Deficit Model

Question 1

What does the deficit model argue

Answer 1

Women’s language is lacking in some form (eg. Power, confidence, authority etc)
Women cannot do some things that men can because of “lacking something” in their language

Question 2

Theorist for the deficit model

Answer 2

Robin Lakoff 1975

Question 3

What were lakoff’s findings

Answer 3

She published a book suggesting women are not just ‘kept in their place’ by the way they are spoken or written about, but by the way they use language themselves.

Women are socialised to use language that makes them sound trivial, silly and powerless.

Their language is completely different to men’s and has linguistic features that highlighted women’s uncertainty and powerlessness.

Question 4

Limitations of lakoff’s research

Answer 4

Only used anecdotal evidence (only experiences, no data)
Lack of diversity in the sample - they were all American , white , middle class and educated

Question 5

what are the 18 ‘women’s language features’ - Lakoff

Answer 5

hedges
super polite forms
tag questions
emphatic stress
empty adjectives
hyper-correct grammar
direct quotation
minimal responses
intonation for questions in declaratives
apologise more
special lexicon
euphemisms more
diminutives more
“Wh” imperatives
more modal constructions
indirect commands and requests
avoid slang and expletives
lack a sense of humour

Question 6

what are hedges

Answer 6

hedging propositions to make them sound less forceful eg. “sort of” “i think”

Question 7

what is emphatic stress

Answer 7

speaking in italics to emphasise certain words such as “so” or “very”

Question 8

what are diminutives

Answer 8

shortening words eg. “nick” instead of “nicola”