for science

[daisysusan]

Because of a conversation I had with [Poll #1763689]My apologies for the US-centric nature of the regional options, but I'm most interested in whether it's a regional dialect thing within the States or not. Thanks for voting!

Comments

[scorpiod1.livejournal.com]

Okay this is odd, but for the first one, I tend to think it's either the second option or the third option. IT'S JUST DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT FOR ME.

What is this convo even about anyway?

[thatsapplejack.livejournal.com]

derp derp i have been terrible about reading my flist for WEEKS, which is awful and i hate it, but tumblr brought me here, so YAY HIIIII.

i answered "something else" even though that doesn't really apply - when i SAY hooked up, i usually mean "everything but sex," but when i HEAR it, i usually assume they mean sex. this is RIDICULOUS THOUGH, WHY DO I THINK THIS WAY? i've never thought about it before. that's weird, right? i wonder where that comes from.

so uh yeah, sorry my answer probably won't contribute anything to your research... but i'm interested in linguistics and such so i'm excited to see what comes of this too!

[softly-me.livejournal.com]

To me, "hook up" means anything from make out to have sex. I used to think it meant to have sex, but then I started living in a student house in London with people who frequently used that term and did NOT mean sex. It led to more than a few awkward moments. Basically, my roommate had sex with this guy (they 'hooked up'). My friend made out with a guy while they were dancing at a club (they 'hooked up').

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

FUCK YEAH CENTRAL CANADA.

Yes that is basically all I have to contribute. :p

[canadian-plant.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'd need to have context to differentiate. I think I'd be able to tell if someone meant sex versus hanging out, but neither feels like the dominate meaning to me. Hmm. Well, maybe I'd assume sex when it was used in the past tense ("Jill and I hooked up last night"). Asking, "Do you want to hook up later?" doesn't sound inherently sexual, though.

Hi, I came via tumblr. I have a linguistics degree so this topic can really get me thinking XD

[queer-theory.livejournal.com]

I don't automatically assume anything. I wait for context.

[hm-yrie.livejournal.com]

So hooking-up is anything that falls in the range of heavy-make-out-session up to just short of intercourse. (So, for example, oral sex would fall in "hook up")

[myr-soleil.livejournal.com]

I said I came from Eastern Canada but obviously most of my knowledge of spoken English comes from TV (or Internet I guess) so maybe that doesn't have the same impact for your poll. SORRY I'M SCREWING EVERYTHING UP!!

[quickpixie.livejournal.com]

Oh hey, all right! Two things: One, I am not the only one representing from SE, and Two, the majority of people (so far) agree with my definition of 'hooking up.' You have no idea how many awkward conversations I've had re: different definitions.

[reogulus.livejournal.com]

hook up = sex
idk i learned that from the internet

[urania-chan.livejournal.com]

Polls! I like polls! :)

Haha, but I guess my answer isn't of much use, considering I only learned English as a foreign language. xD
But to explain my answer a bit: to me it could mean all of the possibilities, it would really depend on the context...

[amoenavi.livejournal.com]

Haii bb! Polllllllls.

In MA (or in the greater Metro Boston area to mid-western MA XD) "hooking up" is a really specific phrase to use and thus only really used when something sexual happened anywhere from making out to sex.

[anna-sg1.livejournal.com]

Like someone else already said, for me it's either the second or the third opetion - heavily depends on context - tho it mostly tends to be third.

[fledmusic.livejournal.com]

I assume people mean sex, though sometimes I will clarify, depending on how well I know the person. (Am I the only one who started singing "I Do Not Hook Up" by KClarkson???? LOL)

[waluk.livejournal.com]

I tend to think they mean "hang out" unless it's in the past tense, like someone else mentioned.
And you know I'm from Charlotte too. :3