Gender and Language
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Transcript Gender and Language
Gender and
Language
Mac Stant
and
Stephanie Cotton
Introduction
Language and Gender research formally began
in the 1970s.
Contributions to the topic from other areasanthropology, education, women’s studies,
social psychology, etc.
Different types of studies have looked at
gender: variationist (quantifying gender
differences), interactional studies (context,
same-gender, mixed-gender), Fluid models (e.g.
unisex), Alternative contexts for communication.
Main Points of Gender and Language
Use
Direct relationships between gender & language (e.g.
Japanese, Hopi, etc).
Language & gender research concerned with:
Male and female differences
Gender cultural difference verses power and dominance
Gendered language use interpreted as reflecting preexisting & maintaining social distinctions
Past: Gender roles were more well defined
Present: Subgroups within those gender categories
Future: Lack of language-gender differentiation possible
Relationships Between Gender &
Language
Labov’s New York City
Not only did language vary based on socioeconomic
status. . .
But he found… women use more prestige features
(status conscious) , men more vernacular features
(overt prestige)
Problems with methodologies
Social class divisions not necessarily accurate
Interpreting differences - lack of “convincing evidence”
Gender & Language Relationships
(cont.)
Caribs (men) Arawak (women)
Native American languages
Women- Formal pronouns in informal situations
Women- Absence of deprecatory pronouns
South African-Xhosa speakers
Different verb forms in Koasati, Hopi’s “Thank You”
Japanese
10% vocabulary not shared by both sexes
Hlonipha-women’s language of respect
German women reference- Video
Main Points of Gender and Language
Use
Direct relationships between gender & language (e.g.
Japanese, Hopi, etc).
Language & gender research concerned with:
Male and female differences
Gender cultural difference verses power and dominance
Gendered language use interpreted as reflecting preexisting & maintaining social distinctions
Past: Gender roles were more well defined
Present: Subgroups within those gender categories
Future: Lack of language-gender differentiation possible
Gender Differences (cont.)
Differing features of conversational style
Amount of talk (Coates)
Interruptions (Zimmerman & West)
Women use more hedges and tag questions,
Compliments (Metshire, et. al., 2001)
Women gave more conversational support than men leaving more opportunities for men’s stories to
get expanded upon.
Tentativeness (Lackoff, 1975, Holmes, 1995)
Men interrupt women more than vice versa
Conversational support (Fishman)
Mixed groups-men talk more especially in formal & public contexts
Same sex groups- amt. talk equal
Women pay and receive more compliments
Topic of talk (Coates, Tannen)
Women speak and hear a language of connection and intimacy (Tannen), Personal Topics
(Coates)
Men speak and hear a language of status and independence (Tannen), Non-personal Topics
(Coates)
What are your mixed-gender miscommunication experiences?
Gender as Cultural Difference
MALTZ & BORKER
Gender Communication Differences Learned as Children.
I Just don’t Understand You
Minimal responses indicate attention for women, but for men they signal
agreement -> why females use them more
Women- “mmmhmm” = “I’m listening.”
Men – “mmmhmmm” = “I agree.”
TANNEN- It’s Just a Difference
Men and Women just have different communication expectations.
Men say to women – “fight for your right to topic
Men want women to mount resistance when they lead the conversation in
another direction and take center stage byu telling a story, etc. Women’s
overlapping agreements and support seen as interruptions
Women are irritated by men who interrupt to change eht conversational topic.
Gender Dominance
Lakoff (1975) – Informal Observations and Intuitions
Deficit model of language use
Zimmerman & West (1975)- Empirical Study of Conversation
Interruptions- more occurred in mixed-sex groups, most by men.
Women’s speaking style (uncertainty and hesitancy) denies them
access to power.
Women are not inadequate but men oppress women with their
interruptions, denying them an = status as a communication partner
UCHIA & TROEMEL-PLOETZ- Men are BAD!
CAMERON- Men are BAD!
COATES- Don’t call it dominance
You don’t have to ‘put down’ men to ‘bring up’ women.
Main Points of Gender and Language
Use
Direct relationships between gender & language (e.g.
Japanese, Hopi, etc).
Language & gender research concerned with:
Male and female differences
Gender cultural difference verses power and dominance
Gendered language use interpreted as reflecting preexisting & maintaining social distinctions
Past: Gender roles were more well defined
Present: Subgroups within those gender categories
Future: Lack of language-gender differentiation possible
Pre-Existing Social Distinctions
Past Concrete & Established Gender Identity
Remember the Language Forms
Japanese pronouns & deprecatory words
Lack of Mobility - less interaction with different
communication styles
Men and Women had more defined gender roles
Nichols (1979) – the women who took less traditional work roles
outside of the homes & further from their homes experienced
language variation different from those who stayed home. Older
women and men stayed in local community and maintained their
Creole language
Value placed on upholding traditions (language)
Individual Gender Fluidity
Past no mobility-meant there weren’t as many subgroups to
identify with. Male, female, or undesirable.
Present: Greater subgroups to choose from due to increased
interactions/mobility (Nichols).
More flexible gender roles
Milroy- language reflects community integration as opposed to
gender differences
Female gender is more flexible
German school girls
Japanese school girls
Women can violate gender rules more easily than men can
(posture, etc. ) however, that gap is beginning to close (stay at
home dads, dancing, etc.)
Maintaining Social Distinctions:
Present
Childrearing Practices
Value of Identifying Gender Immediately
Maltz & Borker
Media
Single Sex Peer Groups from an early age
Advertisements, etc.
Sunderland (1995)
German classroom research
The boys reported they would not say, “we’re girls.” It’s not
possible.
girls forfeit gender for participation – “We’re boys!”
Changing Social Distinctions:
Present/Future
People taking on different gender roles
Transexuals
Electronic Communication – lack of gender identification and
adress on the internet may effect how people habitually interact
(McAdams).
Japanese Girls using vernacular terms in school but not with
their elders.
In the future a heterosexual man may say to another
heterosexual male friend, “you’re a diva” and mean it as a
compliment.
Written Language Paradox- “he/she.” In the future will we
create new vocabulary (“shim”)?
References
Metshire, Swainn, Deumert, & Leap (2000).
Gender and Language Use. In Introducing
Sociolinguistics. Philadelphia: John
Benjamins Publishing. (216-247).
Tannen, D. (1994). Interpreting interruption
in conversation. In Gender & discourse.
Oxford University Press (53-79).