Language and Gender (Sociolinguistics)

(Language and)
Gender
Presentation By
An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Scholar @
(Ronald Wardhaugh)
Zubair A. Bajwa
zbr141@gmail.com
M. Phil English (Lin)
Department of English, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, Pakistan
Chapter from

Contents of Presentation
 Gender
 Gender Roles
 Differences
• Phonological
• Morphological
• Grammatical
 Explanations for Differences

 Sociolinguistics also investigates
 the connection, if any, between the structures vocabularies, and ways of
using particular languages and the social roles of the men and women who
speak these languages.
Do the men and women who speak a
particular language use it in different ways?
Do these differences arise from the structure of that language
(one kind of confirmation of the Whorfian hypothesis) or,
do these differences reflect the ways in which the sexes relate
to each other in that society?
If yes
May it be possible to describe a particular language as ‘sexist,’
or those who use that language?
 Now, Sociolinguistics has got extensive literature is available on this area

 As we study language we study it in relation to the society, i.e. the contexts of situation and the
contexts of culture in which it occurs. So we could say that language is ‘in’ rather than ‘alongside of’
society, and inseparable from it.
 Gender refers to society's expectations about how we should think and act as girls and boys, and women and
men. It is our biological, social, and legal status as women and men.
 Gender roles are the way people act, what they do and say, to express being a girl or a boy, a woman or a
man. These characteristics are shaped by society.
• Gender roles are the social and behavioral norms that are generally considered appropriate for either a man or a
woman in a social or interpersonal relationship.
Introduction
• the product of socialization
 Feminine
 Masculine

 FEMININITY
 dependent
 emotional
 passive
 sensitive
 quiet
 graceful
 innocent
 weak
 flirtatious
 nurturing
 self-critical
 soft
 sexually submissive
 accepting
WORDS COMMONLY USED TO DESCRIBE
 MASCULINITY
 independent
 non-emotional
 aggressive
 tough-skinned
 competitive
 clumsy
 experienced
 strong
 active
 self-confident
 hard
 sexually aggressive
 rebellious
• categories are unrealistic. They may not
capture how we truly feel, how we behave,
or how we define ourselves. All men have
some so-called feminine traits, and all
women have some so-called masculine
traits. And we may show different traits at
different times.
• Our cultures teach women and men to be
the opposite of each other in many ways.
The truth is that we are more alike than
different.

Differences
• Genetic differences
• Physical differences
•Women speech is trivial gossip-laden, corrupt ,illogical,idle euphemistic or deficient highly
suspect, nor is it necessarily more precise ,cultivated or stylish or less profane than men's
speech.
•Men gossip just as much as women do but men’s gossip is just different.
•Men indulge in a kind of phatic small talk that involves insults, challenges, and various kind of
negative behavior to do exactly what women do by their use of nurturing,polite, feedback-
laden, cooperative talk .

 Our concern is Language
• In the linguistic literature perhaps the most famous example of gender differentiation is found in
the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies among the Carib-Indians.
• Male and female Caribs have been reported to speak different languages.
• conquest in which a group of invading Carib-speaking men killed the local Arawak-speaking men
and mated with the Arawak women. The descendants of these Carib-speaking men and Arawak-
speaking women have sometimes been described as having different languages for men and
women because boys learn Carib from their fathers and girls learn Arawak from their mothers.

• Phonological Differences
• between the speech of men and women have been noted in a variety of languages.
o women have palatalized velar stops where men have palatalized dental stops, e.g.,
• female kjatsa ‘bread’ and male djatsa.
• When a female speaker quotes a male, she attributes female pronunciations to him,
• when a male quotes a female, he attributes male pronunciations to her.
• any use of female pronunciations by males is likely to be regarded as a sign of effeminacy (‫زنانہ‬) .
 In Gros Ventre, an Amerindian language of the northeast United States
• women and children have /ts/ and /dz / where men have /tj/ and /dj/.
• Old people of both genders have a corresponding /cj/ and /jj/.
• difference is not only gender-related, but also age-graded.
• Consequently, in his lifetime a male goes through the progression of /ts/, /tj/, and /cj/, and
/dz/, /dj /, and /jj/, and a female has a corresponding /ts/ and /7j/, and /dz/ and /jj/.
u
v  Yukaghir, a northeast Asian language

• Example from English of a woman being advised to speak more like a man in order to ﬁll a position
previously ﬁlled only by men.

