Subject recruitment and selection
    • 3.2Stimuli and recording
    • 3.3Phonemic and phonetic variables
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Suprasegmentals
    • 4.2Consonants
    • 4.3Vowels
    • 4.4Synthesis
  • 5.Discussion
  • Notes
  • References


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 22 June 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.6.1.05rus
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