Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender and culture may influence the way language is used
Gender and culture may influence the way language is used
Differences of gender in language
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Gender and Formal Language Language is a multifaceted topic. It seems that language cannot be discussed without also discussing the differences that occur within speech. One of the most obvious differences exists between the speech of men and women. This paper describes the existence of “women’s language” and “men’s language.”(O’Barr and Atkins 1980) More specifically, this paper will discuss how these so-called languages differ in the way they address power in a formal situation. These gendered differences in speech occur in the way topics are brought up, what words are chosen, how hedges are used, and how intonation is utilized. (Holmes 1986;O’Barr and Atkins 1980) I will address how male language tends to be more assertive and confident in situations that affect power, while female language tends to be more apologetic and tentative when asserting information. (Kiesling 1997;O’Barr and Atkins 1980) I hypothesize that these differences do not reflect natural inclination or ability of the two genders. These differences in male and female language occur because they have been socialized in America by the construct of gender roles and respective expectations of genders. (O’Barr and Atkins 1980) I will analyze this hypothesis with sources of third parties and with my research. Literature Review: What is “Women’s Language”? There have been several discussions that address the differences between male and female language use. These discussions all began with Lakoff’s controversial essays from 1975 that first introduced the concept of “women’s language.” (O’Barr et al 1980) Since Lakoff’s essays, other linguists have sought to address the issue of how gender affects language. O’Barr and Atkins use Lakoff’s information ab...
... middle of paper ...
...rom Fiction." Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication. Comp. Susan D. Blum. New York, NY [etc.: Oxford UP, 2013. 443-58.
Holmes, Janet. "Functions of You Know in Women's and Men's Speech." Language in Society 15.01 (1986): n. pag. JSTOR. 10 Oct. 2013. .
Kiesling, Scott Fabius. "Power and the Language of Men." Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication. Comp. Susan D. Blum. New York, NY [etc.: Oxford UP, 2013. 408-17.
Mill, John Stuart. Philosophy of Woman: An Anthology of Classic to Current Concepts. Ed. Mary Briody Mahowald. Indianapolis [etc.: Hackett, 1994. 151-70.
O'Barr, William M., and Bowman K. Atkins. ""Women's Language" or "Powerless Language"?" Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication. Comp. Susan D. Blum. New York, NY [etc.: Oxford UP, 2013. 401-06.
Deborah Tannen has achieved scholarly and public praise for her conclusions about how women and men differ in conversational styles. You Just Don’t Understand[6] clarifies stylistic differences in how the two sexes communicate with each other.
She discusses sexist language; her focus is on words that people consider okay such as male-generics:
Gender Matters is a collection of various essays on feminist linguistic texts analysis, by Sara Mills. Mills develops methods of analyzing literary and non-literary texts, in addition to conversational analysis based on a feminist approach. The author draws on data from her collection of essays gathered over the last two decades on feminism during the 1990s. The essays focus on gender issues, the representation of gender in reading, writing, and in public speaking. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of feminists’ analysis of sexism in literature and the relation between gender and politeness. The article is informative for my research paper, as my topic is going to cover language analysis of the text and who women reading and writing differs according to the discourse analysis within linguistic, psychology, case studies audiences and surveys. The book would be helpful, particularly the last three essays that discusses gender, public speaking, the question of politeness and impoliteness in public speaking. Mills’ analysis is not complete without including the idea of global notions of both women and men, to see whether women and men write and read in the same way globally. Therefore, an update would enrich the book’s discussion section. Although, Mills addresses the class and race theme in language and public speaking, I will only look into the role of language that plays a part in doing or reducing gender in literary, non-literary texts and in conversation.
Deborah Tannen is the author of “How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently.” This article was published in the “Chronicle of Higher Education.” Tannen is the author of several books explaining how individuals engage in conversation. Her argument is that in a classroom setting, males engage in more conversation than females. She challenges different teaching styles, and she determines that an individual’s conversation style is relative to the situation they are in. She uses examples from a book by Walter Ong and from several sociologists and anthropologists. Tannen uses formal language throughout her article.
Deborah Tannen, a linguistics and renowned professor discusses in, “How Men and Female Students Communicate”, the many unique ways that men and female students in her classes talk. In addition, Tannens primary focus is discussing why her female students are less vocal than her male students.
In linguistic studies throughout the 1900’s, most linguists and scholars focused their research on members of society that were middle-class, heterosexual, white males, and it wasn’t until the mid-70’s when Robin Lakoff released Language and Woman’s Place that linguistic research regarding the connections between language and gender was conducted. Lakoff’s work resonated with feminists of the time and therefore illustrated the ways that language can be used to create and reinforce sexist behaviors in society. However, much has changed since 1973 when Lakoff’s work was first released. Postmodern feminist theories involving gender roles, gender identity, sexuality, and expansion of opportunities for women and minority genders1 are all continually
You Just Don’t Understand: Women and. Men in a Conversation. New York: HarperCollins, 1990. 203-5. The syllable of the syllable.
Men and women are not made equal. At least this is what Deborah Tannen believes in her article “How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently.” Tannen is a professor at Georgetown University, and is often highly revered for her work in linguistics. The article is meant to show the differences in communication learned at an early age by boys and girls. However, in the article, Tannen shows lack of direction with thought and evidence that should be apparent in the work of someone on the collegiate level.
Tannen, Deborah. "How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently." The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers. Eight Edition. Ed. Stephen Reid. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2008. 361 - 367.
It has been pointed out that the utilization of language differs with gender. For instance, women have more of a tendency to use finer discriminations than men do in some areas such as color terms. Women would be more at ease using the labels ‘Crimson’, ‘ecru’, or ‘beige’, more than men and men would be found to use the simpler version: “It’s blue, not cornflower.” It’s also been noted that men have a tendency to drop more expletives into a conversation than women, although some women do swear, especially younger fem...
Labov, William. (1990). The intersection of sex and social class in the course of linguistic change. Language Variation and Change 2: 205-254. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
Bilger, Audrey. "On Language: You Guys." Isaacs, Giura, Keohane, Kitchen, Lubrano, and Maloy. Made With Words. 2nd Edition. Bedford/St.Martin's, n.d.
This section describes differences between speech of men and women. Those differences are discussed point by point as the followings:
The English Language has been spreading over the centuries, imposing itself to the lives of the generation. As years pass by there is an addition of people learning/knowing how to speak English. As women’s role in society gain more power and status, there seems to be a shift from Standard English to Feminist English. Equality is a golden standard to all humans; it does not seem to be the case in the equality of genders in the English language. Thus, creating a negative attitude concerning Feministic influence in the language. This paper examines the language change in modern English, by describing how the Feminist language has effected and developed the English language, through Social, Political, and Educational implications of the change.
Prosenjak, Nancy, Mary Harmon, Sue Johnson, Pat Bloodgood, and Lisa Hazlett. " Guidelines for Gender-Fair Use of Language." National Council of Teachers of English. NCTE, n.d. Web. 24 Mar 2014.