• Differences in morphology and vocabulary
• Lakoff (1973) claims that women use color words like mauve, beige, aquamarine, lavender, and
magenta but most men do not.
• adjectives such as adorable, charming, divine, lovely, and sweet are also commonly used by
women but only very rarely by men.
 Women are also said to have their own vocabulary for emphasizing certain effects on them,
fun, exquisite, lovely, divine, precious, darling, fantastic .

• English makes certain distinctions of a gender-based kind,
• e.g., actor–actress, waiter–waitress, and master–mistress.
• Some of these distinctions are reinforced by entrenched patterns of usage and semantic
development.
• For example, master and mistress have developed quite different ranges of use and meaning, so
that whereas Joan can be described as Fred’s mistress, Fred cannot be described as Joan’s
master.
• Other pairs of words which reﬂect similar differentiation are boy–girl, man–woman, gentleman–lady,
bachelor–spinster, and even widower–widow.

• One particular bit of sexism in languages that has aroused much comment is the gender
systems
Examples
• English Pronouns
He – she - it
• Urdu
‫ہے‬ ‫جاتا‬
• Verbs
• adjectives
• postpositions
‫ہے‬ ‫جاتی‬
‫بھائی‬ ‫پیارا‬ ‫بہن‬ ‫پیاری‬
‫کا‬ ‫کی‬
Has three gender system
Has two gender system
Jata hai
(he goes)
Jati hai
(he goes)
Masculine Feminine
Pyara bhai
(Beautiful brother)
Pyari behan
(beautiful sister)
Ka
(of)
Ki
(of)

• Grammatical Differences
• intonation patterns of men and women vary somewhat, women using certain patterns
associated with surprise and politeness more often than men (Brend, 1975) .
• English
 Lakoff says women may answer a question with a statement that employs the rising
intonation pattern usually associated with a question rather than the falling intonation pattern
associated with making a ﬁrm statement.
• According to Lakoff, women do this because they are less sure about themselves and their
opinions than are men.

Examples
When members of both gender have some intension for doing something they talk like this.
‫گزاریں‬ ‫میں‬ ‫مری‬ ‫چھٹیاں‬ ‫کی‬ ‫گرمیوں‬ ‫ہم‬
‫گے۔‬(‫بغیر‬ ‫کے‬ ‫مسکراہٹ‬)
‫نا؟‬ ‫گے‬ ‫گزاریں‬ ‫میں‬ ‫مری‬ ‫چھٹیاں‬ ‫کی‬ ‫گرمیوں‬ ‫ہم‬(‫مسکراتے‬
‫ہوئے‬)
(tag question which shows unassertiveness)
 While observing the language that our parents speak at home, it can be observed.
• that whenever the father talks, he uses
such words in an intonation which asserts
superiority.
• When mother speaks she uses submissive
language and intonation which shows that she
doesn’t want superiority or status so that she
is not taken as rude to elders of the family.
 But this situation can also be seed reversed. When children are grown up, mother uses
authoritative tone and language to subdue her husband.
She might be seen using such language.
‫رہو۔‬ ‫چپ‬ ‫تم‬ ، ‫پتا‬ ‫نہیں‬ ‫کچھ‬ ‫تمہیں‬
 Status vs. support

Still other gender-linked differences are said to exist.
• Women and men may have different paralinguistic systems and move and gesture differently
• women to appear to be submissive to men.
• Women are also often named, titled, and addressed differently from men.
• Women are more likely than men to be addressed by their ﬁrst names when everything else is
equal,
or, if not by ﬁrst names, by such terms as lady, miss, or dear, and even baby or babe.
• Women are also said not to employ the profanities and obscenities men use, or, if they do, use
them in different circumstances or are judged differently for using them.

