gender linguists Flashcards
what is the name of otto jesperson’s theory?
deficit theory
what year did otto jesperson conduct his research?
1922
what is jesperson’s deficit theory?
-idea that men’s language is the standard
-womens language is difference there insufficient and weaker
what language forms did jesperson identify in women?
-talk a lot, and think before they speak more
-use simpler words/ shorter sentences/ more adjectives and adverbs
-more exaggerating and emotional/ less direct
-more false starts/ unfinished sentences
what language forms did jesperson identify in men?
-wider vocabulary
-are the establishers of new English words
what year did william labov conduct his ‘nyc department store study’?
1966
what is the name of william labov’s 1966 study?
nyc department store study
what socioeconomic class were more likely to use the rhotic r?
upper/ upper middle
what three department stores did he use for his study?
-all on 5th avenue NYC
-Saks (upper middle)
-Macy’s (middle)
-S.Klein (working)
how many responses did labov get from participants at the saks department store?
71 participants
how many responses did labov get from participants at the macy’s department store?
125 participants
how many responses did labov get from participants at the s.klein department store?
68 participants
what percent of the 71 participants at saks used a rhotic r?
62% of 71
what percent of the 125 participants at macy’s used a rhotic r?
51% of 125 participants
what percent of the 68 participants at s.klein used a rhotic r?
20% of 68 participants
what did labov ask the employees in order to elicit a response including a rhotic r use?
‘where is x item’
‘on the fourth floor’
what year did peter trudgill conduct his norwich study?
1972
what is the name of peter trudgill’s 1972 study?
norwich study
what 4 variable did trudgill take into account when selecting participants?
-occupation
-education
-housing/location area
-income
how many participants were involved in trudgill’s study?
60 participants
how did trudgill choose his participants
randomly, from the electoral register
why did trudgill take into account the 4 variables that he did?
to observe overt and covert prestige
which gender did trudgill record more non-standard forms of english in?
men
what did trudgill present participants with in order to elicit research content?
questions about their jobs, education level, income etc
what linguistic variable did trudgill focus on?
the pronunciation of ‘-ing’ words
what year did robin lakoff conduct her research?
1975
what is the name of the theory robin lakoff conducted in 1975?
deficit theory (expanded from jesperson)
what word forms did robin lakoff record more of in women?
-empty adjectives
-tag questions
-indirect commands
-intensifiers
-modal verbs
what conversational forms did robin lakoff observe more in women?
-apologizing
-backchanelling
-hedging
what language forms did robin lakoff observe less of in women?
-swearing
-use of slang words
-sense of humour
what sorts of participants did lakoff use in her research?
all white, middle class, young adult women
what year did lesley milroy conduct her belfast study?
1975
what was the name of milroy’s 1975 study?
belfast study
define ‘social network’ in linguistic terms
a discourse community
what are the 2 main categories of social networks?
open and closed
define open social network
-participants do not necessarily know each other
-lower density
define closed social network
-small, more isolated and close-knit participants
-higher density
define multiplexity
when members of one social network know each other through another social network(s)
what 3 areas of belfast did lesley milroy select to study?
-ballymacarrett
-hammer
-clonard
what social class were predominantly present in the 3 areas of milroy’s belfast study?
working class
which phonological variables did milroy focus on in her study?
-‘th’ (in words such as ‘mother’
-‘a’ (in words such as ‘hat’)
which gender used more non-standard forms of english in milroy’s study?
men
name one reason milroy suggested for men using non-standard english forms more than women?
they formed tighter-knit groups than women, who were more social
what year did zimmerman and west conduct their research?
1976
what theory did zimmerman and west investigate in their 1976 research?
dominance model
how many conversations did zimmerman and west record?
31 conversations between 2 people at at time
what genders made up zimmerman and west 31 recorded conversations?
-10 only female
-10 only male
-11 mixed gender
what did zimmerman and west observe in men in their research?
-spoke more overall
-interrupted/ talked over women more
-delayed/minimal responses to women
-rarely interrupted other men
what did zimmerman and west observe more in women in their research?
-remained silent more/ for longer periods of time
-only interrupted other women, not men
what is the basis of the dominance model?
-language men use is superior and holds more dominance in society
-language women use is seen as inferior
why could the dominance model be seen as problematic?
it suggests that men’s language is more important and valid than women’s language
what year did dale spender conduct her research?
