Language And Gender

Question 1

Peter trudgill

Answer 1

[Focused on phonological features of speech]
- men tended to use more non standard pronunciations such as ‘playin’

• men used standard pronunciation more than they said they did because they value ‘covert prestige’
• women used non standard language more than they said they did because they favour ‘overt prestige’ and the status attached to standard pronunciation

Question 2

Judith Butler (performativity)

Answer 2

Gender is culturally constructed and performed
- the performance of what Is ‘appropriate’ gendered behaviour creates gender

Question 3

Deborah jones (gossip between women)

Answer 3

House talk- exchanging information

Scandal- judging others

Bitching- angry and resentful

Chatting- sharing and mutual support

Question 4

Jenny Cheshire

Answer 4

Speech of teens in Reading
- boys used non standard forms e.g the use of aint

Question 5

Deborah Cameron (verbal hygiene)

Answer 5

The tendency humans have to clean up our language so we:
- what is incorrect and correct
- in some cultures to impose expectations on women with the way they speak

Question 6

Lesley Milroy

Answer 6

Studied close knit communities in Belfast during ‘the troubles’
- young men used features such as g/dropping to appear more masculine

Question 7

Pilkington and Coates (difference approach)

Answer 7

-female talk is cooperative and supportive e.g more politeness features
-found that these features weren’t found in all male talk

Question 8

Deborah tannen (difference approach)

Answer 8

Men and women struggled to communicate with each other because of their different conversational goals:
MEN- FEMALE-
Status Support
Independence Intimacy
Solutions Understanding
Conflict compromise

Women prefer rapport talk and men prefer report talk

Question 9

Koenraad kuiper

Answer 9

In all male talk, they used insults to express solidarity

Question 10

Difference approach

Answer 10

The way men’s and women’s language can be explained because of differences between them.

Pros-
Avoids blaming
Acknowledges cultural differences

Cons-
Polarises men and women
Fails to acknowledge variations within language

Question 11

Robin lakoff (deficit approach)

Answer 11

Assumptions of women’s language:
- hedging (making speech weaker) e.g “sort of”
- polite forms e.g Would you mind…?
-tag questions e.g you’re going to dinner aren’t you?
-wh-imperatives e.g why don’t you..?
-declarative statements into interrogatives using uptalk
-apologise more

Features she found showed women to be less authoritative and more insecure which reflect their status in society, they use these language features because they are socialised into being more uncertain

Criticism:
- findings based on observations rather than actual precise study
- labelling all features as due to uncertainty is too generalising

Question 12

Zimmerman and west (dominance approach)

Answer 12

96% of interruptions were by men - impose dominant status through applying constraints to conversations

Question 13

Pamela fishmen (dominance approach)

Answer 13

Men dominate conversation by not doing enough of the collaborative work

‘Interactional shitwork’ - what women do to keep conversation going
E.g asking questions, back channeling

Question 14

Social constructionist