Language and Gender

Question 1

Sex

Answer 1

Biological difference

Question 2

gender

Answer 2

socially expected characteristics

Question 3

Julia Stanley (1973) Male as the norm syndrome

Answer 3

man - from germanic ‘mann’ meaning humankind
woman- from old english ‘wifmon’ meaning man’s wife

Question 4

Dale Spender (1960)

Answer 4

found most primary school teachers were female so were referred to as ‘she’ - which the male teachers didn’t like

Question 5

wilson (1533)

Answer 5

ruled that the should precede the woman in pairs
E.G. son/daughter
-nobody disagreed

Question 6

poole (1646)

Answer 6

argued male should precede female as they were the worthier sex - nobody disagreed

Question 7

john kirby

Answer 7

ruled that the man gender was more comprehensive so the female gender would be included in it

Question 8

1800s grammarians claimed that

Answer 8

‘they’ and ‘their’ couldn’t be used in sentences like: anyone could do it if they tried - anyone is singular

Question 9

sex discrimination act (1975)

Answer 9

meant it was illegal to write a job advert in a way that implied only one sex could apply
- however some words like fireman and waitress are still used

Question 10

patronyms

Answer 10

names that refer to male lines of inheritance E.G. johnson or o’brian

Question 11

matronyms

Answer 11

(in iceland) mother’s firstname plus term for daughter or son

Question 12

goddard (1983) terms of endearment

Answer 12

many women dislike men using terms of endearment as it suggests:
- it is his right as a man
-any right minded female will welcome it
CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT
-regionality affects the reaction
E.G. ‘love’ in manchester; ‘pet’ in newcastle

Question 13

hoey (2005)

Answer 13

uses the term ‘lexical priming’ to describe how words can develop an ‘‘undercoat layer’ built from habitual usage in the same contexts
E.G. strutting and bellows

Question 14

Goldberg (1974) perception of gender

Answer 14

gave female students sets of booklets containing the same article, one by John T McKay, the other by Joan T McKay - they all find writing to be superior in all areas.
- this is because as children learn to speak, they absorb the values, assumptions and expectations of the adults who surround them.

Question 15

Julia Stanley (1973) language and controlling sexual behaviour

Answer 15

there are generally more words to describe men than women - most show them in a favourable light.
26 words describe men (in terms of sexual promiscuity) and many were complementary - there is no equal to ‘slut’.
220 words describe women - all are degrading

Question 16

Sue Lees in her book ‘Losing Out’

Answer 16

argue that men control female sexual behaviour by the use of derogatory terms.
‘slag’- used for girls who actively pursue boys and treat them how they treat girls
- male equivalent is ‘stud’, a very different meaning

Question 17

folk-linguistics

Answer 17

assumptions on linguistics not scientific facts E.G. women talk more than men, but modern research shows it is context dependent.

Question 18

Lakoff (1975) language and a woman’s place

Answer 18

women use language that makes them seem un-confident E.G. hesitation, hedging, approval seeking tag questions and euphemistic politeness terms. -To talk like a lady
-LINKS WITH GOLDBERG (1974)

Question 19

William O’Barr and Bowman Atkinson (1980)

Answer 19

did a study in courtroom over 30 months
-argued that the language that man women seem uncertain was based on power not sex
- COUNTERS LAKOFF (1975)

Question 20

Lakoff’s dominance theory (1975)

Answer 20

hedging
(super) polite forms
approval seeking tag questions
speak in italics
empty adjectives
direct quotations
have a special lexicon
question intonation in declarative statements
wh-imperatives
overusing qualifiers
apologise more
modal constructions
indirect commands or requests
more intensifiers
speak less frequently
avoid taboo or expletives
lack a sense of humour
- LAST THREE ARE TIME/CONTEXT RELEVANT

Question 21

Pamela Fishman (1983) - dominance theory

Answer 21

studied 52 hours of mixed gender interactions and found women do most of the ‘work’
women make an effort to create an inclusive conversation atmosphere - men become involved when the topic interests them, they then dominate the conversation.
- women limit themselves by being linguistically available to men, the ones that aren’t are ‘bitchy’ or ‘aggressive’

Question 22

Zimmerman and West (1975) dominance theory

Answer 22

found men are more likely to interrupt in mixed sex conversation
HOWEVER:
all P’s under 35, white and middleclass
-this conclusion came about because in 11 conversations, men interrupted 46 times whereas women only twice.

Question 23

Dale Spender (1980) Dominance Theory

Answer 23

suggests women are trapped in a world of language that is not of their making - men control language to the point that the most taboo word (cunt) is avoided by women, despite being part of their own body

Question 24

Deborah Tannen (1990) - difference theory

Answer 24

suggested there are male and female ‘cultures’ with their own rules, shared meanings and ways of doing things - in mixed sex groups there are miscommunications

Question 25

Deborah Tannen (1990) - you just don't understand men and women in conversation (difference theory)

Answer 25

'would you like to go for a coffee?' (indirect command or request) 'no thanks' so they didn't stop. men and women interpret the same interactions differently - causing miscommunications men : monitor convos for signals of power and status women : monitor convos for signals alignment and solidarity

Question 26

Tannen's work summarised: status vs support

Answer 26

men: believe convo is competitive and strive to ensure other's don't dominate them women: use it to gain support and confirmation

Question 27

Tannen's work summarised: independence vs intimacy:

Answer 27

men: because they focus on status, they strive for independence women: seek closeness and support

Question 28

Tannen's work summarised: advice vs understanding:

Answer 28

men: like to find solutions to problems women: seek sympathy and understanding

Question 29

Tannen's work summarised: info vs feelings:

Answer 29

men: exchange information briefly E.G. phone call to arrange a meeting women: talk more about their feelings and emotions

Question 30

Tannen's work summarised: orders vs proposals:

Answer 30

men: make orders using direct imperatives women: suggest things in more indirect ways

Question 31

Tannen's work summarised: conflict vs compromise:

Answer 31

men: are more likely to voice their opposition women: are less likely to object and will complain later

Question 32

Peter Trudgill ((1972) - difference theory

Answer 32

suggests these difference are down to social values rather than biology women use overt prestige whereas men use covert prestige

Question 33

Maltz and Borker (1982) - difference theory

Answer 33

argue that men and women have different discourse norms given that they usually aquire communicative competence in single sex groups E.G. 'mhm' (back-channelling) for women means 'i hear you' but for men means 'i agree'

Question 34

Maltz and Borker (1982) - difference theory (continued..)

Answer 34

when girls learn to do 3 things when in their formative years: maintain closeness and equality criticise others in acceptable ways to accurately interpret other girl's speech boys: assert a position of dominance attract and maintain an audience assert themselves when another speaker has the floor