1980
what did dale spender conduct her research on?
dominance theory
what did dale spender have in common with robin lakoff?
both referred to a ‘women’s language’
what was dale spender’s main contribution to the idea of the dominance theory?
language determines the limits of society
what year did esther greif conduct her supporting research?
1980
which theorists was esther greif supporting with her own additional research?
zimmerman and west
what additional findings did esther greif highlight?
-fathers interrupt their children more than mothers
-both parents interrupt daughters more than sons
what year did geoffrey beattie conduct his research?
1982
what theorists did geoffrey beattie challenge in 1982?
zimmerman and west
how did beattie challenge the zimmerman and west study?
asking ‘why do interruptions equal dominance?’
‘do interruptions reflect interest and involvement?’
how long did geoffrey beattie spend recording his own material?
10 hours
how many interruptions did geoffrey beattie record?
557 interruptions
what frequency did men and women interrupt at?
-men 34.1
-women 33.8
-more or less the same frequency
what year did jenny cheshire conduct her research?
1982
what was the name of the study conducted by jenny cheshire?
reading children study
what did jenny cheshire analyse in her study?
syntax variation
how many participants did jenny cheshire observe?
25 children, mixed gender
what did jenny cheshire see girls do when speaking to a teacher?
codeswitch into prestige forms
what did jenny cheshire suggest variation in boy’s speech was caused by?
governed by norms within the peer group
what did jenny cheshire suggest variation in girl’s speech was caused by?
more personal, less controlled by norms
what year did pamela fishman conduct her research?
1983
what phrase did pamela fishman coin?
‘conversational shitwork’
how did pamela fishman contradict the deficit theory?
she said that despite women being dominated in discourse, they are stronger adapters
how many hours of conversation did pamela fishman record?
52 hours of conversation
who did pamela fishman record speaking?
young american couples
what ages were the participants recorded by pamela fishman?
25-35 years old
what did fishman concentrate on in her research?
tag questions
what year did jennifer coates conduct her research?
1989
what did jennifer coates conduct her research on?
mixed gender friendship group
what language form did jennifer coates observe in women?
epistemic modal forms
what main observations did jennifer coates make in her 1989 study?
-men will often reject topics of conversation introduced by women
-women will typically accept topics introduced by men
-women are more likely to initiate conversation, but less likely to be successful continuing it
what was the main thing stated by jennifer coates’ research?
gendered friend groups create gender stereotypes in language as a result of different styles of speaking
what year did deborah tannen conduct her research on the difference model?
1990
what was the name of the research conducted by deborah tannen?
difference model
what is the basis of the difference model?
men and women do speak in different ways, and neither one is superior
how many key differences did tannen outline in the difference model?
6 key differences
difference model: status vs
support
difference model: advice vs
understanding
difference model: orders vs
proposals
difference model: conflict vs
compromise
difference model: independence vs
intimacy
difference model: information vs
feelings
name all 6 key differences outlined by deborah tannen?
-status vs support
-advice vs understanding
-orders vs proposals
-conflict vs compromise
-independence vs intimacy
-information vs feelings
what year did jane pilkington conduct the bakery study?
1992
what was the name of the study conducted by jane pilkington?
bakery study
what did pilkington say was the basis if women’s discourse?
affirming solidarity and maintaining relationships
what did pilkington say was the basis if men’s discourse?
to challenge other points of view
how long did pilkington observe conversations in the bakery for?
9 months
what year did cameron conduct research in?
1995
what phrase did cameron coin in 1995?
‘political correctness’
define ‘political correctness’
cleaning up of political language
what year did labov conduct his research on gender paradox theory?
2001
what phrase did labov coin in 2001?
gender paradox
define labov’s ‘gender paradox’
-women conform more to linguistic norms because female deviations are more overtly stigmatized
-however, they deviate more than men
what group did labov suggest were the leaders of linguistic change?
nonconformist women
what year did deborah cameron investigate the diversity theory?
2012
what is the name of the research done by deborah cameron?
diversity theory
what forms the basis of cameron’s diversity theory?
-it is not biological sex that affects language use
-however, it is societal gender roles that do
what term did cameron coin in 2012?
‘verbal hygeine’
define cameron’s term ‘verbal hygeine’
the ways people think they are supposed to speak in order to meet expected norms of society
