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1 Constructing a Gay Persona Constructing a Gay Persona: A Sociophonetic Case Study of an LGBT Talk Show in Taiwan Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Junquan Pan, BA Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2018 Thesis Committee Marjorie K.M. Chan, Advisor Zhiguo Xie 1 Copyrighted by Junquan Pan 2018 2 Abstract The thesis draws upon both quantitative and qualitative approaches to linguistic variation. Specifically, for the quantitative study, the thesis conducts a sociophonetic case study of an LGBT talk show in Taiwan, with a focus on one gay speaker’s variation in pitch range. In this quantitative approach, statistically significant differences are found across the subject’s various speaking situations. The subject, HY, exhibits a considerable cross-situational variation: When HY participates in the talk show¾both as a guest and as a host¾his average maximum f0 is higher than as an applicant. More crucially, when HY is attending the talk show as a guest, his f0 pitch range is significantly wider than as an applicant and a host. To explain the phonetic variation, the thesis proposes that the sociophonetic variation in pitch range is motivated by interactional personas that are subject to specific speaking situations. However, the sociophonetic variation observed in the talk show is just part of the story of HY’s stylistic performance. In order to tell the entire story, the study also includes a qualitative study via the analysis of discourse to examine two conversational excerpts where HY participates in the talk show as a guest. HY uses some linguistic and gestural features that have been ideologically associated with Chinese women, such as the female term of reference lǎoniáng (老娘) “old woman” or a typical feminine gesture, such as tucking hair behind the ears. In this thesis, I seek an explanation for the relationship between these semiotic features observed in the talk show and HY’s gay identity. ii Adopting the social constructionist paradigm, the study demonstrates that the form-meaning relationship is not a one-to-one mapping, but is mediated through stance- taking. According to the notion of indexicality, the linguistic and gestural features take on their semiotic value through HY’s stance in the LGBT talk show and these interactional stances are ideologically re-associated with, and reinterpreted as his gay identity. Throughout the online talk show, HY develops his persona and his own personal style through interactions on a micro level, which help him to construct his gay identity. iii Dedication Dedicated to my beloved parents for their unconditional love iv Acknowledgments When I started my graduate studies at OSU, I did not think too much of what exactly I want to do. I was also not intellectually confident about myself. While looking back right now, being a graduate student at OSU turns out to be a life-changing journey for my growth to be a better person. I am truly grateful to DEALL for cultivating an environment where I can come to the realization of my academic profession. My advisor, Marjorie Chan, has, thoughtfully and patiently, walked me through over the past two years. Without her encouragement, I would not have been confident enough to submit my first conference abstract to the 29th North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics (NACCL-29) and present it at Rutgers University; Without her guidance, I would not have been able to learn so much of how to organize NACCL-30, an international, well-established conference on Chinese Linguistics; Without her intellectual and spiritual support, I would not have been able to finish my thesis about language and sexuality in Chinese linguistics. I thank her not only for her intellectual commitment to Chinese linguistics, but also for her wholeheartedness to her advisees. Her humor, laughter, and caring have been a daily source of joy to me and constantly remind me of how important it is to be a happy person. Ma Laoshi, thank you for being a wonderful part of my journey at OSU and being a role model whom I am able to live up to in the future. I also owe my gratitude to Dr. Xie for his guidance and advice on my thesis. His life story about linguistics has inspired me to think about what it takes to be a linguist and v how important it is to follow your heart no matter what happens. Xie Laoshi, thank you for being so supportive and helpful to the completion of my MA thesis. While my journey at OSU mostly alternates between studying and working, I also want to thank my friends and mentors at OSU for their company and support. They have supplied me with constant caring, inspiration, and joy: Debbie Knicely, Zhini Zeng, Jessie Jia, Trey Rainey, Jake Kursinskis, Jarod Leggett, Alice Chi, International Exploration Group (IE), Jennifer Nunes, and my cohorts and students at DEALL. Special thanks are given to my go-to friends who have been deeply rooting for my vulnerability during my time at OSU: Qingxia, my dear friend since the college, thank you for bearing with my uncertainties and anxieties; Karen, my supportive friend while I was working in EF, thank you for being my emotional support whom I can share everything with; Sheng Yi, my lovely ‘driver’ at OSU, thank you for being a wholehearted person to me as you always are; Hunter and Jingdi, my most go-to friends at the end of the semester, thanks to both of you for giving me so much support and inspiration of how important to be who you truly are. Lastly, I thank myself for being the man in the arena, who will strive valiantly, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. vi Vita 1992 ...................................................Born, Guangzhou, China 2011-2015 ..........................................B.A. Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, Nanfang College, Sun Yat-Sen University 2017-2018 ..........................................Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures Concentration: Chinese Linguistics (Sociolinguistics) vii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Previous Research on Language and Sexuality ................................................. 3 1.2.2 Previous Research on Chinese Language and Sexuality ................................... 7 1.3 Topics, Motivations, and Research Questions ........................................................ 10 1.3.1 Research Topics ............................................................................................... 10 1.3.2 Research Motivations ....................................................................................... 13 1.3.3 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 14 1.4 Outline of the Chapters ........................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2. Stylistic Variation, Indexicality, and Identity ................................................... 2 2.1 The Definition of Style ............................................................................................. 2 2.1.1 Stylistic Variation as Attention Paid to Speech ................................................. 4 2.1.2 Stylistic Variation as Audience Design ............................................................. 5 2.1.3 Stylistic Variation as Speaker Design ................................................................ 8 2.2 Case Studies of Speaker Design ............................................................................. 11 2.2.1 Style shifting in Political Discourse ................................................................. 12 2.2.2 Style shifting in Media Interaction .................................................................. 14 viii 2.2.3 Style Shifting in Day-to-Day Interaction ......................................................... 16 2.3 Indexicality and Style in Sociolinguistics ............................................................... 19 2.4
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