‘sociolinguistic universal tendencies
Holmes (1998) does offer some testable claims. There are ﬁve of these:
1. Women and men develop different patterns of language use.
2. Women tend to focus on the affective functions of an interaction more often than
men do.
3. Women tend to use linguistic devices that stress solidarity more often than men do.
4. Women tend to interact in ways which will maintain and increase solidarity, while men
tend to interact in ways which will maintain and increase their power and status.
5. Women are stylistically more ﬂexible than men.

‫ن‬ ‫بھوک‬ ‫مجھے‬‫ہی‬‫ہے۔‬ ‫ں‬
When a woman says this, it does not mean that she is not hungry. It means
that if you say she will eat. This is just because she wants your attention. It
might be so that she has felt to be neglected or something like this.
‫ہوں‬ ‫نہیں‬ ‫ناراض‬ ‫میں‬ ‫نہیں‬!
‫سمج‬ ‫غلط‬ ‫کو‬ ‫جملے‬ ‫اس‬ ‫کے‬ ‫اس‬ ‫ہے۔مگر‬ ‫نہیں‬ ‫جرم‬ ‫بڑا‬ ‫اتنا‬ ‫دینا‬ ‫کر‬ ‫ناراض‬ ‫کو‬ ‫عورت‬ ‫کسی‬‫ھنا‬
‫ا‬ ‫کا‬ ‫ناراضگی‬ ‫میں‬ ‫جملوں‬ ‫ان‬ ‫دراصل‬ ‫کہ‬ ‫کیوں‬ ‫ہے۔‬ ‫سکتا‬ ‫بن‬ ‫سبب‬ ‫کا‬ ‫مشکل‬ ‫اور‬ ‫مصیبت‬‫ظہار‬
‫ہے۔‬ ‫ہوتا‬ ‫چھپا‬ ‫ہی‬
Advice vs. understanding

Random Examples
 If a man often smiles, he is taken as a
good/nice fellow.
 If a women often smiles, others get the wrong idea.
 Men are happy because women give active
attention to what they are saying.
 Women are mostly found unhappy just because the men
don’t understand them.
 For shopping, goes to bazaar, enters in one of
the first shops and buys and let’s go home.
 But you know I am not sure I like that black dress… hmm.
In fact, maybe I need to wear ‘cause it’s spring time. And
I’m gonna need to look for some cute sandals and
earrings. And this is gonna take us a while so why don’t
we some coffee.
‫ر‬ ‫اکیال‬‫ہ‬‫ن‬‫ے‬‫می‬‫ں‬‫زیاد‬‫ہ‬‫مز‬‫ہ‬‫ہے‬:‫فرین‬ ‫گرل‬ ‫کی‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫اگر‬‫ڈ‬‫ک‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ے‬
‫سامن‬‫ے‬‫اظ‬‫کا‬ ‫بات‬ ‫اس‬‫برمال‬‫ہ‬‫کرد‬ ‫ار‬‫ے‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫اکیل‬‫لطف‬ ‫جو‬‫ے‬‫زندگی‬
‫گزارن‬‫ے‬‫می‬‫ں‬‫ہے‬‫و‬‫ہ‬‫سات‬‫ھ‬‫ر‬‫ہ‬‫ن‬‫ے‬‫می‬‫ں‬‫ن‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫جملو‬‫ان‬‫تو‬‫ں‬‫ک‬‫ے‬
‫چ‬‫ھ‬‫پ‬‫ے‬‫س‬ ‫سانی‬ٓ‫ا‬‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫کو‬ ‫پیغام‬‫ے‬‫سمج‬‫ھ‬‫جائی‬‫ں‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫و‬‫ہ‬‫س‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ے‬‫قطع‬‫طور‬ ‫ی‬
‫اراد‬‫کا‬ ‫شادی‬‫ہ‬‫ن‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫رک‬‫ھ‬‫تی‬‫۔‬
‫می‬ ‫کیا‬‫ں‬‫مو‬‫ٹ‬‫ر‬ٓ‫ا‬‫نظر‬ ‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫و‬‫ں‬:‫رک‬ ‫خیال‬‫ھ‬‫یئ‬‫ے‬‫ک‬ ‫گا‬‫ہ‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫اس‬‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬
‫س‬ ‫غلطی‬ ‫جواب‬‫کا‬ ‫بات‬‫ے‬‫ب‬‫ھ‬‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫ا‬‫ں‬‫می‬‫ں‬‫ن‬‫ہ‬‫د‬‫ے‬‫دی‬‫ں‬‫کیونک‬‫ہ‬‫و‬‫ہ‬
‫س‬‫ے‬‫می‬ ‫حقیقت‬‫ں‬‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫پوچ‬‫ھ‬‫چا‬‫نا‬‫ہ‬‫ر‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫وتی‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫دیک‬‫ھ‬‫ک‬ ‫و‬‫ہ‬‫میرا‬
‫ہ‬‫ور‬‫ہ‬‫ا‬‫ہے‬‫ن‬ ‫کو‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫تو‬‫ہ‬‫چا‬‫ہ‬‫ت‬‫ے‬‫ہ‬‫وئ‬‫ے‬‫ب‬‫ھ‬‫ی‬ ‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫ک‬ ‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫پ‬ ‫نا‬‫ڑ‬‫تا‬‫ہے‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬
‫ر‬ ‫لگ‬ ‫دبلی‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں۔‬
‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫ب‬ ‫تو‬ ‫دمی‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ہ‬‫اچ‬‫ت‬‫ھ‬‫ر‬ ‫لگ‬ ‫ا‬‫ہ‬‫ا‬‫ہے‬:‫پار‬ ‫یا‬ ‫ل‬‫محف‬ ‫کسی‬ ‫اگر‬‫ٹ‬‫ک‬ ‫ی‬‫ے‬
‫ا‬‫کی‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫دوران‬‫ہ‬‫لی‬‫ہ‬‫فرین‬ ‫گرل‬ ‫یا‬‫ڈ‬‫ی‬ ‫کو‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ہ‬‫جمل‬‫ہ‬‫ک‬‫ہے‬‫و‬ ‫تو‬‫ہ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫کو‬ ‫پ‬
‫می‬ ‫جلن‬‫یا‬‫ں‬‫چا‬‫کرنا‬ ‫مبتال‬‫ہ‬‫تی‬‫ہے۔‬
Information vs. feelings

