gender- key terms & ideas

Question 1

lexical assymetry

Answer 1

A power imbalance between two apparently matched terms
-e.g. male/female, mistress/master

Question 2

briefly explain why women use standard prestigious langauge and men don’t as much

Answer 2

• it gives a person overt prestige which women use to meet expectations of being ‘ladylike’, compared with men who seek covert prestigious through non-standard to appear tough
• Women are possibly less secure than men in terms of social status. They feel the need to prove their status through language.