Gender and Language (2)

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Gender and

LanguageMac Stant

andStephanie Cotton


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IntroductionLanguage and Gender research formally beganin the 1970s.Contributions to the topic from other areas-

anthropology, education, womens studies,social psychology, etc.Different types of studies have looked atgender: variationist (quantifying gender differences), interactional studies (context,same-gender, mixed-gender), Fluid models(e.g. unisex), Alternative contexts for communication.


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Main Points of Gender and LanguageUse

Direct relationships between gender & language (e.g.Japanese, Hopi, etc).Language & gender research concerned with:

Male and female differencesGender cultural difference verses power and dominance

Gendered language use interpreted as reflecting pre-existing & maintaining social distinctions

Past: Gender roles were more well definedPresent: Subgroups within those gender categoriesFuture: Lack of language-gender differentiation possible


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Relationships Between Gender &Language

Labovs New York CityNot only did language vary based on socioeconomicstatus. . .But he found women use more prestige features(status conscious) , men more vernacular features(overt prestige)Problems with methodologies

Social class divisions not necessarily accurateInterpreting differences - lack of convincing evidence


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Gender & Language Relationships(cont.)

Caribs (men) Arawak (women)10% vocabulary not shared by both sexes

Native American languagesDifferent verb forms in Koasati, Hopis Thank You

JapaneseWomen- Formal pronouns in informal situationsWomen- Absence of deprecatory pronouns

South African-Xhosa speakersHlonipha- womens language of respect German women reference- Video


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Gender Differences (cont.) Differing features of conversational style

Amount of talk (Coates)Mixed groups-men talk more especially in formal & public contextsSame sex groups- amt. talk equal

Interruptions (Zimmerman & West)Men interrupt women more than vice versa

Conversational support (Fishman)Women gave more conversational support than men leaving more opportunities for mens stories toget expanded upon.

Tentativeness (Lackoff, 1975, Holmes, 1995)Women use more hedges and tag questions,

Compliments (Metshire, et. al., 2001)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?


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Gender as Cultural Difference MALTZ & BORKER

Gender Communication Differences Learned as Children.I Just dont Understand You

Minimal responses indicate attention for women, but for men they signalagreement -> why females use them more

Women- mmmhmm = Im listening. Men mmmhmmm = I agree.

TANNEN- Its 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 inanother direction and take center stage byu telling a story, etc. Womensoverlapping agreements and support seen as interruptionsWomen are irritated by men who interrupt to change eht conversational topic.


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Gender DominanceLakoff (1975) Informal Observations and Intuitions

Deficit model of language useWomens speaking style (uncertainty and hesitancy) denies themaccess to power.

Zimmerman & West (1975)- Empirical Study of ConversationInterruptions- more occurred in mixed-sex groups, most by men.

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- Dont call it dominance

You dont have to put down men to bring up women.


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Pre-Existing Social DistinctionsPast Concrete & Established Gender Identity

Men and Women had more defined gender rolesRemember the Language Forms

Japanese pronouns & deprecatory wordsLack of Mobility - less interaction with differentcommunication styles

Nichols (1979) the women who took less traditional work rolesoutside of the homes & further from their homes experiencedlanguage 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)


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Individual Gender Fluidity

Past no mobility- meant there werent as many subgroups toidentify with. Male, female, or undesirable.Present: Greater subgroups to choose from due to increasedinteractions/mobility (Nichols).More flexible gender roles

Milroy- language reflects community integration as opposed togender differences

Female gender is more flexibleGerman school girlsJapanese school girlsWomen can violate gender rules more easily than men can(posture, etc. ) however, that gap is beginning to close (stay athome dads, dancing, etc.)


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Maintaining Social Distinctions:Present

Childrearing PracticesValue of Identifying Gender ImmediatelyMaltz & Borker

Single Sex Peer Groups from an early age

Media Advertisements, etc.

Sunderland (1995)German classroom research

The boys reported they would not say, were girls. Itsnot possible.girls forfeit gender for participation Were boys!


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Changing Social Distinctions:Present/Future

People taking on different gender rolesTransexualsElectronic Communication lack of gender identification andadress on the internet may effect how people habitually interact(McAdams).

Japanese Girls using vernacular terms in school but not withtheir elders.In the future a heterosexual man may say to another heterosexual male friend, youre a diva and mean it as acompliment.Written Language Paradox- he/she. In the future will wecreate new vocabulary (shim)?


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ReferencesMetshire, Swainn, Deumert, & Leap (2000).Gender and Language Use. In Introducing

Sociolinguistics. Philadelphia: JohnBenjamins Publishing. (216-247).Tannen, D. (1994). Interpreting interruptionin conversation. In Gender & discourse.Oxford University Press (53-79).

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