Paper 1 - Gender - Deficit Model

Question 1

What did Lakoff argue?

Answer 1

• Women’s speech patterns are created by their subordinate role in society which is seen as male dominated
• female language features represent women’s lack of confidence

Question 2

Hedging

Answer 2

• less certain and assertive with the statement
• “sort of”
• “kind of”

Question 3

Super polite forms

Answer 3

• “would you mind”
• “I’d appreciate if”

Question 4

Tag questions

Answer 4

• “You’re going to dinner, aren’t you?”

Question 5

Hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation

Answer 5

• English prestige grammar and clear enunciation
• women upwardly converge as they have no status below a man

Question 6

Direct quotation

Answer 6

• men paraphrase a lot
• women aren’t confident in what they’re saying so have to say things how they are

Question 7

Question intonation

Answer 7

• women make declarative statements into questions by raising their pitch
• shows they are uncertain of what they’re asking
• “what school do you attend? Eton College?”

Question 8

“Wh-“ imperatives

Answer 8

• “why don’t you open the door” rather than “open the door”
• use transitive verbs instead of intransitive verbs

Question 9

Non-factive verbs

Answer 9

• used by women
• “I believe”
• “I feel”
• cannot use factive verbs (“I know”) because we are unsure of what we’re saying

Question 10

Apologise more

Answer 10

• women don’t know what they’re talking about
• “I’m sorry, but I think that” ~ used to men speaking so have to apologise when we speak

Question 11

Avoid coarse language

Answer 11

• such as swearing

Question 12

Indirect commands and requests

Answer 12

• “isn’t it cold in here?”
• really a request to turn the heat on or close a window instead of stating its cold

Question 13

More intensifiers

Answer 13

• especially so and very
• “I am so glad you came!”

Question 14

Lack of sense of humour

Answer 14

• women don’t tell jokes
• don’t understand the punch line of jokes