...Gender Language Subconsciously, we are all aware that males and females communicate differently. Some of us may not know why, however, we notice that males and females communicate in certain ways. When men communicate with others, they are considered to be confident and straightforward. In contrast, women are more timid and sensitive. Males and females communicate that way because they were taught to do so when they were younger. In school, boys and girls create their own way to communicate socially with their classmates. Boys would try to make everything similar to a competition and females are more about giving everyone a chance. In a workplace, males are projected as being more dominant and females are displayed as being fair. When males and females communicate, males are more likely to play a dominant role in a conversation because males subconsciously expose their masculinity. Deborah Tannen was one of the reliable sources that thoroughly elaborates the communication between male and female. Tannen is currently university professor and professor of linguistics at Georgetown University. She received a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California in 1979 and has done a numerous amount research on a broad range of topics. She wrote 22 books that created connections with analysis of conversational discourse, spoken and written language, orality and literacy, doctor-patient communication, cross-cultural communication, modern Greek discourse, the relationship between...
Words: 2185 - Pages: 9
...between two workmates aged 19. Linda starts the conversation with an incomplete construction “went to see stereophonics on…” the lack of an opener/greeting and the incomplete construction shows the informality between the two speakers. Linda starting the conversation and initiating the topic suggests that she is in power of the conversation and it supports the theory that women initiate more topics of conversation, in conversations analysed by fisherman- 62% of topics were introduced by women. The second speaker, Ed replies with a question, “where d’you go Manchester or Birmingham” the contraction highlights the informality and it supports the idea that men are less likely to use standard English than men, this is evident throughout Eds language such as the use of “cos.” Linda interrupts him with Birmingham although this interruption usually implies power in the conversation, Linda’s interruptions later on seem to be defensive, an evident example is when Ed tries to explain the mechanics of a car, he uses particular technical lexis, “jacking points” which Linda interrupts with “well no…” or “I have no idea”, this shows her lack of understanding/ Confidence in what he is saying. This presents the difference approach where the man is shown to be more familiar with stereotypically masculine things like cars while the woman is clueless. The difference approach is also evident when Linda tends to emphasise on her personal experience and emotions, “couldn’t get the jack to work so...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
...LANGUAGE AND GENDER 1. Introduction Women speak because they wish to speak, whereas a man speaks only when driven to speech by something outside himself--like, for instance, he can't find any clean socks. (Jean Kerr) Do men and women speak differently? Can Language be sexist? Is there vocabulary that is more typical for women than for men? My term paper shall try to answer those questions, look at typical forms of language use in relation to gender and I will aim to find possible reasons that explain a gender-based difference. But first it is important to explain why in sociolinguistics the term gender is used rather than sex. While sex refers to biological characteristics, gender is “a social category that is connected to the roles of women and men in society” (Becker & Bieswanger 2010: 185). My term paper will start with some general definitions about gender and language like gender-exclusive speech difference, gender-preferential speech features and gender and class. I will focus especially on women´s linguistic behaviour and answer questions like “Do women talk more than men?”. I will try to find explanations for a different linguistic behaviour. After focusing on explanations for a possible different use of language I will finally give features of women´s language that will make differences obvious. At the end of my paper I will also try to explain what is meant by a “sexism in language” and whether or not English is a sexist language and what could be done...
Words: 3599 - Pages: 15
...Gender and Language Introduction: Kornheiser and Thompson wrote the articles about the topic of gender and language. We can discover some interesting similarities and differences between these two authors' main ideas about this topic. We can know more about their ideas of gender and language by comparing and contrasting them. Kornheiser's article, No Detail Is Too Small for Girls Answering a Simple Question, states that girls tell everything they have experienced, while boys like telling specific things and focusing on how things eventually go. Kornheiser gave examples of his daughter and son. He asked his daughter how was the camp she just came home from, but his daughter told every single detail during the trip to the camp. She did not tell him the most important part of the camp. Kornheiser explained why: "Because this is what girls do (and when they grow up and become women, they do it, too, as any man can vouch for). They gather information and dispense it without discrimination. Everything counts the same!" (306). He also asked his son about his camp, and his son gave him a short and straight answer. This also proved what he said: "Boys do not gather and retain information, they focus on results." (306). In He and She: What's the Real Difference? of Thompson, he reported a scientific way from Koppel's' group, a group of computer scientists to figure out how women and men communicate differently. He states that Koppel's group is the first to create an actual machine...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...Gender Differences Many people growing up have noticed the language barrier between the male and female genders, which reflects upon their actions and everyday lifestyle in a civilized society. Men have always been aggressive with their actions while women have been known to be emotional. The gender difference has been a controversy for many centuries and many linguistics have studied and nearly found the answer. But what explains this phenomenon and what differentiates the two genders by how they act and how they talk? This essay will explain the basic general differences between the two genders and how it has to do with the world, in context with the in class reading, and my own experiences in my community. Do you consider that gender differences and how men and women talk effects lifestyle and the way women are treated according to Lakoff? Throughout history, men have always been depicted as the gender that has the right of way through their actions by the way they look and talk. Men are known to be fierce, strong, and stand as boss-like figure. In the past century, men have a distinct way of talking. Men are more prone to threatening to get what they want such as being a manager in a business or even in a relationship, as men are known to be power hungry. Another distinctive trait about how men talk would be that their vocabulary is not as descriptive as women and is less subtle. Men usually talk in a low pitch tone, which compliments their manly-ness and when upset...
