Sounding Like a Professor: Why?

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Theory:

One reason many of those on the spectrum sound like a professor (as Dr. Asperger put it) is because they use the most effective words to communicate instead of the words which will make them sound like part of the "in group." There are other reasons (like monologuing about special interests) but I would like your thoughts about this theory.

Sounds possible. One of my nicknames at college was "professor". Part of this may be due to using formal grammar and not shortening words e.g. "do not" rather than "don't" when speaking. I also tend to speak about subjects in an unemotional factual sort of way even when they are highly emotive subjects.

true. i tend to express myself grammatically (managed to reduce this now though) as it enables me to understand what i am talking about. especially when discussing chemistry for pleasure and theories. At age 15 I was analysing sentenced in 19th century novels to improve my verbal harmony.

I want my speach about something I am interested in to sound neat, to be understable, so I could discuss it with my listeners. When you know lots about something, you also know the professional terms and you like to use them. It is natural for you.

Absolutely. I talk like a book and it's because I care about precision and form. I also care about meter and rhyme when I'm writing so I can get hung up on structure to the extent that I forget what I'm trying to say. I love (and collect) specialist words but I try not to use them because it gets in the way of communication and I'm quite bad enough at that!

I can think of at least 3 times during my secondary education years in which teachers accused me of plagiarism because I used words that "kids don't know" or my writing or prepared speech "sounds like it's from a text book".

Now, I *am* a professor, so I don't get as many complaints from my colleagues and the grad students to whom I lecture.

it's perhaps also the tone of voice and the indepth knowledge of certain subjects too.

There is, of course, one further factor, one seldom considered:

Most linguists estimate that a great deal of human communication (generally cited to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50%) is conducted through nonverbal methods - tone of voice, expression, posture, gesture, all that sort of thing. You know, exactly the sort of information exchange hampered, if not completely prevented, by autism.

Therefore, in order to be sure we've gotten our meaning across, we have no choice but to be as precise as possible in our selection of words. It's all we have!

Personally, it's because i've always enjoyed reading up on subjects that fascinate me, to the extent that I learn the truth and not just the commonly accepted version. I used to get asked, 'how do you know that?' Like I was a professor and sat around doing research all day.

I never thought of this before now. It was just the way I talked, and part of my awkward "nerdiness". I had no idea I was like this until my mid-20s when a girl I knew just couldn't take it anymore and went off on me because I was an annoying "know-it-all". It made me hyper aware of this tendency of mine and I have felt bad about it ever since. I still can't help it though! I have a lot of facts stored in my head! I find myself explaining to people that I spend most of my free time researching and reading, hoping it makes me less annoying.

sounds good to me. people think they are stupid and find us intimidating, so they try to make us think something is wrong with us. I am in a bad mood today.

I always try to sound professional in my speech whenever I'm around teachers or other authoritative figures; whenever I'm around friends my own age I speak a little more casually.

I refuse to condescend myself by writing in that hell-spawned "textspeak" because, unlike most other people my age, I don't find the prospect of sounding like an illiterate dumbass to be appealing.