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Gender and language
The relationship between language and gender
The relationship between language and gender
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Differences in Language and Gender
There are many differences in language between male and female. This
is why we sometimes do not understand the opposite sex. These
differences can be lexical, phonological, grammatical or
conversational.
There have been many studies into gender and conversational behaviour
one of which answers the most common question of who talks the most
this was conducted by Fishman '90. He found that in mixed sex
conversation, men talk twice as much as women. Although this cannot be
generalised to all males and females as many people do not follow the
trends.
Women are more supportive in their behaviour in conversation. They ask
more questions, give more feedback, pay more compliments, start up
different topics and they try to bring others into the conversation.
On the contrary, men interrupt, express disagreement, ignore other
people and don't like to follow other people's new topics. This shows
that women are more cooperative and men are competitive in
conversation.
Zimmerman and...
“Men are from Mars, women are from Venus” as the famous saying of John Gray goes. It is believed men and women are nothing alike in almost every aspect. In Deborah Tannen’s essay “Gender in the classroom: Teacher’s Classroom Strategies Should Recognize that Men and Women Use Language Differently” she focused on how men and women differ when it comes to communicating, with emphasis on how it effects to how men and women behave in the classroom.
In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is being perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate. Some hardly even apply to the particular group people it claims to. It is true that how people are perceived has a big impact on how other individuals interact with them; however, people are not perceiving these groups correctly.
Do men and women effectively communicate in the same way, or is it just a conversation of misunderstanding? There is constantly a new interest in whether men and women converse successfully. Professor and journalist, Deborah Tannen writes, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Tannen compares and contrasts all conversational styles, and explains how the expectation of dialogue affects how men and women converse. Tannen focuses on the subject of marriage and the imbalance of interest between male and female couples. The contrasting perspective however comes from, Deborah Cameron, author of, “What Language Barrier”. Cameron conveys that the stereotypes left upon male and female communication
1) In the chapter black and white, Bissinger uses a taboo words to point out the theme and problem of the town. “Niggger, Goddam Jesus christ, and shitty.” Are the words that are italicized in this passage. Obviously the N-word is used as an insult for black people in the community and it show that race is the biggest issue in this chapter. Then he uses Goddam Jesus christ because the community is a predominantly catholic, especially white people, they found it ruled and very offensive. “ It bothered them, and they frankly didn’t know how a decent person would say a thing such as that, show such utter disrespect for the Lord.” (Friday Night Lights, By H.G. Bissinger) This is just an example showing that the people who use the N-word had no idea that they were being disrespectful not just to Lantia Akins but every black person in the community. The N-word has multiple meaning, a lot of people are not aware of it’s history and the real meaning it gives. It has such a deep meaning that the people in the town shouldn’t say it so casually. “What the hell was racist about calling ‘em niggers when they acted like that? It was just the truth.” (Friday Night Lights, By H.G. Bissinger) Bissinger added this in the end of the last paragraph to show how white people blinded so much by stereotypes of black people. The taboo language is used to get the audience’s attention, because it’s thing that shouldn’t be said. Overall it just makes thing interesting and it show the effects of taboo words and the theme. That is everyone should be treated equally.
The linguistic and cultural clashes that children encounter, and how they negotiate between their ethnic and American “mainstream” cultures, and how these clashes and problems influence their relationship with their parents and their ethnic identities as a whole and how they were dealt with differently as we look at two stories dealing with two girls who are both coming of age in different society from where they originally came from. Jairy’s Jargon a story written by Carmen-Gloria Ballista, is a story that encounters the life of a young girl coming of age in Puerto Rico, except she’s originally from New York. Milly Cepeda’s story, Mari y Lissy, is a story about twin sisters who differ in personality and are often at odds with each other, but are both learning to live in a city that is very different from where they came from.
...ind this to be a typical male trait. Our surveys and research found however, that these types of traits are normally associated with men within the business world. Through our research, we found that in a male dominated society, adapt to the male styles of communication. As we have previously stated, the styles of communication between genders differ greatly. Men tend to use conversation to obtain data whereas women use conversation to create connections. Through our research, we also came up with some solutions for bridging the communication gaps between males and females. To reduce miscommunication, males and females must learn to interpret the messages being sent to them. They must learn to understand the speakers' motives and background. In effective communication, one must realize the experiences of the speaker and listener, and work to create a common understanding of the messages being created. Males should try to understand the female need for connection whereas females need to understand the male need for data. If the two cultures can learn to combine their styles by offering information while creating a connection, the male and female communication gap will be bridged.
