A couple years ago, Wendy Smemoe, Josh Stevenson, and I did some research on “Missionary Voice”, or the speech register used by missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After it was was published last year,1 my institution, Brigham Young University, apparently thought the research was interesting. So, first, the linguistics department did a write-up in summer 2024. Then, in Fall 2024, Y Magazine, which is sent out to alumni, did a write-up as well. I just found out this week that a video they produced was posted onto YouTube! I hadn’t seen it before a few people started telling me about it.
1 For a more detailed write-up about that paper, see this earlier blog post.
It was a fun experience to be interviewed about my research like this. Jedidiah Flores of Y Magazine contacted us—I think as a result of the article that Rachel Bowden wrote originally for the department—in July, and we met virtually to talk about our findings. Her article was published in the Fall 2024 issue and online. We then met with the Y Magazine videography team at the end of August to talk about the possibility of making a video, and then in October we filmed the interview itself. 2
2 I remember that was about an hour after getting barbecue for lunch with some friends, so I was really careful to not get sauce on my shirt or food in my teeth!
For what it’s worth, the room we were in is the linguistics department’s conference room. While may look like just a room, but I have a lot of memories in there. I took some of my most memorable courses there when I was an undergrad. And my job talk when I applied for a faculty position was not only in that room, but I stood right where the interview took place.
I think they interviewed us for around 45 minutes. I remember just going on and on, not necessarily about the specifics of the findings, but about sociolinguistics generally and its greater implications. So, props to the editors for cutting down so much material into a much shorter video! You see just a glimpse of that larger discussion towards the end of the video. We talk about how it’s important to be aware of language bias and that it’s hard to love and respect other people if you don’t like the way they talk.
Some of you reading this might find the transition to religious topics in the video unusual. We mention a basic Christian tenet that we are all children of God and that Christ taught us to love one another (John 13:34). This is a church-owned institution and we were encouraged to find ways to unapologetically infuse our research with our religion. I believe our research stands on its own as an interesting sociolinguistic study, independent of religion. But, I also think that knowledge of sociolinguistic principles can make someone a better person because it draws attention to language bias and helps us overcome it.