language and gender

Question 1

what was otto jesperson’s study and when was it from?

Answer 1

Language: It’s Nature, Development and Origin (1922)

Question 2

what model does jesperson’s study fit into?

Answer 2

deficit model

Question 3

what were some of Jesperson’s findings?

Answer 3

• women talk a lot and use half-finished sentences, as they speak before they have thought about what they will say
• suggests women link sentences with ‘and’ bc they are emotional rather than ‘grammatical’
• women have a smaller vocab than men, the words they use are the ‘indispensable small change of a language’
• women know their smaller vocab so well that they are more fluent in speaking and less hesitant than men
• women have a ‘preference for veiled and indirect expressions’ which prevent them from being as effective as men
• men are responsible for introducing new words to the language
• women often gain spoken mastery of foreign languages more easily than men, but when put to the test in translating a difficult text, men prove superior

Question 4

what were the criticisms about Jesperson’s theory?

Answer 4

he didn’t do a proper scientific study, most points are from fiction

he used novels from Dickens, Bronte Sisters, Thomas Hardy etc, making the findings biased

he also quoted others who didn’t complete a proper study

Question 5

summary of jesperson?

Answer 5

suggested male language forms were the ‘norm’, and the language of others (including women) were deficient

Question 6

what was the name and date of Robin Lakoff’s study?

Answer 6

Language and Women’s Place (1975)

Question 7

what model was Lakoff?

Answer 7

deficit model

Question 8

what were the findings of Lakoff?

Answer 8

women speak less frequently

they show they are listening by using minimal responses (mmm, yeah)

speak more quietly than men and tend to use the higher pitch range of their voices

use hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation: Standard English and clear enunciation

use question intonation in declarative statements

overuse qualifiers (eg i THINK that)

use hedge

use tag questions

use super polite forms and apologise more

use more euphemisms and diminutives than men

use indirect commands and requests

Question 9

summary of Lakoff

Answer 9

male language is stronger, more prestigious and more desirable

women’s speech can be distinguished

Question 10

criticism of Lakoff

Answer 10

ideas based on observation– she studied her own speech and that of her peers, therefore making her study highly ethnocentric

stereotyped both genders

Question 11

what are the 4Ds of gender theories?

Answer 11

DEFICIT MODEL - the way men speak is the ‘norm’, women are inferior

DOMINANCE MODEL - men dominate and control women

DIFFERENCE MODEL - men and women are from different cultures

DIVERSITY MODEL - how people speak is more influenced by their social class, age, culture, education or ethnicity etc, not just gender

Question 12

what were Pamela Fishman’s studies called and when were they from?

Answer 12

Interaction: the Work Women Do (1983)

Conversational Insecurity (1990)

Question 13

what model was Pamela Fishman?

Answer 13

dominance

Question 14

findings from Interaction: the Work Women Do (1983)?

Answer 14

argues that conversation between the sexes sometimes fails, not because of anything inherent in the way women talk, but bc of how men respond / don’t respond

Question 15

what did Pamela Fishman call the work that women do to keep a conversation going? (1977)

Answer 15

‘conversational shitwork’

Question 16

what did Fishman say in Conversational Insecurity? (1990)

Answer 16

questions Lakoff’s theory

Fishman looks at questions as an attribute of interactions: women ask questions because of the power of these, not because of their personality weaknesses

Fishman also claims that in mixed- sex language interactions, men speak on average for twice as long as women

Question 17

what was Dale Spender’s study called?

Answer 17

Man Made Language (1980)

Question 18

what model was Dale Spender?

Answer 18

dominance

Question 19

what were the findings of Dale Spender?

Answer 19

language determines the limits of our world

language is man-made (and therefore mainly under male control)

refers to a ‘woman’s language’ and says that men dominate women in language

suggests that language is patriarchal and

Question 20

what are marked terms?

Answer 20

eg lady doctor, male nurse, actress

Question 21

what are unmarked terms?

Answer 21

doctor, nurse, actor

Question 22

what are asymmetric terms?

Answer 22

eg master/mistress, mr/mrs, lord/lady, king/queen

Question 23

what are inclusive terms?

Answer 23

police officer, firefighter, headteacher

Question 24

what is the generic he/man?

Answer 24

God, mankind

Question 25

what are patronising terms?

Answer 25

dear, love, sugar, darling, honey, petal

Question 26

what are insulting terms?

Answer 26

bitch, slut, pussy, bird, dick(head)

Question 27

what was deborah tannen’s study called and when was it published?

Answer 27

You Just Don’t Understand, 1990

Question 28

what model was deborah tannen?

Answer 28

difference

Question 29

what did Deborah Tannen find?

