the difference model

Question 1

what does the difference approach say?

Answer 1

argues that male-female conversation is a miscommunication as a result of cultural differences. we grow up with different discourses due to gender specific social groups (deborah tannen)

Question 2

what were deborah tannen’s claims?

Answer 2

deborah tannen claimed that women were naturally more inclined to be co-operative in conversation whereas men are inclined to be competitive.

Question 3

what was the term that tannen coined?

Answer 3

the term genderlect to describe the different language use of men and women.
this opened the gates to a flood of non-academic self-help relationship books which emphasise the stereotypical differences between male and female communication eg ‘men are from mars, women are from venus’ (1992)

Question 4

in tannen’s book ‘you just don’t understand’,what were the pairs of differences between men and women tannen labelled?

Answer 4

• status vs support
• independence vs intimacy
• advice vs understanding
• information vs feelings
• orders vs proposals
• conflict vs compromise

Question 5

what is the status vs support difference?

Answer 5

• men use language to show power and dominance in conversations
• women are more likely to use language choices that support and agree with others

Question 6

status vs support difference example

Answer 6

status: ‘i’ll chair the meeting’
support: ‘we can lead the meeting between us if you like’

Question 7

what is the independence vs intimacy difference?

Answer 7

• men will use language to show they do not need to rely on others
• women will prefer to use language as a way of connecting with others and maintaining closeness

Question 8

independence vs intimacy difference example

Answer 8

independence: ‘there’s nothing wrong’
intimacy: ‘I feel bad about your situation’

Question 9

what is the advice vs understanding difference?

Answer 9

• men are more likely to offer solutions to a problem through their language choices
• women will show empathy and understanding to a given situation

Question 10

advice vs understanding difference example

Answer 10

advice: ‘you need to tell the manager straightaway’
understanding: ‘that’s a really tough situation - no wonder you were irritated’

Question 11

what is the information vs feelings difference?

Answer 11

• men are far more likely to be factual in their language choices
• women, in contrast, will use language choices that are less factual and stem from a more emotional viewpoint

Question 12

information vs feelings difference example

Answer 12

information: ‘that was a big win in the end. 4-1 after an early goal’
feeling: ‘I can’t believe we won. what a relief’

Question 13

what is the orders vs proposals difference?

Answer 13

• men are far more likely to be direct in their language using imperatives to command others
• women will avoid such a commanding tone and be more suggestive in their language choices

Question 14

order vs proposals difference example

Answer 14

orders: ‘be there at eight’
proposals: ‘we could meet there at eight’

Question 15

what is the conflict vs compromise difference?

Answer 15

• men are more likely to use language to argue a point
• women will use language to avoid such conflict and are far more likely to negotiate with others to try and find a solution or compromise

Question 16

conflict vs compromise difference example

Answer 16

conflict: ‘I’m sick of your attitude’
compromise: ‘I think we both need to take a step back from this’

Question 17

other difference model research

Answer 17

• jennifer coates (1989)
• jane pilkington (1992)

Question 18

what did jennifer coates (1989) say?

Answer 18

• children develop different style of speaking due to belonging to same sex friendship groups
• modality (use of modal verbs) makes women’s talk cooperative as well as tag questions
• female language is co-operative in single-sex conversations

Question 19

what did jane pilkington (1992) say?

Answer 19

pilkington found that women in same sex conversations were collaborative and used positive politeness strategies. she found that men in same-sex talk were a lot less collaborative, less complimentary and less supportive than women.