Gender and speech theories

Question 1

What did Trudgell do and find about male speech? (1974)

Answer 1

Used large samples of recordings to find differences in speech due to gender
Findings - Male speakers attach covert prestige to non-standard forms

Question 2

What did Jenny Cheshire (1982) find out about male talk?

Answer 2

Boys language converged towards everyday speech to show social solidarity due to being part of denser networks

Question 3

What did Lakoff (1975) find in the differentiation of male and female talk?

Answer 3

Differences in language were socially structured and women’s language were seen as deficient in comparison to men’s

Question 4

List the features of female that that Lakoff found:

Answer 4

• Precise colour terms (magenta, mauve)
• Weak expressive terms (oh dear)
• ‘Empty’ adjectives (charming, sweet)
• Tag questions to show uncertainty (isn’t it?)
• More polite forms/euphemisms (passed away)
• Hedges (sort of, you know)

Question 5

What did Atkins and O’Barr (1980) find that contradicted Lakoff?

Answer 5

Men in lower class backgrounds used similar features to the women in Lakoff's theory.
Language features are more dependent on power relations rather than gender.

Question 6

What did Holmes (1992) find that disputed Lakoff’s studies?

Answer 6

• Tag questions were used to be polite and maintain a discussion rather than uncertainty
• All female group talk used more compliments to show solidarity

Question 7

What did Jennifer Coates (1989) find in features of all female talk and not mixed?

Answer 7

• Women used epistemic modal forms (sort of, probably) to avoid face threatening acts
• All female talk is cooperative to help speakers negotiate the discussion

Question 8

What did Zimmerman and West (1975) find about mixed talk?

Answer 8

• 96% of all interruptions were made by men
• Women have restricted linguistic freedom
• Men impose their dominant status in putting constraints on participants inputs

Question 9

What differences did Pilkington (1992) find between female and male talk?

Answer 9

• Women in same sex talk were more collaborative than all male
• Women aim to use positive politeness strategies

Question 10

What did Kuiper (1992) find about male talk?

Answer 10

Men used insults to express their solidarity