Orders vs. proposals
Random Examples
Sit down. Why don’t you sit down?
We should save some money. I was wondering it would be good for us to
save some money.
Can I sit here? If you don’t mind, can I sit here please?
‫مج‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫کیا‬‫ھ‬‫س‬‫ے‬‫کرت‬ ‫محبت‬‫ے‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬:‫ی‬ ‫خواتین‬‫ہ‬
‫جمل‬‫ہ‬‫اپن‬‫اکثر‬‫ے‬‫کرن‬ ‫پورا‬ ‫کو‬ ‫اصد‬‫مق‬ ‫خاص‬‫ے‬
‫لی‬‫ے‬‫بولتی‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫لی‬ ‫اس‬‫ے‬‫س‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫اگر‬‫ے‬‫کب‬‫ھ‬‫ی‬
‫جمل‬‫ے‬‫اظ‬‫کا‬‫ہ‬‫جائ‬‫کیا‬ ‫ار‬‫ے‬‫تیار‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫تو‬‫ہ‬‫وجائی‬‫ں‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬
‫و‬ ‫تو‬‫ہ‬‫کرن‬ ‫خالی‬‫جیب‬‫کی‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ے‬‫اراد‬‫کا‬‫ہ‬‫رک‬‫ھ‬‫تی‬
‫پ‬ ‫یا‬‫ھ‬‫چا‬‫منوانا‬ ‫بات‬ ‫کوئی‬ ‫ر‬‫ہ‬‫تی‬‫ہے۔‬
‫پار‬‫ٹ‬‫انجوائ‬‫کو‬ ‫ی‬‫ے‬‫کرو‬:‫ا‬‫کی‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫اگر‬‫ہ‬‫لی‬‫ہ‬‫گ‬ ‫یا‬‫رل‬
‫فرین‬‫ڈ‬‫می‬ ‫ل‬‫محف‬ ‫کسی‬‫ں‬‫کی‬ ‫طرح‬ ‫اس‬‫کو‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ہ‬‫دایت‬
‫د‬‫ے‬‫سمج‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫تو‬‫ھ‬‫جائی‬‫ں‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫و‬‫ہ‬‫رک‬ ‫نظر‬ ‫پر‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ھے‬
‫ہ‬‫وئ‬‫ے‬‫ہے‬‫لی‬ ‫اس‬‫ے‬‫اد‬‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ھ‬‫اد‬‫ر‬‫ھ‬‫دیک‬ ‫ر‬‫ھ‬‫ن‬‫ے‬