Words: 1507 - Pages: 7
...Significance of gender in an interaction The text is a conversation between a manager of a shop and two trainees. The language each of them uses is different and shows the different levels of authority they have. The manager seems like he has the most power out of the three. This could be because he knows what he is doing and what is going on therefore has automatic control. This is shown by him talking the most out of the three which shows that he is mainly leading the conversation which shows authority. When Josh is speaking he has an informal register and is very abrupt and blunt when he speaks, and example of this is when he replies simply “cool”. This could be a type of covert prestige, where Josh is purposely trying to talk less formal. When the manager is talking to Suzie he is a lot more polite to her than he is to Josh. for example he says to Suzie “I’d like you to…” but he says to Josh “I want you to…”. This could be seen as a type of sexism as he is more polite and kinder to Suzie and he is kind of asking her whereas when he is talking to Josh it is like he is commanding him. Suzie is more polite when she speaks for example saying “that’s fine” to the manager and reassuring...
Words: 735 - Pages: 3
...Sexist Language – How to Avoid Gender Inequality We all are aware of the idiom, “add insult to injury.” Simply, it means to make a bad situation even worse for someone by doing something else to upset them. Sometimes, we say hurtful things on purpose and a lot of the time we say hurtful things then immediately want to shove our fist into our mouth. However, what if your person dictionary contained words or phrases that were sexist and extremely offensive, but you had no idea? There is such a thing called sexist language and there is a way to not use it. Our society has come a long way when it comes to women’s rights; however, the battle is far from over. There are still plenty of obvious obstacles to overcome in the battle of gender inequality, but one obstacle that a lot of people do not sit and think about is language inequality. I am not referring to derogatory comments or words such as the too popular insults such as, “bitch”, “hoe”, “slut”, etc., but words that Sherryl Kleinman refer to as “male (so-called) generics.” (Kleinman, 2007). She goes on to explain this coined term. Male (so-called) generics can be found everywhere such as job positions, general expressions, generic descriptions, and very popular adjectives that we all use every day. Some examples that Kleinman pointed out were: postman, chairman, freshman, congressman, fireman, mankind, he, manpower, manmade , "Oh, man, where did I leave my keys?" , There's "manning" the tables in a country where children...
Words: 1211 - Pages: 5
...DDBA-8005 Handout What is Scholarly Writing? If you are just beginning your graduate studies, much of the next few years of your life will be devoted to scholarly writing. You will be reading, discussing, and producing scholarly writing. You will get feedback from peers, instructors, and the Writing Center staff about how to adapt to the expectations of scholarly writing. You hear about it so much, in fact, that you may hesitate to ask the basic question: "What is scholarly writing?" Scholarly writing is a type of writing rather than a level of writing (there is no hierarchy in writing genres). Scholarly writing is not any better than journalism, fiction, or poetry; it is just a different category. As with any type of writing, scholarly writing has traditions and expectations that you know about only if you read or write in that style. Because most of us do not use scholarly writing in our daily practice, it can feel unfamiliar and intimidating, but it is a skill that can be learned. The more you are immersed in it, the more you will get a feeling for its hallmarks. Here are a few of the most common characteristics of scholarly writing: • The wording in scholarly writing is specialized, requiring previous knowledge on the part of the reader. You will not be able to pick up a scholarly journal in another field and easily understand its contents (although you should be able to follow the writing itself). Scholarly authors assume that their audience is familiar...
