Individual Variation Theories

Question 1

Goffman and face theory

Answer 1

The presentation of ourselves to the world
Face threatening act= refuse to accept, or challenge someone’s face
Face work= behaviour involved in presenting face to others, saving face and respecting the face of others

Question 2

French + Raven

Answer 2

Coercive power (against will- law)
Reward power (employers)
Expert power (teacher, doctor)
Referent power (string rapport- friends)

Question 3

(Gender) deficit - Lakoff

Answer 3

Women’s lang often percicved as inferior to mena. Traditionally women’s terms marked with suffixes - derived from norm so must be assumed the power lies in the unmarked form, implying women inferior

Claim women use: hedging, tag questions, polite forms, apologise more, lack humour, indirect requests/commands

Question 4

(Gender) Dominance - Zimmerman and West

Answer 4

Language is a result of maintaining male dominance and women’s is a result of subordination
Men: control topics of convo, interrupt - getting control over topic and talk more
Women: question forms - shows uncertainty and keep convo going - conversational labour

Question 5

(Gender) Difference - Tannen

Answer 5

Men and women communicate differently based on socialisation and cultural expectations
Women: talk 2 much, speak in private contexts, build relationships, overlap, speak symmetrically
MenL more air time, speak in public, 1 at a time, speak asymmetrically, negotiate status/avoid failure

Question 6

(Gender) Diversity - trudgill

Answer 6

Lang derivation not solely determined by social factors (gender, class, ethnicity) but also by individual differences within community.
More influenced by social class - men&women in social class1 have more in common than male or female speaker in higher/lower class. Gender is just one factor to influence language.

Question 7

Accommodation theory - Giles

Answer 7

Change language depending on who we’re communicating with