I’m transcribing my handwritten journals from my last round-the-world. This was written in New Zealand”
8 a.m. Aboard the bus in the nice dawn. Now sleepy and hungry. May as well take a little dictation, since I was reminded of my question concerning women’s loud laughter tendencies when one just got on the bus. She’s quiet now, as she’s alone; but her goodbye to a friend was high-pitched and giggly. She’s sitting behind me and I hope she doesn’t get a seatmate to laugh away with now.
Oh, my Holy Spirit! Does this one recognizable characteristic of a loud and unpleasant laugh define a subset of humans?
“No, it doesn’t. Unfortunately, it does depict an egotist who really likes a lot of attention. It’s mostly a female characteristic. Men go for volume, as well as interesting comments. Women just hit the high ranges and cackle a lot, making very-hard-to-ignore noises. It’s just a preening practice using the vocal chords. That’s all it is. You will usually see them casting looks around the room to see who is watching their gay and casual display of such happiness.
It is a studied operation, though it’s supposed to look fantastically understudied. We don’t want to be anywhere near these people, because they just don’t seem to know how to behave themselves demurely. Okay, let’s don’t write any more. It’s too bumpy with the bus moving. Let’s look at the scenery.”
Now, at dinner, casting about for other topics for dictation, I may as well ask the related, even-lighter-weight one about the nasal speech that I’ve been hearing. It’s not that generalized, but may be more common here than at home. Aussies and Kiwis do this lightly in their pronunciation of English words. Most Asian people speak their own languages in those high, nasal ranges.
Do You have any comment about these vocalizations, Oh my Holy Spirit, or am I too sensitive and complaining too much? Why does a population tend to talk through their noses?
“Oh My God, No! There are some important reasons for these nasal sounds, partly due, in the case of the Asian people, to the construction of their nose and throat. We won’t go into it here, but there are some significant differences. Let’s go ahead and leave this table now. It’s too cold and you don’t want to open this can of worms subject, anyway.”
