Lal Zimman

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Lal Zimman is a linguist who works on sociocultural linguistics, sociophonetics, language, gender and identity, and transgender linguistics.

Contents

Lal Zimman
NationalityAmerican
TitleAssociate Professor
Awards Ruth Benedict Prize
Academic background
Alma mater
Thesis Voices in Transition: Testosterone, Transmasculinity, and the Gendered Voice among Female-to-Male Transgender People
Doctoral advisor Kira Hall

Education

Zimman received his BA in Philosophy and MA in English with a Linguistics concentration from San Francisco State University. He received his PhD in linguistics from University of Colorado at Boulder in 2012 where he worked under Kira Hall. [2] His dissertation, Voices in Transition: Testosterone, Transmasculinity, and the Gendered Voice among Female-to-Male Transgender People, used both ethnographic and sociophonetic methods to explore the effects of hormone therapy on the voices of trans men. [3]

Career

Zimman's work has been influential in developing the field of trans linguistics. [4] [5] He has been widely recognized for his work on inclusive language reform and activism, [6] [7] [8] the relationship between the body, biological sex, and the voice, [9] [10] and pronouns and singular they. [11] [12]

Zimman is currently assistant professor of Linguistics & Affiliated Faculty in Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also General Editor for Studies in Language, Gender, and Sexuality for Oxford University Press. [1]

In 2014, Zimman published a co-edited volume, Queer Excursions: Retheorizing Binaries in Language, Gender, and Sexuality (published by Oxford University Press), which won the Association for Queer Anthropology's Ruth Benedict Prize. [13]

He has taught several classes on Sociocultural Linguistics, Language, Gender & Sexuality, and Sociophonetics. [1] He has been interviewed for programs such as The Vocal Fries podcast. [10]

Personal life

Zimman was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Zimman is transgender and uses he or they pronouns. [14]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

The word cisgender describes a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth, i.e., someone who is not transgender. The prefix cis- is Latin and means on this side of. The term cisgender was coined in 1994 as an antonym to transgender, and entered into dictionaries starting in 2015 as a result of changes in social discourse about gender. The term has been and continues to be controversial and subject to critique.

Queer theory is a field of post-structuralist critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of queer studies and women's studies. The term "queer theory" can have various meanings depending upon its usage, but has been broadly associated with the study and theorization of gender and sexual practices that exist outside of heterosexuality, and which challenge the notion that heterosexual desire is "normal". Following social constructivist developments in sociology, queer theorists are often critical of what they consider essentialist views of sexuality and gender. Instead, they study those concepts as social and cultural phenomena, often through an analysis of the categories, binaries, and language in which they are said to be portrayed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pansexuality</span> Sexual attraction to people regardless of sex or gender identity

Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people might refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-binary gender</span> Gender identities other than male or female

Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or female. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth, though some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.

LGBT slang, LGBT speak, queer slang, or gay slang is a set of English slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBTQ+ people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBTQ+ community identify themselves and speak in code with brevity and speed to others. The acronym LGBT was popularized in the 1990s and stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant, LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual or gender identity.

Gay male speech has been the focus of numerous modern stereotypes, as well as sociolinguistic studies, particularly within North American English. Scientific research has uncovered phonetically significant features produced by many gay men and demonstrated that listeners accurately guess speakers' sexual orientation at rates greater than chance. Historically, gay male speech characteristics have been highly stigmatized and their usage may be sometimes coded to a limited number of settings outside of the workplace or other public spaces.

Riki Anne Wilchins is an American activist whose work has focused on the impact of gender norms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attraction to transgender people</span> Romantic or sexual attraction to transgender people

Sexual attraction to transgender people has been the subject of scientific study and social commentary. Psychologists have researched sexual attraction toward trans women, trans men, cross dressers, non-binary people, and a combination of these. Publications in the field of transgender studies have investigated the attraction transgender individuals can feel for each other. The people who feel this attraction to transgender people name their attraction in different ways.

The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders.

Research into the many possible relationships, intersections and tensions between language and gender is diverse. It crosses disciplinary boundaries, and, as a bare minimum, could be said to encompass work notionally housed within applied linguistics, linguistic anthropology, conversation analysis, cultural studies, feminist media studies, feminist psychology, gender studies, interactional sociolinguistics, linguistics, mediated stylistics, sociolinguistics, and feminist language reform and media studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender</span> Gender identity other than sex assigned at birth

A transgender person is someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as transsexual. Transgender is also an umbrella term; in addition to including people whose gender identity is the opposite of their assigned sex, it may also include people who are non-binary or genderqueer. Other definitions of transgender also include people who belong to a third gender, or else conceptualize transgender people as a third gender. The term may also include cross-dressers or drag kings and drag queens in some contexts. The term transgender does not have a universally accepted definition, including among researchers.

