I spent almost the entire afternoon at Helios, where I was quite productive. For months and months, I’ve been wanting to make the results of some research I did in November and December of 2006 available on the web.
Some of you may have participated in this research via a questionnaire I had a pointer to from within my blog here. If you did, I thank you again.
This research was done for a linguistics class I was taking, and these 10 questions that I devised were the impetus for what I asked about on the survey:
Research Question #1
In a large sample size, would more participants in the humanities judge themselves as “sounding gay” or have heard that they “sound gay,” than those participants in the sciences?
Research Question #2
How often do people equate sounding “gay” specifically with sounding like a “woman,” as opposed to something else.
Research Question #3
How would gay men’s rating of “out” celebrities as “sounding gay” compare to the “general population’s” rating?
Research Question #4
For those men who only use gay vernacular in certain situations, what are those situations, and why do they use it in those situations?
Research Question #5
What percentage of gay men who think they “sound gay” seek, or consider seeking, a speech professional in order to alter their speech?
Research Question #6
Where do most gay men who self-identify as “sounding gay” think they acquired such speech patterns?
Research Question #7
What percentage of gay men who, up until the age of 8, lived with someone who “sounded gay,” self-identify as “sounding gay” (either by thinking they do themselves, or by having heard from others at times during their lives that they do)?
Research Question #8
What percentage of gay men who, between the ages of 12 and 20, lived with someone who “sounded gay,” self-identify as “sounding gay” (either by thinking they do themselves, or by having heard from others at times during their lives that they do)?
Research Question #9
In the case of gay brothers, if one brother “sounds gay,” do all of them?
Research Question #10
Does the phenomenon of “sounding gay” exist in languages and dialects other than American English? If so, are the elements or features that make one “sound gay” in American English the same in those other languages and dialects?
The survey results can be found here. I have not included the paper in which I used the survey results to specifically answer the research questions.
I sent an e-mail to the professor of the class I was taking when I did this research, as well as a professor with whom he was collaborating with at the time. I also posted this same information to IBM Eagle‘s discussion database, as a lot of people from that population also participated in the research by responding to the survey.
Also while at Helios, I:
- devised Wednesday’s blog entry
- paid this month’s American Express bill, which was just over $8500 (that’s 8500 frequent flyer points!)
- socialized some with Joe and Chris (zinnian) during the time that each, and for a while both, joined me at Helios
- met with most of the STC officers for a picture-taking session by John S.—our newsletter editor this year
- filled out an application to place in NC State University’s jobs system
I had Cajun Blackened Grilled Fillets for dinner tonight. I topped each bit with some of that coleslaw I forgot to put out last night for dinner. Delicious!
I was in the bed at 10:15, finishing the pivotal chapter of Owen Meany, Chapter 4, called “The Little Lord Jesus.” I just can’t say enough about how brilliant this novel is.
Warning: If you plan to read this book, the SparkNotes have spoilers. I’m also loving the commentary provided in the Sparknotes of the novel, which I read at the end of each chapter about the chapter I just read.
Starting to fall asleep, I stopped reading, and put “lights out” at 10:45.