Gender Flashcards
what are the 3 D models, and name the theories within each model
Deficit - Lakoff
Dominance - Zimmerman and West/ Fishman
Difference - Tannen/ Coates/ Jane pilkington
which theorists rejected all 3 models
Cameron and Talbot
what is the deficit model and when
1975 Lakoff
She identified a list of features of female speech which are still referenced today.
This approach argues that m ale language is the norm and female language is in some way deficient.
The features:
- Hedges - ‘sort of’ ‘kind of’ ‘it seems like’
- empty adjectives ‘ adorable’ ‘gorgeous’ ‘divine’
- Super polite forms ‘ would you mind’ ‘if its not too much to ask’ ‘is it okay if’
-apologise more ‘Im sorry, but I think that’
-speak less frequently
-avoid using curse language and expletives
-tag question ‘you don’t mind eating this, do you?
- indirect requests ‘wow im so thirsty’
which theorists opposed the deficit model?
O’Barr and Atkins (1980)
They analysed language used by those in courtrooms.
found that both men and women witnesses who were of a low social class, and have experienced courtroom practices both showed the features that lakoff said were deficient.
Said that this feminine language is actually just a signifier of feeling powerless and not gender.
What was Cheshire’s theory based on
boys use more non-standard forms more frequently then girls.
variation is controlled by social and linguistic factors
boys speech - governed by norms that are central to the vernacular culture. transmitted through peer group
girls speech - more personal, less rigidly controlled by vernacular norms.
Also says that differences are visible from a young age.
examples of cheshire’s non-standard forms.
Non-standard use of “-es” morpheme applied to first person construction
“we goes shopping on Saturdays”
Non-standard conjugation of “have” applied to first person construction
“we has a little fire, keeps us warm”
Non-standard use of the verb “to be” applied to third person construction
“they was outside”
Multiple negation/ negative concord
“I’m not going nowhere”
Adverbial “never” + done replaces standard “didn’t”
“I never done it, it was him”
Non-standard indicative determiner “what” used instead of relative pronoun who, whom, which and that
“There’s a handle what you turn”
Non-standard use of auxiliary verb form “do” applied to 3rd person interrogative constructions
“How much do he want for it”
Non-standard present tense form of “come” instead of irregular past tense standard “came”
“I come down here yesterday”
Non-standard negative form “ain’t” used in a variety of constructions
“I ain’t going”
Define Fishmans theory
she analysed 52 hours f conversations between young American couples.
Women were more likely to use tag questions - four times more then men (agreed with lakoff)
but she disagreed that these indicated uncertainty. instead she said that were a way to gain conversational power and allows women to sustain conversations.
women undergo conversational shitwork. by initiating conversation using more interrogatives, tag questions and back channeling to sustain conversation
what is Zimmerman and Wets dominance theory
1975
they recorded interruptions in conversations between men and women. found that men made 96% of the interruptions.
they said this reflects the dominant position men have in male/female conversations, reflects our male dominated society.
how can you challenge Zimmerman and west (which theory)
Beattie (1982)
he suggested that interruptions can be supportive and show that people are listening.
what is Deborah tannen Camerons difference model.
she explored the difference in male/feamle language through 6 different contrasts
1) status vs support - men use language to show poor and dominance - women use language to agree and support each other.
2)independence vs intimacy - men perform distinctness from each other - women connect with others and maintain closeness.
3) advice vs understanding - men offer solutions - women show understanding and empathy
4) information vs feelings - men are factual - women are more emotional and in touch with their feelings
5) orders vs proposals - men are direct and use imperatives - women suggest action using interrogatives
6) conflict vs comprises - men more likely to argue a point - women negotiate to find common ground.
what did Tannen also explore?
Tannen explored other ideas for example the male norm.
‘mankind’ ‘manpower’
shows that in society there is an assumed natural order which reflects patriahal hegemony
Tannen - rapport vs report
report talk of men - the need to tell others something
rapport talk of women - interested in social interaction
Jennifer Coates
1989
girls and boys tend to belong to friend groups of the same gender when growing up. so develop different speaking styles. female language - cooperative
Jane Pilkington
1992
women in same gender conversations were collaborative and used positive politeness strategies
men were not like this, and were less complimentary an d less supportive
Deborah Cameron
2008
argues that a lot go gender research is biased because it recycles old stereotypes about gender.
the focus is on the differences, when there are actually lots of similarities in male and female language use.
“The idea that men and women … use language in very different ways and for very different reasons is one of the great myths of our time.”
Cameron challenges work by Lakoff, Fishman and Tannen, and argues that stereotypes around gender shape our expectations of men and women, and the types of linguistic behaviour we deem to be normal or deviant.
hyde
2005
the gender similarities hypothesis
claiming that there are more similarities than differences
the differences are instead linked to ; age, class, ethnicity, education, occupation, sexuality, politics, religion etc