LGBT linguistics is the study of language as used by members of LGBT communities. Related or synonymous terms include lavender linguistics, advanced by William Leap in the 1990s, which "encompass[es] a wide range of everyday language practices" in LGBT communities, and queer linguistics, which refers to the linguistic analysis concerning the effect of heteronormativity on expressing sexual identity through language. The former term derives from the longtime association of the color lavender with LGBT communities. "Language", in this context, may refer to any aspect of spoken or written linguistic practices, including speech patterns and pronunciation, use of certain vocabulary, and, in a few cases, an elaborate alternative lexicon such as Polari.

William Leap is an emeritus professor of anthropology at American University and an affiliate professor in the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Florida Atlantic University. He works in the overlapping fields of language and sexuality studies and queer linguistics, and queer historical linguistics.

The Japanese language has some words and some grammatical constructions associated with men or boys, while others are associated with women or girls. Such differences are sometimes called "gendered language". In Japanese, speech patterns associated with women are referred to as onna kotoba or joseigo, and those associated with men are referred to as danseigo.

Gender and Language is an international peer-reviewed academic journal for language-based research on gender and sexuality from feminist, queer, and trans perspectives. The journal features research on the social analytics of gender in discourse domains that include institutions, media, politics and everyday interaction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny L. Davis</span> American linguist and anthropologist

Jenny L. Davis is an American linguist, anthropologist, and poet. She is an Associate Professor of Anthropology, American Indian Studies, and Gender & Women's Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign where she is the director of the American Indian Studies Program. Her research is on contemporary Indigenous languages and identity, focusing on Indigenous language revitalization and Indigenous gender and sexuality, especially within the Two-Spirit movement.

Homonormativity is the adoption of heteronormative ideals and constructs onto LGBT culture and identity. It is predicated on the assumption that the norms and values of heterosexuality should be replicated and performed among homosexual people. Those who assert this theory claim homonormativity selectively privileges cisgendered homosexuality as worthy of social acceptance.

Neopronouns are neologistic English third-person personal pronouns beyond "he", "she", and "they". Neopronouns are preferred by some non-binary individuals who feel that they provide options to reflect their gender identity more accurately than conventional pronouns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autism and LGBT identities</span>

Current research indicates that autistic people have higher rates of LGBT identities and feelings than the general population. A variety of explanations for this have been proposed, such as prenatal hormonal exposure, which has been linked with both sexual orientation, gender dysphoria and autism. Alternatively, autistic people may be less reliant on social norms and thus are more open about their orientation or gender identity. A narrative review published in 2016 stated that while various hypotheses have been proposed for an association between autism and gender dysphoria, they lack strong evidence.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lal Zimman | Department of Linguistics - UC Santa Barbara". www.linguistics.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  2. "Lal Zimman". lalzimman.org. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  3. Zimman, Lal (2016), "Sociolinguistic Agency and the Gendered Voice: Metalinguistic Negotiations of Vocal Masculinization among Female-to-Male Transgender Speakers", Awareness and Control in Sociolinguistic Research, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 253–277, doi:10.1017/cbo9781139680448.013, ISBN   9781139680448 , retrieved 2022-06-04
  4. Zimman, Lal (2020-09-02), "Transgender Language, Transgender Moment: Toward a Trans Linguistics", The Oxford Handbook of Language and Sexuality, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190212926.013.45, ISBN   978-0-19-021292-6 , retrieved 2022-06-04
  5. Zimman, Lal (2021-10-06). "Beyond the cis gays' cis gaze". Gender and Language. 15 (3). doi:10.1558/genl.20883. ISSN   1747-633X. S2CID   240256058.
  6. "Facebook, the gender binary, and third-person pronouns". OUPblog. 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  7. Harrison, Olivia. "Our Partners, Ourselves: Why Is It So Hard To Know What To Call A Significant Other?". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  8. Zimman, Lal (2018), "Pronouns and Possibilities: Transgender Language Activism and Reform", Language and Social Justice in Practice, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9781315115702-23, ISBN   978-1-315-11570-2, S2CID   187627389 , retrieved 2022-06-04
  9. "Pronunciation of 's' sounds impacts perception of gender, researcher finds". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  10. 1 2 "The Vocal Fries – Lal-apalooza – 58:57". radiopublic.com. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  11. "He, she, they … should we now clarify our preferred pronouns when we say hello?". the Guardian. 2019-09-13. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  12. McCurdy, Christen (14 June 2017). "Are Gender-Neutral Pronouns Actually Doomed?". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  13. "Congratulations to Lal Zimman, Jenny L. Davis, and Joshua Raclaw, winners of the 2014 Ruth Benedict Book Prize for Queer Excursions" (PDF). University of Illinois American Indian Studies. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  14. "Lal Zimman". lalzimman.org. Retrieved 2022-06-04.