Language’ is based on biological sex, hence the hypothesis is that female-to-male (FtM) transgender individuals use the female register more than male-to-female (MtF) transgender individuals, even though FtM persons identify with the male gender. The two research questions in this study, that follow from those considerations, are, first, does the language of a transgender person change during sex change and/ or hormone treatment? Second, do MtF individuals use the female register more often than FtM individuals or vice versa?
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Preliminary Considerations
2.1 The Female Register and Criticism of this Model
2.2 Different Perspectives: The Constructivist Model
2.3 Gender Non-Conformity
3. Analysis
3.1 Corpus and Method of Analysis
3.2 Results: Transgenderism and the Female Register
3.2.1 Hedges
3.2.2 Affective Adjectives
3.2.3 Swearwords
3.2.4 Intensifiers
3.3 Discussion
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Thematic Focus
This study investigates the linguistic concept of the "female register" by examining the speech behavior of transgender individuals. The primary objective is to determine whether gender-preferential language patterns change following hormone therapy or medical transition, and to assess whether trans women exhibit the female register more frequently than trans men, thereby challenging traditional essentialist views of language based on biological sex.
- Analysis of Lakoff’s "female register" and its relevance in the context of gender identity.
- Application of the Constructivist Model to evaluate language as a social act of gender performance.
- Quantitative analysis of a self-compiled corpus of YouTube transcripts from trans men and trans women.
- Evaluation of linguistic markers including hedges, affective adjectives, swearwords, and intensifiers.
- Comparison of pre- and post-transition language use to identify the impact of medical intervention.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.2 Affective or Empty Adjectives
Table 2 describes the use of affective or empty adjectives. Cute was the adjective, that was used most in all corpora. Other adjectives could only be found in a few MtF videos, in the FtM Corpora no affective adjectives besides cute and lovely could be found. Furthermore, the function of those affective adjectives differed. Trans women used them to describe objects like lipstick, brands and also themselves and their followers. The trans men used them to either describe a fish, a toddler or queer people in general. Table 2 moreover shows that trans women again used slightly more adjectives before hormone therapy (54,99%) than after (45,01%). However, this difference is not significant. Trans men used about the same number of affective adjectives before (51,46%) and after the hormone therapy (48,54%). The most important result here is, that trans women used unambiguously more affective adjectives (91,33%) than trans men did (8,67%).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the theoretical foundations regarding the "female register" and establishes the research questions concerning the linguistic habits of transgender individuals.
2. Preliminary Considerations: This section details the historical debate between the essentialist view of language as sex-based and the constructivist view of language as a social performance, while defining core concepts of gender non-conformity.
3. Analysis: This chapter provides the methodology for the quantitative corpus analysis of YouTube transcripts and presents the findings regarding hedges, affective adjectives, swearwords, and intensifiers, followed by a discussion of the results.
4. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes that speech behavior does not change significantly due to hormone therapy and argues that linguistic differences are tied to social gender constructs rather than biological sex.
Keywords
Transgenderism, Female Register, Lakoff, Constructivist Model, Gender Identity, Corpus Linguistics, Hormone Therapy, Hedges, Affective Adjectives, Intensifiers, Swearwords, Speech Behavior, Gender Non-Conformity, Language and Gender, YouTube Corpus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The research explores whether the "female register"—a linguistic style historically attributed to women—is present in the speech of transgender individuals and whether it correlates with biological sex or gender identity.
What are the central thematic areas?
The study centers on the intersection of sociolinguistics and gender studies, specifically evaluating Lakoff’s essentialist theories against constructivist perspectives through the analysis of transgender language use.
What is the primary research goal?
The main goal is to determine if medical transitions, such as hormone therapy, affect a person’s linguistic output and whether trans women use the female register more frequently than trans men.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The study uses a quantitative corpus-based approach, analyzing 102,820 word tokens from YouTube transcripts using the software "#LancsBox" to measure specific linguistic parameters.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section covers the collection and categorization of the YouTube corpus, detailed statistical analysis of hedges, affective adjectives, swearwords, and intensifiers, and a subsequent discussion comparing the findings against existing linguistic theories.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include Transgenderism, Female Register, Gender Identity, Constructivist Model, Corpus Linguistics, and language-based gender performance.
Does hormone therapy significantly alter the usage of the female register?
The findings indicate no significant difference in the use of linguistic markers before and after hormone therapy, suggesting that speech behavior is influenced more by preferred gender identity than by medical intervention.
How does the usage of affective adjectives differ between trans men and trans women?
The study found that trans women use significantly more affective adjectives than trans men, supporting the theory that such language is a socially constructed expression of gender performance.
What does the study suggest about "hedges" in women's language?
The results challenge Lakoff’s hypothesis that hedges are primarily a feature of women’s speech used to express uncertainty, as no significant difference in usage was found between trans men and trans women.
- Quote paper
- Sina Nachtrub (Author), 2019, Transgenderism and the Female Register. A Gender-Differentiating Analysis of the Female Register among Trans Men and Trans Women, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1005446