Conflict vs. compromise
Random Examples
‫ہوں؟‬ ‫رکھتی‬ ‫حیثیت‬ ‫کیا‬ ‫لیئے‬ ‫کے‬ ‫آپ‬ ‫میں‬
‫پ‬ ‫طور‬ ‫جذباتی‬ ‫کو‬ ‫شوہر‬ ‫اپنے‬ ‫لیے‬ ‫کے‬ ‫کرنے‬ ‫دور‬ ‫اسے‬ ‫وہ‬ ‫تو‬ ‫جائے‬ ‫ہو‬ ‫سرزد‬ ‫غلطی‬ ‫کوئی‬ ‫سے‬ ‫خاتون‬ ‫کسی‬ ‫جب‬‫ر‬
‫ہوں۔‬ ‫چاہتی‬ ‫کرنا‬ ‫کام‬ ‫مطابق‬ ‫کے‬ ‫خواہش‬ ‫کی‬ ‫آپ‬ ‫تو‬ ‫میں‬ ‫کہ‬ ‫ہے‬ ‫چاہتی‬ ‫کنہا‬ ‫اور‬ ‫ہے‬ ‫پرکھتی‬
‫ہے۔‬ ‫فیصلہ‬ ‫اپنا‬ ‫کا‬ ‫آپ‬ ‫یہ‬
‫ک‬ ‫شوہر‬ ‫اسے‬ ‫اہلیہ‬ ‫تو‬ ‫دے‬ ‫کر‬ ‫تذکرہ‬ ‫کا‬ ‫اس‬ ‫کر‬ ‫بیٹھ‬ ‫میں‬ ‫محفل‬ ‫اور‬ ‫کرے‬ ‫فیصلہ‬ ‫کوئی‬ ‫شوہر‬ ‫بیشتر‬ ‫و‬ ‫اکثر‬‫قرار‬ ‫فیصلہ‬ ‫ا‬
‫اس‬ ‫کہ‬ ‫کیوں‬ ‫ہے‬ ‫ہوتا‬ ‫چھپا‬ ‫مطلب‬ ‫ہی‬ ‫اور‬ ‫کوئی‬ ‫پیچھے‬ ‫کے‬ ‫جملوں‬ ‫ان‬ ‫لیکن‬ ‫ہے‬ ‫لیتی‬ ‫چھڑا‬ ‫جان‬ ‫تو‬ ‫الحال‬ ‫فی‬ ‫کر‬ ‫دے‬‫وقت‬
‫گا۔‬ ‫ہو‬ ‫ہی‬ ‫میرا‬ ‫فیصلہ‬ ‫آخری‬ ‫کہ‬ ‫ہے‬ ‫ہوتا‬ ‫چھپا‬ ‫یہی‬ ‫پیغام‬ ‫اصل‬ ‫میں‬ ‫جملے‬ ‫ہوئے‬ ‫بولے‬ ‫کے‬
‫مج‬‫ھے‬‫س‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ے‬‫کرنا‬ ‫بات‬‫ہے‬:
‫ا‬‫کی‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫اگر‬‫ہ‬‫لی‬‫ہ‬‫فرین‬ ‫گرل‬ ‫یا‬‫ڈ‬‫س‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ے‬‫ی‬‫ہ‬‫ک‬ ‫بات‬‫ہے‬‫ی‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫تو‬‫ہ‬‫ن‬‫ہ‬‫سمج‬‫ھ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫و‬‫ہ‬‫کچ‬ ‫کو‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ھ‬‫بتانا‬‫چا‬‫ہ‬‫ر‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ہے‬
‫سمج‬‫ھ‬‫چا‬‫جانا‬‫ہ‬‫ئ‬‫ے‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫و‬‫ہ‬‫چو‬‫لمبی‬ ‫اپنی‬‫کو‬ ‫پ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ڑ‬‫سنان‬ ‫شکایت‬ ‫ی‬‫ے‬‫والی‬‫ہے۔‬
‫دیک‬‫ھ‬‫ت‬‫ے‬‫ہ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫گ‬ٓ‫ا‬‫ے‬‫کیا‬‫ہ‬‫وتا‬‫ہے‬
:‫ک‬ ‫گفتگو‬ ‫کافی‬‫ے‬‫ی‬ ‫خاتون‬‫اگر‬‫بعد‬‫ہ‬‫ک‬‫ہے‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫می‬ ‫بعد‬‫ں‬‫دیک‬‫ھ‬‫ی‬‫ں‬‫گ‬‫ے‬‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫کیا‬‫ہ‬‫وتا‬‫ہے‬‫ک‬ ‫اس‬‫تو‬‫مطلب‬ ‫ا‬‫ہے‬
‫ک‬‫ہ‬‫معامل‬ ‫اس‬‫اب‬‫ے‬‫کرو‬ ‫ختم‬‫کو‬‫۔‬