Answer 29

• STATUS VS SUPPORT: Claims that men grow up in a world in which conversation is competitive and therefore strive to ensure that others do not dominate them. Women, however, use conversation to gain support and confirmation rather than status
• INDEPENDENCE VS INTIMACY: Claims that due to the fact that men are concerned with status, they focus more on independence. Women, on the other hand, think in terms of intimacy, seeking support and closeness from their partner
• ADVICE VS UNDERSTANDING: Men like to find solutions whereas women seek sympathy and understanding. Whilst a man might seek to find a way of solving a problem that their wife or girlfriend might have, Tannen claims that what the wife or girlfriend really wants is sympathy
• INFORMATION VS FEELINGS: Men exchange information briefly, for example in a telephone conversation to arrange a meeting. However, women will spend an hour on the telephone talking about feelings and emotions
• ORDERS VS PROPOSALS: Tannen claims that men make orders by using more direct imperatives whilst women suggest things in more indirect ways
• CONFLICT VS COMPROMISE: Whilst men are more likely to voice their opposition to a suggestion in the workplace or home, women are less likely to object and assert themselves. They might delay their opposition to the suggestions and complain later.

Question 30

criticisms of tannen?

Answer 30

Criticisms: Tannen’s observations are largely anecdotal and cannot be said for all conjugal conversations, let alone mixed-gender interactions as a whole

Question 31

what was Deborah Cameron’s 1995 study ?

Answer 31

Verbal Hygiene (1995 + 2012)

Question 32

what were the findings of Verbal Hygiene?

Answer 32

Women are socialised to be feminine so their language must reflect this, they must have verbal hygiene

women are more verbally skilled than men

communicating matters to women

men are competitive, women are supportive

these differences lead to miscommunication between the two genders

Question 33

what was Deborah Cameron’s 2008 study called and what was it about?

Answer 33

The Myth of Mars and Venus (2008)

cameron criticises the notion that there are innate differences in male and female speech

Question 34

what was Janet Hyde’s theory and when was it from?

Answer 34

Gender Similarities Hypothesis, 2005

diversity model

• Suggests there are more similarities than differences between male and female language
• She found a negligible difference in most areas of communication between genders
• When there are differences, it is due to age, class, ethnicity, education, occupation, sexuality, politics etc
• Supports Cameron

Question 35

what was Janet Holmes’ theory?

Answer 35

Women, Men and Politeness (1995)

• Said women prefer a cooperative style of conversation, in which everyone is actively encouraged to contribute. This is opposed to what could be considered a more competitive style of conversation by men
• Tag questions are used as a device to maintain discussion or to be polite. Challenged Lakoff and said that they were multi-functional not a sign of weakness
• Suggested that other features of ‘women’s’ speech, such as lexical hedges and fillers, are used for a variety of functions. To suggest they are simply markers of indecision is misleading
• Further suggested that in all female groups used far more compliments as further acts of politeness and solidarity than men did

difference model

Question 36

what was Deborah Jones’ theory?

Answer 36

Deborah Jones, Gossip: Notes on Women’s Oral Culture (1980)

• Studied women’s gossip and placed it into 4 categories: house talk (exchange of information and resources connected with the female role as an occupation), scandal (judging behaviour of others, especially women), bitching (expression of women’s anger, make complaints in private or to other women) and chatting (everyday conversation, a form of female small talk)

Question 37

what did pilkington do

Answer 37

1992

difference

studied language used by men and women in a bakery over 9 months.

women tended to be more polite. women’s conversations revolved around relationships and feelings. men frequently disagreed with each other and were less supportive with eachother

she concluded that men and women have different goals in conversations

Question 38

criticism of pilkington

Answer 38

people may have known they were being recorded or she could have confounded results

Question 39

what did o’barr and atkins say?

Answer 39

1980, but diversity model = forward thinking

challenged Lakoff’s ideas, studied/analysed language of witnesses in court

found differences in language were due to the individual’s position in the hierarchy of the court, rather than gendered difference

gender alone does not influence how powerful language is

Question 40

what was judith butler’s theory

Answer 40

we should not view gender as binary. we ‘perform’ our gender, playing a role and conforming to social norms

Question 41

who was gray

Answer 41

author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, an influential non-fiction book from 1992 sold all around the world

suggests he though men and women communicate differently

Question 42

criticisms of gray

Answer 42

Deborah Cameron said the differences were based on harmful stereotypes

Question 43

what was coates theory

Answer 43

difference model

elaborated on jones’ study

she saw women’s language as supportive and cooperative.

in her 1998 book she said that features like ‘perhaps’ ‘sort of’ and ‘i think’ are used to respect

Question 44

what did zimmerman and west do

Answer 44

1975

analysed 11 mixed gendered conversations and found that men interrupt more in conversations (46 by men, 2 by women)

men deny equal status to women during conversations

criticism = limited study

Question 45

what did julia stanley do

Answer 45

argued that there was a negative semantic space for women

eg referred to as ‘working mothers’ not ‘working fathers’ etc

also compiled similar inventories of words and found that there were 220 denoting sexual promiscuity in women, compared to 26 for men

Question 46

what did beattie say

Answer 46

1982

(criticises zimmerman and west) suggests individual characteristics may be more important.

also questions meaning of interruptions (does not necessarily reflect dominance, could reflect interest)