Gender

• What are the 3 types of gender theories

  • Deficit - language used by women is inferior to men's
  • Dominance - language difference explained by hierarchal dominance of men in society
  • Difference - genders have innate differences in style and function of speech & writing
• Jane Pilkington - 1992

  women in same sex convos are collaborative, use positive politeness strategies

  men are less complementary, unsupportive but collaborative in same sex convo
• Deborah Cameron

  [The myth of Mars And Venus] - 2008

  • Criticized idea of innate differences in male and female speech
  • believes this to be "the greatest myth"
• Deborah Cameron

  [The myth of Mars and Venus] - 2008

  = Women pay attention to be good communicators

  = Women talk about relationships, feelings, people

  = Men have natural tendency to be competitive - results in agressive speech style

  = Men talk about facts

  • says these myths are believed to shape expectations of men and women and types of linguistic behavior that we deem to be normal or deviant
  • Thinks speakers construct and perform gender identity for themselves which may challenge or support stereotypes
• Janet Hyde

  Gender similarity hypothesis - 2005

  • claims there are mire similarity than differences between male and female language
  • Differences due to age, class, ethnicity, education, job, sexuality, etc.
• Janet Hyde

  Gender similarity hypothesis - 2005

  Men:

  • Informal register through accent, taboo, slang, dialect, grammatical variation
  • Covert prestige to sustain masculine identity
  • Factual, competitive to maintain status

  
  

  Women:

  • succumb to lady-like stereotypes to sustain feminine identity
  • formal lexis, less phonological variation
  • Overt prestige
  • Supportive, co-operative, emotional