Can you tell which one women use?

1. What is your opinion? How do you explain any difference in usage?
2. When do you use the words boy(s) and girl(s) to refer to members of your
own sex or of the other sex? Are there any uses of these words that you
hear but refuse to employ yourself? Why? Has this always been the case?
If not, why not?
3. How do you use the words lady and woman? Do you ever use combinations
such as lady doctor or woman executive? Do you use cleaning lady,
cleaning woman, or some other term? Are lady and woman synonymous?

4. Whereas a young man may sometimes be referred to as a stud, dude, or guy, a young woman
may be referred to as a broad, chick, dame, doll, fox, or dog.
You might know some other terms too. Are there any fairly clear semantic differences between
the two sets? If there are, what would you say they indicate?
5. What are your views of proposed new words like chairperson, anchor-person,
spokesperson, craftsperson, personslaughter, personhandle, and personhood?

• many researchers agree that men speak more than women do
• when men talked to men, the content categories of such talk focused on competition and teasing,
sports, aggression, and doing things.
• when women talked to women, the equivalent categories were the self, feelings, afﬁliation with others,
home, and family.
• Women are also reported to use more polite forms and more compliments than men

• men tended to take the initiative in conversation, but there seemed to be a desire to achieve some kind of
accommodation so far as topics were concerned: the men spoke less aggressively and competitively and
the women reduced their amount of talk about home and family.
• two genders interacted
• cross-gender conversations
• men frequently interrupt women but women much less frequently interrupt men
• women ask more questions than men
• encourage others to speak,
• use more back-channeling signals like mhmm to encourage others to continue
speaking,
• use more instances of you and we

• men interrupt more,
• challenge, dispute, and ignore more,
• try to control what topics are discussed, and
• inclined to make categorical statements

 A large set of words specific to their interests: e.g. color words like
magenta, shirr, dart (in sewing), etc.
 “Empty” adjectives such as divine, precious, lovely, cute, etc.
 Tag questions and rising intonation in statement contexts:
 What’s your name dear? Mary Smith?
 Use of hedges
 Use of intensive “so”
 Hypercorrect grammar: women are not supposed to talk rough
 Super-politeness
 Ask more questions
Women’s talk is a cultural product
 Women speak a language of connection and intimacy
 Men speak a language of status and independence
 According to Lakoff, women’s talk has the following properties:

• languages can be sexist
Explanations
• The ﬁrst claim is that men and women are biologically different and that this difference has
serious consequences for gender
• The second claim is that social organization is best perceived as some kind of hierarchical set
of power relationships
• The third claim is that men and women are social beings who have learned to act in certain
ways.
• Language behavior is largely learned behavior. Men learn to be men and women learn to
be women, linguistically speaking.

Activity
• Neutralize the following terms

Language and Gender (Sociolinguistics)

Language and Gender (Sociolinguistics)

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