Further evidence of communicative differences exist between men and women in various other social settings as well. Consider, for example, those individuals employed in customer service-related Jobs. While in JC Penny, I noticed that female customer service representatives were more apt to offer immediate friendly assistance than the male reps. Men are not as cocky nor as confident in this sort of situation; their eyes tend to dart around the area of the store while the eyes of a women remain focused upon the eyes of the customer. The men seem to communicate with a lot less smiles. Apparently they have to get past a certain “ice-breaking'; point before they will feel comfortable with a genuine look of happiness.
...a meaningful communication to take place. In conclusion, there are differences between men and women that go beyond social nurture. These differences have their origin in their genes. The differences evident in men and women are translated in their behavior and communication. There are possibilities of these differences in their turn raising the problem of failing to understand one another because in a communication men and women have a different set of expectations from each other. It is essential to understand and appreciate these differences for a meaningful communication to take place.
The Japanese language features unique characteristics that women’s speck differ from men’s. Differences in first and second personal pronouns is one the characteristics that make women’s speech sound polite and feminine compare to men’s speech. Women are required to use more formal from as anata is formal for men but plain or formal for women (Ide, 1990). In men’s speech, there are other set of first and second person pronouns (boku, kimi, among others). This means that women have less first and second person pronouns and thus, use more formal patterns than male speech. Further, there are no deprecatory words in women’s speech in the first or second person pronoun compared to men’s speech (Ide, 1990). Men’s speech has deprecatory words of ore, omae, kisama, and others. There are no deprecatory words in women’s speech. This means men’s speech is less polite sounding making it more masculine.
...or a relationship”. In genderlects, there is no superior or inferior method of communication, but rather, men and women just communicate differently. By understanding these differences, one can reduce the amount of misunderstandings in future conversations.
Researchers by the name of Deborah James and Janice Drakich reviewed sixty-three studies and found out that this is the exact opposite. Sixty-one of the sixty-three studies show that men are the ones who are actually doing most of the talking. The study was comparing American men and women in different context. Even though this study was conducted of American men and women. Studies conducted in
Gender roles and identity are constantly shifting throughout different societal generations. Men and woman both have notable similarities and differences in genders and they each contribute to their personalities and actions. In the past men have been viewed as a more dominant sex in society over women, both in careers, home life, and sexually, however, today women have bridged many of the gaps and society is accepting a more equal view of genders. The following examines the similarities and differences between men and woman by looking at biological characteristics, gender roles, and sexual responses.
Gender will be examined, and it will tell what correlate with gender identity. Gender difference and their development will be discussed in the paper. It will explain what is psychoanalytic and systems perspective and how it takes a part in gender difference. It will show how gender difference could affect a person's life, later down the line. There are several issues or problems that are dealing with identity, gender and it's causes problems. The biggest problem would be our environment, we hang on. We will examine some theories that interact with psychoanalytic and system perspective approach and how it is related to identity gender and what responds we will witness. In the paper it will introduce two theories which are behaviorism and social
How does language affect our interaction with other genders? Language is the basis of all interaction. The language we use is essential to other’s perceptions of us. We instinctively know this, so we cater our language to suit how we want to be perceived by others. Language is not the only factor in perception though. Other’s interpretation of our language is as important an ingredient in their perception of us as the language we use is. Our perceptions of each other, more than anything else dictate our interactions with each other. The essential question is does interpretation of language vary between genders?
Wardhaugh states different social norms defining the standards of being men or women, which has a profound influence on the language behavior shown by different genders. In other words, both men and women should possess the ability to show either masculinity or feminity through the language they use. When this ability overlaps with the other gender, however, one might be considered as as outsider of their own gender. He then lists the main differences between males and femals with the connection with language: genetic differences, social differences (e.g. various roles people take within a certain society), and linguistic differences (e.g. speech style and word choice). Doing so, he gives readers an indepth idea about how gender differences link to various language behaviors. He further explains how these differences are possibly created and constructed in society. Wardhaugh also examines a few common gender stereotypes, such as women talk more than men, and proves most of the stereotypes are wrong.