AS Language - Gender

Gender..

* not sex - gender

sex = biological

gender = learned behaviour

                 masculine/feminine

Can be spoken or written texts..

Bachelor

Connotation - lad, cool, good looking, successful, young, happy

Spinster

Connotation - old, lonely, frail

Language is androcentric i.e. favoring male or male dominated. Women are supposedly emotionally unstable. The origin of the word 'Hysterical' is Husterikos - 'the womb' 

Theories..

Robin Lakoff 1975 - The Deficitt Model

Published an influential account of women's language. This was the book 'Language and Women's place'

In a related article women's language, she published a set of basic assumptions about..

• Hedge: using phrases like 'sort of', 'kind of', 'it seems like'
• Use (super) polite forms: 'would you mind'
• Tag questions: 'you're going to dinner, aren't you?'
• International emphasis: underlining words: 'so' 'very'
• Use empty adjectives: 'divine' 'loyalty' 'adorable'
• Use hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation: english prestige grammar and clear enunciation
• Special lexicon: women use more words for things like colours, men for sports
• Use 'wh' imperatives: 'why don't you open the door' - negative face
• Speak less frequently
• Overuse qualifies: 'i think that..'
• Apologise more: 'i'm sorry but i think that'
• Use modal constructions: 'would, should, could, ought..'
• Use indirect commands and requests: 'my, isn't it cold in here?' - really a request to turn the heat on or close a window
• Use more intensifiers: especially so and very
• Lack of sense of humour

Deborah Tannen - Difference theory

- Series of 6 contrasts

Men vs. Women

Status vs. Support

- men grow up in an environment in which conversation is competitive - they seek to achieve the upper hand

- for women talking is often a way to gain conformation and support for their ideas

-women see the world as 'a network for connections' seeking support and consensus

Independence vs. Intimacy

- women often think in terms of closeness and support, and struggle to preserve intimacy

- men are concerned with status, tend to focus more on independence

- these traits can lead men and women to starkly different views for the same situation

Advice vs. Understanding

Deborah Tannen claims that to many men a complaint is a challenge to find a solution.

Information vs. Feelings

- men only give necessary information

- a young woman makes a phone call - can last half an hour or more

Orders vs. Proposals

- women often suggest that people do things in indirect ways 'let's' 'why don't we'

- men use and prefer to hear a direct imperative

Conflict vs. Compromise

- "in trying to prevent fights" writes Professor Tannen "some women refuse to oppose the will of others openly"

but sometimes it's far more effective for a women to assert herself, even at the risk of conflict

Dominance Theory

This approach argues that women's conversational behaviour reflects their subordinate position in society - because women are used to their position in society they allow men to dominate mixed-sex conversations

Zimmerman and West 1975

- men interrupt more in conversations

How men end up talking more - 

Looked at interruptions and overlaps which is a sign that conversation is not running smoothly

In single-sex conversations there are less interruptions

In mixed-sex conversations men are likely to talk more

98% of the interruptions and ALL of overlap - done by MEN

Men rarely interrupt or overlap other men's speech but did things a great deal to infringe upon a women's right to speek

Peter Trudgill

'H' dropping

Men are more likely to drop the 'h' in words like 'house' and drop the 'g' in words like 'going'

Women are more likely to use the standard forms..

Men are suppose to use more standard forms.

Over prestige - women

Desire to fit into society using standard language forms

Covert prestige - men

Using non-standard forms to 'rebel' against society