Variation, implied pathology, social meaning, and the 'gay lisp': a response to Van Borsel et al. (2009).
This brief communication is a response to the article "The prevalence of lisping in gay men" (Van Borsel, J., De Bruyn, E., Lefebvre, E., Sokoloff, A., De Ley, S., & Baudonck, N. 2009. Journal of Communication Disorders, 42, 100-106). I argue aspects of that study's design, measurement, and interpretation limit the strength of its authors' conclusions that there is a higher incidence of lisping in gay men than in heterosexual men. Suggestions for further research are presented.
Munson
Benjamin
B
Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, University of Minnesota, 115 Shevlin Hall, 164 Pillsbury Drive, SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Munso005@umn.edu
D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D020010:Heterosexuality; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D011932:Reading; D012919:Social Behavior; D013060:Speech; D013061:Speech Acoustics