Theory Flashcards
Robin Lakoff (1975)
Set of assumptions about women’s speech:
• women use hedges e.g. Sort of
• use super polite forms
• use tag questions
• speak in italics e.g. so, very, quite
• use empty adjective e.g. lovely
• use hyper-correctness
• use direct quotes
• have a speak lexicon e.g. for colours
• overuse qualifies e.g. I think that …..
• use modal constructions e.g. should, ought
Peter Trudgill (1970)
Subjects were grouped by social class and sex. Invited them to speak aloud.
Found that men were more likely to drop the ‘g’. Men used more regional accents than women ( more masculine more men).
Women aimed for higher prestige:
Women wanted to seek overt prestige because it is assumed that men are already educated.
Men wanted covert prestige, wanted to seem tough.
O’Barr and Atkins (1980)
Investigate claims made by Lakoff.
Tag question:
They studied a series of courtroom transcripts and identified whenever someone used one.
Both men/women used these features. They are more to do with power than gender. They are fractures of powerless language.
Zimmerman and West (1975)
Small series of mixed sex transcripts.
Found that men interrupt more than women, suggests that men feel more confident in situations.
Males are 96% more likely to interrupt than females.
100% of overlaps were men.
Pamela Fishman (1990)
Investigated one of Lakoff’s features of female speech.
Tag questions:
Agreed they were used more by women but said that women used them to be more inclusive and keep a conversation going.
Deborah Cameron and Verbal Hygiene
Wherever investigated men and women face normative expectations about the appropriate mode of speech for their gender. Women’s verbal conduct is influenced by the culture in which they live. A worldwide acceptance of proper speech style which women tend to follow.
Euphemisms tend to be used more be women.
Dominance theory
In mixed sex conversations men are more likely to interrupt than women.
Spender, Fishman, Zimmerman and West
Difference theory
Men and women are different so speak differently.
Tannen
Dale Spender
Androcentric language:
Language sustains male power. ‘Male as norm’ syndrome. They way we think about the world reinforces male power e.g. husband and wife, waiter/waitress (marked terms, generic terms, lexical asymmetry, sexist/non-sexist language).
Deborah Jones
Study of women’s oral culture- gossip which she categories into 4 types:
House talk- information and resource exchange
Scandal- judging behaviour of others
Bitching- overt expression of women’s anger at their restricted red
Chatting- most intimate form of gossip between women
Tannen male as norm
Men: Get more air time Speak in public Negotiate status Speak asymmetrically
Women:
Talk too much
Speak in private contexts
Build relationships speak symmetrical
Tannen’s Six Contrasta
Status vs Support:
Men competitive, women support each other
Independence vs Intimacy:
Men independent, women like closeness seek guidance
Advice vs Understanding:
Men find solution, women provide empathy
Information vs Feelings:
Men avoid phatic talk, women follow politeness
Order vs Proposals:
Men use direct imperatives, women indirect
Conflict vs Compromise:
Men oppose other, women refuse to oppose
Saussure’s Arbitariness of the Sign
Sound only represent something because they were given that name.
Morphology
Bound morphemes- fixed doesn’t make sense on its own
Free morphemes- makes sense ok it’s own so can mover around
e.g. woman
wo - bound
man - free
Semantic derogation
Sara mills (1995) Deborah Cameron (1990) Muriel Schultz (1975)
Their research suggests in many lexical pairs the male term suggest a positive attribute while the female term is negative.
e.g.
bachelor and spinster
