Idiolect.
Cat wrote…
As a linguistics major, I tend to think about gender in the same way as what’s referred to in my field as an idiolect—no two forms of self-expression are the same and even when there’s a theme, everyone has their own variants shaped by unique life experiences.
What’s your experience?
Posted by julian on September 23rd, 2010 at 08:00 am
Category: your voice 11 comments »
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:17 am |
Let me see if I understood this correctly. So just as a writer would choose a particular word out of a multitude of synonyms to describe a person, what words one chooses to describe their self-expression is entirely individual and shaped by their personal experiences.
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Simon replied:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:45 am
I think (and I could be wrong) the comparison is not just to “what words one chooses to describe their self-expression,” but also to the various facets one’s self expression itself.
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Oliver and sometimes Beck replied:
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:27 pm
That makes sense to me, Simon. Re-reading the quote, I do think that is what Cat meant.
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September 23rd, 2010 at 12:04 pm |
I’m not sure about what exactly an idiolect is in terms of language, but in terms of gender, I really like it. It’s sort of perfect, really. No one’s gender, and no one’s gender expression, is going to be exactly the same as anyone else’s. My personal conception of being trans isn’t going to be exactly the same as anyone else’s. Even with people whose genders might seem to be the “same” as mine (a sort of non-binary trans identity, sort of transmasculine, maybe androgynous, kinda faggy), our genders are also wildly different. That’s a really interesting way of looking at it.
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September 23rd, 2010 at 12:43 pm |
Wow, cool! I love the comparison. I love you now too, because I’m a linguistics major!! :)
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Cat replied:
September 23rd, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Woohoo! *high-fives*
I’m so happy I got on Genderfork! :D
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September 23rd, 2010 at 2:30 pm |
like this :)
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September 23rd, 2010 at 2:59 pm |
Yay linguistics nerds! I like the comparison, it makes a lot of sense.
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September 23rd, 2010 at 3:46 pm |
This makes my heart sing, no lie. <3
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September 27th, 2010 at 7:43 am |
That is true. However, remember that society and the world try to force us all into (what they insist are) two “formal” languages, and erase all diverging dialects… To non-linguists: what I mean is, while we each have our own self-expression, we are squeezed into two basic “modes” – the binary of gender – which does not suit us all; between the big picture, “men” and “women”, and the smallest detail, you and I, there are quite a few middle-ground places where large groups converge. Those need recognition, “official” recognition, for everyone to live in a better world. Our “idiolect”, our personal self-expression, is influenced by, and often oppressed by, the ruling language – the binary.
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October 22nd, 2010 at 1:15 pm |
As an Anthropology major currently taking a class in Anthropological Linguistics, I thoroughly agree with this.
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