Words: 943 - Pages: 4
...Contents 2. Preparing 2 2.1Your lecture 2 2.2When you 2 3. Writing 3 4. Strategy 4 5.Referencing guidelines 4 5.1 What is detailed 4 Figure 1 3 Figure 2 4 Figure 3 5 (Bazar, 2008) Assignment writing guidelines 1. Introduction 2. Preparing 3. Writing 4. Strategy 5. Referencing guidelines 1. Introduction 2. Preparing 2.1Your lecture notes will give you the basic framework ONLY of the ideas, theories and concepts you will need to complete the assignment. These notes will therefore NOT be sufficient on their own. You will need to make use of the required reading, extra references and any other material you come across in the course of researching your assignment. 2.2When you are taking notes for your assignment, try and `translate' what the author is saying into your own words. Don't just copy out huge chunks from other people’s work, otherwise they will probably end up in your assignment with very little of the wording changed (which is plagiarism). Also try to think about what is being said from your own point of view - do you agree or disagree with the points that the author is making? 2.3 Take down basic points from as many sources as you can manage and compare what the authors are saying as you are reading. There will be both similarities and differences in their views and it helps if you can begin to classify authors together. 2.4 Try and only take down relevant points - authors don't (unfortunately!) write...
Words: 1479 - Pages: 6
...How did the Roman army and the application of Roman law serve to transmit Roman culture and values in the provinces (areas)? You may address topics such as language, veteran’s settlements, citizenship, marriage, gender, legal principles and other social concepts. Prior to the Roman Republic the Etruscans conquered Rome, owning the mainland and its people which had a major influence the Roman civilization. Rome was turned into a city and the Romans had now adopted the Eutruscans alphabet, fashion and its army as well as introducing trade. The Roman army especially had an influence on the Growth of civilization when peace was established during the Pax Romana. Such peaceful conditions also promoted trade which was a very important aspect of Roman society. Roman laws and the growth of the Roman Empire were the two aspects which affected Roman religious beliefs. As Rome conquered the majority of Europe many of the different religions were introduced and later accepted in Rome to unite people. Religion was divided into two, the Gods which watched over people and their families and the pater familias who was in charge of the household worship that honoured them. A few centuries later Christianity was born. During the Pax Romana the Roman army has had a major influence on the civilization of Rome. The Roman culture made a wide spread throughout many of Western Europe including countries such as Britain and Spain. As Rome’s current Emperor, Augustus’ establishment of peace meant...
Words: 1156 - Pages: 5
...focused on the concept of gender in translation (e.g. von Flotow 2001, Simon 1996, and Chamberlain 1998). According to Chamberlain (1998: 96), “the issues relating to gender in the practice of translation are myriad, varying widely according to the type of text being translated, the language involved, cultural practices and countless other factors”. Von Flotow (2001) offers a comprehensive overview of research areas in which the issue of “gender and translation” could be investigated: - Historical studies (who translated what when and how, and how did gender play into this?) - Theoretical considerations (how do different gender affiliations, definitions, constructions play themselves out in translation and translation research?) - Issues of identity (how does gendered identity or a lack of it affect translation, translation research?) - Post-colonial questions (does our largely Anglo-American "gender" apply in other cultures and their texts? Does it translate into other languages? And what does it mean if it doesn’t?) - More general questions of cultural transfer (is the current government-supported export of Canadian women’s writing, a hot commodity in some literary markets, really about Canadian tolerance and egalitarianism?) Whereas most of researches done regarding gender in translation have dealt specifically with the issue of the translators’ gender identity and its effect on their translations, the main focus of current article is on how gender itself is translated and...
Words: 4874 - Pages: 20
...GENDER AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ISOKO SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE AJOKPAEZI JULIET EBSU/2003/23214 RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION EBONYI STATE UNIVERSITY, ABAKALIKI OCTOBER, 2008. TITLE PAGE GENDER AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ISOKO SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE AJOKPAEZI JULIET EBSU/2003/23214 RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES EDUCATION (ENGLISH) EBONYI STATE UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (B.E) DEGREE IN ENGLISH EDUCATION OCTOBER, 2008. APPROVAL PAGE This research project has been supervised and approved as meeting all the requirements of the department of Arts and Social Science Education, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. Dr. Ms. C Maduabuchi ----------------- Project supervisor Date Dr. Ms. C Maduabuchi ----------------- Head of Department Date Prof. S.O. Abonyi ----------------- Dean, Faculty of Education Date External Examiner ----------------- Date DEDICATION This project is dedicated to God Almighty in whose love and guidance I have been sailing through my academic years and to my parents, His Royal Highness Emaviwe first Ovie of...
