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Lal Zimman is a linguist who works on sociocultural linguistics, sociophonetics, language, gender and identity, and transgender linguistics.

Lal Zimman
NationalityAmerican
TitleAssociate Professor
AwardsRuth Benedict Prize
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisVoices in Transition: Testosterone, Transmasculinity, and the Gendered Voice among Female-to-Male Transgender People
Doctoral advisorKira Hall
Academic work
DisciplineLinguistics
Sub-disciplineTransgender linguistics, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, sociophonetics[1]
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, Stanford University, Reed College
WebsitePersonal Website, UCSB department webpage
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Education

Zimman received his BA in Philosophy and MA in English with a Linguistics concentration from San Francisco State University. He received his PhD in linguistics from University of Colorado at Boulder in 2012 where he worked under Kira Hall.[2] His dissertation, Voices in Transition: Testosterone, Transmasculinity, and the Gendered Voice among Female-to-Male Transgender People, used both ethnographic and sociophonetic methods to explore the effects of hormone therapy on the voices of trans men.[3]

Career

Zimman's work has been influential in developing the field of trans linguistics.[4][5] He has been widely recognized for his work on inclusive language reform and activism,[6][7][8] the relationship between the body, biological sex, and the voice,[9][10] and pronouns and singular they.[11][12]

Zimman is currently assistant professor of Linguistics & Affiliated Faculty in Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also General Editor for Studies in Language, Gender, and Sexuality for Oxford University Press.[1]

In 2014, Zimman published a co-edited volume, Queer Excursions: Retheorizing Binaries in Language, Gender, and Sexuality (published by Oxford University Press), which won the Association for Queer Anthropology's Ruth Benedict Prize.[13]

He has taught several classes on Sociocultural Linguistics, Language, Gender & Sexuality, and Sociophonetics.[1] He has been interviewed for programs such as The Vocal Fries podcast.[10]

Personal life

Zimman was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Zimman is transgender and uses he or they pronouns.[14]

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lal Zimman | Department of Linguistics - UC Santa Barbara". www.linguistics.ucsb.edu. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  2. ^ "Lal Zimman". lalzimman.org. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  3. ^ Zimman, Lal (2016), "Sociolinguistic Agency and the Gendered Voice: Metalinguistic Negotiations of Vocal Masculinization among Female-to-Male Transgender Speakers", Awareness and Control in Sociolinguistic Research, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 253–277, doi:10.1017/cbo9781139680448.013, ISBN 9781139680448, retrieved June 4, 2022
  4. ^ Zimman, Lal (September 2, 2020), "Transgender Language, Transgender Moment: Toward a Trans Linguistics", The Oxford Handbook of Language and Sexuality, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190212926.013.45, ISBN 978-0-19-021292-6, retrieved June 4, 2022
  5. ^ Zimman, Lal (October 6, 2021). "Beyond the cis gays' cis gaze". Gender and Language. 15 (3). doi:10.1558/genl.20883. ISSN 1747-633X. S2CID 240256058.
  6. ^ "Facebook, the gender binary, and third-person pronouns". OUPblog. September 23, 2014. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  7. ^ Harrison, Olivia. "Our Partners, Ourselves: Why Is It So Hard To Know What To Call A Significant Other?". www.refinery29.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Zimman, Lal (2018), "Pronouns and Possibilities: Transgender Language Activism and Reform", Language and Social Justice in Practice, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9781315115702-23, ISBN 978-1-315-11570-2, S2CID 187627389, archived from the original on March 13, 2022, retrieved June 4, 2022
  9. ^ "Pronunciation of 's' sounds impacts perception of gender, researcher finds". ScienceDaily. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "The Vocal Fries – Lal-apalooza – 58:57". radiopublic.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  11. ^ "He, she, they … should we now clarify our preferred pronouns when we say hello?". the Guardian. September 13, 2019. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  12. ^ McCurdy, Christen (June 14, 2017). "Are Gender-Neutral Pronouns Actually Doomed?". Pacific Standard. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Congratulations to Lal Zimman, Jenny L. Davis, and Joshua Raclaw, winners of the 2014 Ruth Benedict Book Prize for Queer Excursions" (PDF). University of Illinois American Indian Studies. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  14. ^ "Lal Zimman". lalzimman.org. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
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