Gender Flashcards
What is the Dominance model?
The idea that men’s use of language dominates the weaker female sex due to their higher position in society
What did Robin Lakoff study?
the idea of there being a ‘woman’s language’
What was Lakoffs book called?
Language and woman’s place (1975)
What analysis did Lakoff make about women’s words?
Use more empty adjectives, intensifiers and weak expletives e.g oh dear
What did Lakoff analyse about women’s grammar?
They use tag questions, hedges and hypercorrect grammar
What did Lakoff analyse about women’s phonology?
A rising intonation and an exaggerated intonation
What did Lakoff analyse about women’s politeness?
They apologise more, use euphemisms and polite forms
Evaluation of Lakoff?
- stereotypes the genders
- no research just observation
What did Zimmerman and West evaluate?
The idea that men interrupt more due to their domination
How did Beattie oppose Z+W?
you might simply have one very voluble man in the study which has a disproportionate effect on the total
Zimmerman and wests study:
California in 1975
31 segments of conversations
11 conversations (46 male interruptions, 2 male interruptions)
Issues of zimmerman and wests study:
small study
all white middle class subjects
sees interruptions as a negative
What was Dale spenders study?
Dominance Model
What did Spender gather from the dominance model?
She gathered that you can’t get rid of the male patriarchy with language as language is also male dominated
What was Pamela Fishmans book called?
‘interactions: the work women do’ (1983)
What did Fishman gather?
Women are interactional (use more questions and start conversations) whereas men are transactional
What did O’barr and Atkins investigate?
The idea that language is situation dependent - courtroom cases
How did O’barr and Atkins investigate situation?
studied courtroom cases for 30 months and used Lakoffs study of women’s language
What did O’barr and Atkins find?
In a courtroom, the witnesses used language which they wouldn’t usually use to appeal to the judge
What was Deborah Tannens model called?
The difference model
What does tannens difference model observe?
Difference is language is due to gender difference (social construct)
Tannen said men are… and women are…
men are transactional, women are interactional
How many contrasts did Tannen observe?
Six
Name the six contrasts of the difference model (male is always first)
Status vs support
Independence vs intimacy
advice vs understanding
information vs feelings
orders vs proposals
conflict vs compromise
what are the R’s about men and women?
Men report and Women rapport
What was Cameron’s theory?
Diversity Theory
What did Cameron famously say?
there are more differences within genders than between them
What was cameron’s book?
The myth of mars and venus
What did Judith Butler observe?
the idea that gender is a performance (gender performativity) and what you portray is a choice
what did butler say about expressions and gender?
There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender
What did penelope eckert say?
There are other factors to language and you can’t specify them
Who did Eckert say people are more likely to talk like?
Their friends
How did Eckert observe the factors?
Observed friendship groups in a school in detroit
Who were the dominance theorists?
Lakoff
O’barr and Atkins
Zimmerman and West
Fishman
Spender
Who was the Difference Theorist?
Tannen
Who were the diversity theorists?
Butler
Eckert
Cameron