Words: 7211 - Pages: 29
...Emily Nickell LING 4460 Gender and the Language Strategies: Looking Beyond the Categories April 9, 2014 Abstract Indika Liyanage and Brendan John Bartlett’s article Gender and Language Learning Strategies challenges the previously held assumptions between gender and Language Learning Strategies (LLS). This article found that past research studies have supported an association between genders, with their findings concluding that females have a stronger predilection for LLS than males do. Liyanage and Bartlett go on to conduct a study with Sri-Lankan learners of ESL in five different learning context: speaking in class, listening in class, listening and speaking outside of class, reading in class and writing in class; to further explore the generalities associated with gender and LLS. The study concluded that preferences for individual strategies did not necessarily correlate with gender, unlike with broadly categorized strategies (cognitive, metacognitive, or affective). However, it did determine that certain strategies were clearly preferred by males while others were clearly preferred by females depending on the learning context in which these strategies were being implemented. This articles begins by drawing on two previous studies that concern both first language (L1) learning (Martino 1995; Masters and Forster 1997; Teese et al. 1995) and second language (L2) learning (Bacon and Finneman 1992; Ehrman and Oxford 1988; Politzer 1983). These studies support an association...
Words: 1620 - Pages: 7
...2. Men's Language (Excerpted from The Men's Bibliography: A comprehensive bibliography of writing on men, masculinities, gender, and sexualities, compiled by Michael Flood. 19th edition, 2008. Home URL: http://mensbiblio.xyonline.net/) a) Men and Language Note: Works on boys, literacy and language in education are listed under "Growing up Male" above. Coates, Jennifer. (2003). Men Talk: Stories in the making of masculinities. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers. 1. ‘We was Playing Naked Football the Other Night’: Introduction. 2. ‘Good Story!’: The Formal Characteristics of Male Narrative. 3. ‘So I Thought ‘Bollocks to it’: Men, Stories and Masculinities. 4. ‘Bad as My Mate’: Stories in Sequence. 5. ‘She’d Made Sardines in Aspic’: Women’s Stories, Men’s Stories and the Construction of Gender. 6. ‘I’m Quite Good at Mexican Food’: Men’s Narratives in Mixed Conversation. 7. ‘Still in Shock Weren’t You Darling’: Masculinity and the Heterosexual Couple. 8. ‘There are Problems’: Men’s Talk and Contemporary Masculinities. Cowburn, Malcolm. (2004). Men, masculinities and what men do: the relationship of critique and change (invited review essay). Sexualities, 7, 4 497-501. Edley, N. (2001a). Analysing masculinity: Interpretative repertoires, ideological dilemmas and subject positions. In M. Wetherell, S. Taylor & S. Yates. (eds.), Discourse as data: a guide for analysis (pp. 189-229). London: Sage Publications. Edley, N. (2001b). I. Conversation analysis, discursive psychology...
Words: 1278 - Pages: 6
...Discourse and gender Early work in the analysis of gender and discourse looked at the relationship between the use of language and the biological category of sex. Gender as a social category has come to be seen as highly fluid, or less well defined than in once appeared. In line with gender theory more generally, researchers interested in language and gender have focused increasingly on plurality and diversity among female and male language users, and on gender as performativity (something that is ‘done’ in context, rather than a fixed attribute). According to lakoff (1975) in her book language and women’s place, she proposed that what she called ‘ woman’s language’ is a use of language that is different from ‘men’s language’ or rather, what she termed’ neutral language’. This language included features such as the use of overly polite forms, the use of question tags, rising intonation in declaratives, the avoidance of expletives, a greater use of diminutives and euphemisms. An example of using particular items are “adorable, charming, and sweet” (woman’s language) versus “terrific, great, and cool (neutral language). According to mean’s (2001) she shows a similar example from the use of language with men’s and women’s football teams to’ do gender’ and to confirm masculine identity. She talks about sporting as a male category where values such as power and aggressiveness are highly valued. She found speed, loud talk and shouting to be ways in which these values were expressed...
Words: 362 - Pages: 2
