Most (but definitely not all) of the gay men I have met have a sort of accent, I wouldn’t call it feminised (though occasionally it can be) but sort of a cultured, somewhat clipped? I am explaining this badly but I think most people are going to know what I am talking about. It seems to transcend native accent as I have heard the exact ‘accent’ in the gay bars of Australia, that I have in Canada and the US.
Where does it come from?
Where is the earliest recorded acknowledgement?
Does it occur in languages other than English?
I would have guessed that it spread as a way to identify oneself to like-minded people, but I have never heard any similar ‘accent’ in the lesbian community.
Sorry if this is in there wrong area, I’m hoping GQ for some real answers but I’m guessing there are going to be a lot of anecdotes.
No clue, but aside from the hyper-flaming types, the more reserved, but still classic stereotypes have a very northeastern USA sound to them. I think we’ve all probably met a few perfectly straight guys that have that upper-crust accent that makes “gay” or at least “momma’s boy” ring loud.
My horribly imperfect hypothesis is that at a critical juncture, namely the rise of modern media (TV and radio), many gays had already been well established themselves in artistic fields. As their favorite clientele were such upper-crust ultra wealthy folks with money to burn, to fit in more comfortably and work more profitably, they either purposely, or subconsciously adopted a similar tone. It puts the paying customers at ease if you sound and act like them, and if you’re working in the arts, you’re not dealing with too many blue collar customers.
And, even if you aren’t in that field, if your boyfriend and other gay friends are, you’re bound to adopt similar tonalities, because you’re around it all the time, and also, it puts you at ease. Someone that speaks that way regularly will pick out an “impostor” quickly, so there’s a possible safety factor at work as well (or for some, a “newbie” factor). If that’s your personal life, eventually it’s going to peek through, no matter how hard you try to hide it.
Of course, tones today are more a factor of mass media, and there’s not as much secrecy involved, so it’s probably dying a rapid death, aside from those who enjoy flaunting the difference. For the same reason, those quirks are now ingrained in the world’s mind, so any poor soul who naturally adopted his mom’s wealthy eastern accent gets pegged as gay.
There are “gay” accents in other countries, but not necessarily the same.
Cross dressers (okama) in Japan will often have a different, feminine way of speaking. Language use is a larger part than accent, perhaps. And if I recall correctly, my French teacher once said that there’s a region of Spain that has an accent similar to the French “gay” accent, so they tend to get looked at funny when they cross the border.
My gay uncle [tough since he had married and had 2 kids should more properly be called bisexual] could put on the affectations at will. Around anybody who could disinherit him he sounded perfectly straight. Away? The biggest lisping mincing queen you would ever want to see.
Also about my most disliked blood relative inexistance because of this. I detest the dishonesty, and choosing to lie to your family while traveling around the country with a guy barely over 18 selling little thingies in malls for a living, and abandoning your financial responsibilities to your family will do the trick. Not the gayness.
There’s definitely an Afrikaans gay speech mannerism. “Theatrical” is right, I wouldn’t really say “feminine”.
Trivial aside: There’s also a (AFAIK) uniquely South African gay jargon using mostlywomen’s names, seperate from (but using a little of) polari. It’s called Gayle
I’ve been a bit suspicious of the gay accent, ever since a friend of mine came out. When he’s at work or with straight friends, he talks normally. When he’s with gay friends, he camps it up and gets a gay accent.
I’m thinking it would be more appropriate to say we’re talking about a sociolect, rather than an accent - a manner of talking that has to do with identifying with a group. Many groups have mannerisms and sociolects that go together with the group identity, from teens to intellectuals to… what have you, I ran out of brain. Sociolects can mostly be turned on and off at will. (No good cite here, but I’ve read articles on it previously, and have seen plenty of examples where people radically change their manner of speaking depending on if they’re talking to a friend or a parent)
Good post – was thinking that the “gay accent” was more of a mannerism than a fully-fledged accent. ISTM that it’s an overlay over an existing accent. For instance, I’ve heard male homosexuals from Brooklyn speaking with some from Mississippi, and the accents are still very different – but some mannerisms/vocabulary/intonations are shared.
Ditto. I talk black around blacks, gay around gays, redneck around rednecks. It’s always been a slightly embarrassing trait of mine but I’m sure it’s subconsviously just an effort to fit in.
It seems to me that such sociolects (new word for me, thanks!) develop in lots of groups that are more or less oppressed by the “mainstream”. Surfers, Outlaw Bikers, Jews, Blacks, Valley Girls…all these have identifiable speech patterns that become part of the tribal identity. Interestingly, I can’t think of what a Gamer, Pilot, or soccer mom sociolect would be. It might be that the content of speech among these groups is sufficient to establish a tribal identity, and thus peculiar inflections are not required, or maybe there is not sufficient level of percieved oppression.
I would also note that I have known a straight man involved in theater that starts to sound quite gay when he hangs out with his (mostly gay) theater scene friends. I’m not sure if this a matter of trying to fit in, or trying to hide the fact that he is straight…I’m pretty sure it is done subconciously in any event. I’d ask him, but I’m afraid he would quit doing it, and that would be a shame, as I find it entertaining.
Thanks for the response guys! I never realised it was an international phenomenon!
But it being a sociolect makes sense… and I will definitely be dropping sociolect into the conversation at my next dinner party
> It seems to me that such sociolects (new word for me, thanks!) develop in lots
> of groups that are more or less oppressed by the “mainstream”. Surfers,
> Outlaw Bikers, Jews, Blacks, Valley Girls…all these have identifiable speech
> patterns that become part of the tribal identity. Interestingly, I can’t think of
> what a Gamer, Pilot, or soccer mom sociolect would be. It might be that the
> content of speech among these groups is sufficient to establish a tribal identity,
> and thus peculiar inflections are not required, or maybe there is not sufficient
> level of percieved oppression.
Relatively dominant groups have sociolects just like relatively oppressed ones. You just don’t tend to think of them as being different. You think of them as being normal. When oppressed groups imitate dominant ones, you think of it as them losing their accent. When dominant groups imitate oppressed ones, you think of it as being them making a joke.
The well off stay at home moms littering the parks during the day do have a sociolect, but it’s hard for me to articulate what it is, lacking the sociolinguist vocabulary. It’s a little more Momish and mostly has a tone of shock and disapproval, even if you’re complimenting your coffee. I don’t speak it, nor do nannies or babysitters who might be there with kids, and as a result, we’re excluded from the ranks. Seriously. It’s like high school, only more brutal.
