Tannen and the Difference Model Flashcards
What was Swann’s primary school study?
A teacher was given a head camera to record where her eye contact was when she was teaching a class. When the footage was reviewed, it was found that most of her attention was directed towards the boys in the class. It was not just to respond to their questions, but she was using visual cues as a way to control the boys. This still shows that boys in a class still demanded a significant amount of attention of the teacher.
Who is Deborah Tannen?
Deborah Tannen was once a student of Robin Lakoff. She published the book “You Just Don’t Understand” in 1990.
What was Tannen’s view, and how does this contradict Lakoff’s?
She argues that women’s language is not deficit to that used by men as Lakoff suggests, instead, she suggests that it is different because men and women have different functions or purposes when they use language to communicate with each other, it is that which creates the linguistic differences.
Define early socialisation.
Tannen argues that this difference stems from our early years of growing up. Young girls and boys are brought up with different behaviours, boys will be expected to run around, be boistrous, shout, interrupt, be rebellious - “boys will be boys.” Young girls are expected to be courteous, kind, gentle-natured.
List the main differences between the work of Tannen and Lakoff.
- Tannen argues that women do not always have this deficit position within a society as Lakoff does. Instead, she argues that women and men use language for different purposes (hence the term difference model).
- According to Tannen, this does not mean that one form is better or worse than another, they are just different.
- They are based around our early socialisation experiences that shape our behaviours as adults.
What were Tannen’s six differences about?
The way in which women use language.
Name Tannen’s six differences.
- Status v Support
- Independence v Intimacy
- Advice v Understanding
- Information v Feelings
- Orders v Proposal
- Conflict v Compromise
Status v Support
Men use language to show their masculinity, power and dominance as society expected them to in a conversation - this can be through frequent interruptions, talking loudly, talking for longer and holding the floor. Women use language to show their support for each other, using minimal responses (‘yes’ or ‘um’) for agreement, mirroring words or body language of the other speaker to show shared values or experiences. This can fit in with some of the early roles or gendered behaviours in early childhood.
Independence v Intimacy
Men will use language to show that they do not rely on others - they will tell jokes, use banter and that they have their own opinions, even if this brings them into conflict with others. They will be showing that they are not requiring support from others while asserting their own opinions. Similarly, they do not like to have their views challenged. They are reluctant to talk about emotions. Women will use language to show that they are connecting with others and trying to maintain a closeness within their relationships. It is a way of strengthening their social bonds by sharing secrets and private thoughts.
Advice v Understanding
Men are more likely to offer advice or solutions to problems. They tend not to just discuss problems just for the sake of discussing them, they will tend to be focused on finding the solution to it. This creates issues with emotional problems where quick solutions may not be possible, and may be why they avoid discussing them. Women will show empathy and understanding instead to others.
Information v Feelings
Men are more likely to be factual and logical in their language choices - they remain with fact and logical led opinions rather than feelings or intuition as this suits their purposes when communicating. This relates more to the world of business, management, etc and shows them to be serious, in charge and more knowledgeable. Women use language in a less factual way - this is because their views come from a more emotional standpoint and the sharing of emotions is a support mechanism. This can also relate more to vocations where emotions are important, such as care roles and a greater sense of empathy.
Orders v Proposal
Men will use language to give orders, such as imperatives and commands in order to get something done - this fits in with them seeming to be more task focused. Women are much less direct and far more likely to use implication when trying to get something done - this directly relates to the work of Lakoff here. They are more likely to negotiate solutions to problems by proposing solutions.
Conflict v Compromise
Men are more likely to use language to argue a point and to use it to get what they need done. They will be direct in their approaches to communicating, less apologetic and more ready to enter verbal conflict than women. Women are more likely to negotiate with others, to collaborate during tasks. This is because they are more concerned with maintaining relationships.
Judith Baxter and friendship groups
If a female tries to take control of a group in their interaction, often her attempt to do so is rejected by others in that group and she is seen as bossy, this rejection may not be obvious as girls tend to do this in a range of ways. This is because females have more open networks and tend to be fluid with friendships, the groups can often change so they can tend to feel less in the way of allegiance to each other. Boys tend to have closed networks so there is a greater sense of loyalty to that group.
Friendship groups and language differences in young boys and girls.
Research has shown that boys are status conscious in the playground. They do this by giving orders, telling jokes (positive face) or belittling other boys. They have leaders in a group that the group acknowledge as being in charge through the discourse topics, who speaks and when or a skill. Girls do not have such social networks. They do not easily have one main leader of a group and there is often implied negative comments as opposed to outright challenges to authority within the group.
