Gender and Communication Flashcards
1
Q
Theory of Otto Jesperson
A
-1922 - Stated that women:
- Talk more than men
- Link sentences with “and” because they’re more emotional than grammatical
- Use many intensifiers such as “so”
- Use adverbs too much and tend towards hyperbole
- Use half-finished sentences as they speak without thinking more than men
- Have a smaller vocabulary than men
- Prefer indirect expressions
- “Shrink from coarse expressions”
2
Q
Criticisms of Otto Jesperson
A
- Didn’t conduct any studies
- Based his work largely on fiction and literature
- Quoted others who didn’t do any studies either
- Falls under Deficit Theory – claims “male” language is the norm and “female” language is different and therefore deficient
3
Q
Gender Theory of Robin Lackoff
A
-1975 - Stated that women:
- Use hedges such as “sort of” and “kind of”
- Are excessively polite
- Speak in a tone equal to the use of italics
- Use empty adjectives
- Use direct quotation more so than men
- Have a special lexicon, eg. use more words for things like colours
- Turn declarative statements into questions by raising the pitch of their voices at the end of a sentence
- Use hypercorrect grammar
- Use “wh-“ imperatives such as “why” and “who”
4
Q
Robin Lackoff’s Types of Prestige
A
- Overt Prestige: striving for something that is recognised by society in an open way
- Covert Prestige: striving for recognition and credit from a more closed and subtle group
5
Q
Criticisms of Robin Lackoff’s Gender Theory
A
- Dated socialised concepts (1975)
- Observation with no real evidence (similar to Jesperson)
- Still emphasises “male” language as “normative”
- However, her view is that of a descriptivist (describes language patterns / evolutions / history) – is not setting rules but mainly explaining observations
6
Q
Zimmerman and West
A
- 1975
- Interruptions in mixed-sex conversations are evenly distributed among the participants
- 96% of interruptions are from men and only 4% from women in mixed-sex conversations.
- These statistics were evidenced using only 31 segments of conversation and a lot of them were between intimate mixed-sex partners
7
Q
Fishman
A
- 1990
- The amount of time a man will speak in mixed-sex conversations is twice as long as the average time a woman does
- Women often have to do the “shit work” (moving along the conversation)
8
Q
Theory of Keith and Shuttleworth (Women)
A
-2000
- Talk more than men and talk too much
- Are more polite
- Are indecisive
- Nag and gossip
- Ask more questions
- Support each other (more cooperative)
- More likely to use “we” than “I”
- Use more adjectives
9
Q
Theory of Keith and Shuttleworth (Men)
A
-2000
- Swear more
- Don’t talk about emotions
- Talk about sport more
- Talk about women and machines in the same way
- Insult each other frequently
- Are competitive in conversation
- Dominate mixed conversation
- Use more imperatives
- Interrupt more
- Speak with authority even if they don’t have any
10
Q
- 1990
- The amount of time a man will speak in mixed-sex conversations is twice as long as the average time a woman does
- Women often have to do the “shit work” (moving along the conversation)
A
Fishman
11
Q
- 1975
- Interruptions in mixed-sex conversations are evenly distributed among the participants
- 96% of interruptions are from men and only 4% from women in mixed-sex conversations.
- These statistics were evidenced using only 31 segments of conversation and a lot of them were between intimate mixed-sex partners
A
Zimmerman and West
12
Q
- Dated socialised concepts (1975)
- Observation with no real evidence (similar to Jesperson)
- Still emphasises “male” language as “normative”
- However, her view is that of a descriptivist (describes language patterns / evolutions / history) – is not setting rules but mainly explaining observations
A
Criticisms of Robin Lackoff’s Gender Theory
13
Q
-1975 - Stated that women:
- Use hedges such as “sort of” and “kind of”
- Are excessively polite
- Speak in a tone equal to the use of italics
- Use empty adjectives
- Use direct quotation more so than men
- Have a special lexicon, eg. use more words for things like colours
- Turn declarative statements into questions by raising the pitch of their voices at the end of a sentence
- Use hypercorrect grammar
- Use “wh-“ imperatives such as “why” and “who”
A
Gender Theory of Robin Lackoff
14
Q
-1922 - Stated that women:
- Talk more than men
- Link sentences with “and” because they’re more emotional than grammatical
- Use many intensifiers such as “so”
- Use adverbs too much and tend towards hyperbole
- Use half-finished sentences as they speak without thinking more than men
- Have a smaller vocabulary than men
- Prefer indirect expressions
- “Shrink from coarse expressions”
A
Theory of Otto Jesperson
15
Q
Julia Stanley - 1973
A
- There are around 200 terms for sexually promiscuous females and only 20 for males
- There are more words in the English language relating to male roles than female roles
