10th
that voice ... nature vs nurture
disclaimer:
any sweeping generalizations and/or stereotypes are by no means meant to be offensive to any parties. ideas expressed below are prompted by comments made by others, and then my thoughts concerning those thoughts. please comment if i’ve offended you, and especially if you have anything to back or correct my musings. i’m not claiming to be right or wrong about any of this, just organizing thoughts and fishing for feedback.||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
someone i know quite often brings up the question of if someone they encounter is gay, solely based on the way he talks/intonations etc. she refers to it as “that voice” and says that somewhat nasally. from here forward, this will be reffered to as “that voice”.
the way that she mentions this makes it seem that she thinks that SINCE his manner of speaking is in a certain way, that that is contributing to his orientation.
i feel there are 2 instances of “that voice”
first - its your voice, its always been your voice, and it doesn’t really mean anything.
and the second - the acquired version of this, which often develops over time as a result of a conscious decision.
to me it seems that speaking in “that voice” can be a subcultural assimilation. something that you either make a choice to use or are surrounded enough by that it is picked up.
i know for a fact that i pick up vocabulary, colloquiallisms, and speech patterns from those that i am around. some are conscious [hearing a new word and making it a point to infiltrate my every day conversation with it] and some just happen through repition.
one of my professors @ RIT, Linda Shenk [absolutely fantastic by the way] who i had for a shakespeare comedies/histories class, taught a theory/strategy for evaluating character relationships.
the simplified version went something like :you can gauge characters connection through their shared language — similar/exact phrases they both use, and if they mean the same thing when they use them. also this connection can evolve. etc.
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i think thats all i’m thinking at the moment on this, just wanted to put it in writing….
My belief is that, like most things, it’s a little bit of both. Both biological (nature — you have your vocal organs and their physical capabilities that are the result of your genetic makeup) and developmental (nurture — you learn to speak a certain way as a child and continue to change and refine it throughout your life… possibly changing your vocal organs and their physical capabilities) factors play a role, but I have to learn heavier on nurture for this one. Whether consciously or not, “the voice” has become an identifier/identity for so many. It has become a staple, it you will, of a portion of a community.
And please don’t mistake this as an assumption that choice is/was definitively somehow involved.