Theories + Theorists Flashcards
What did Jesperson (1922) do?
Dismissed women’s language as ‘lively chatter’ because women’s roles consist of the care of children, cooking, washing, etc. things that for the most part demanded no deep thought.
What was the Lakoff Hypothesis - ‘Language and Women’s Place’ (1975)?
Provides a feminist critique of linguistic asymmetry, women’s language is shaped by their subordinate position in patriarchal society.
What was ‘Man Made Language’ by Dale Spender (1980) and What did it argue?
A feminist approach to genderlect arguing that male domination in public life has lead to male domination in conversation. Women’s ideas are not taken as seriously as men’s and men often interrupt and don’t value women’s input.
What does Robin Lakoff argue in ‘Language and Women’s Place’ (1975)?
That women and men have different speech styles which have developed due to male dominance. Women’s language is usually characterised by being hesitant or tentative, the use of hedging, mitigated imperatives and tag questions.
What did Zimmerman and West find in their study of mixed gender conversations (1975)?
Showed that 96% of interruptions were made by men. This was seen as evidence of the dominance theory, BUT this study had many flaws.
What did Deborah Tannen discuss in her book ‘You Just Don’t Understand’ (1990)?
Her idea of six contrasts: Status vs Support, Independence vs Intimacy, Advice vs Understanding, Information vs Feelings, Orders vs Proposals, Conflict vs Compromise.
Her book focused on the purposes of talk instead of the specific features.
What was ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ by John Grey (1992)?
It was NOT a linguistic study, but instead a self help book. It was a best seller, influential in the ideas of ‘Menglish’. Used the phrases and ideas of ‘Martians’ and ‘Venusians’ to describe men and women. Demonstrated that people enjoyed the Difference theory, and that it could be profited off.
What did Janet Holmes find out about tag questions?
She broke down Lakoff’s work, defining tag questions used by women. Supported some of Lakoff’s ideas - gave more insight on how they were used.
What did Pamela Fishman look at in her study ‘The Division of Labour in Conversations’ ?
She looked at men and women’s interactions and concluded that women worked harder to enable a conversation to take place. She also looked at how women’s topics were not always taken up and encouraged by men.
What did Janet Hyde find in her Gender Similarities Hypothesis?
She found very few differences in the linguistic abilities of men and women. She challenged the popular belief that women are better communicators.
What did Deborah Cameron do in her book ‘The Myth of Mars and Venus’ (2007)?
She pulled apart the stereotypical attitudes to difference by exposing a lack of evidence behind many studies. She also put forward the idea that context is the most important factor in speech styles.
What did Geoff Beattie’s Study (1981) challenge?
It challenged Zimmerman and West’s 1975 study of mixed gender conversations, instead finding that interruptions were equally spread across the genders. Suggested that interpretations have other pragmatic functions than to dominate.
