Additonal Gender Theorists

Biological determinism in gendered language

• Babies show instinctive interest in specific colours and toys spontaneously
• Anatomical difference in brain structure reflected in language

• Neuroscientists label male brain as "compartmentalised" relative to female brain - split into sections; enhance specific functions; female brain continous connections- easier to make synotpic links between areas of brain = diverse, floral language

Janet Hyde- differences between male and female language are ideologically driven; little if any differences actually exist
Perpetuated by gender stereotypes

Janet Holmes- female address terms perpetuate their subservient representation
Objectified as food or animals:

• Honey, sweetie - empty address terms, connote to innocence
• 'Chick' - society subconsciously derogates females to animals
• Disparity between title 'Lord' and female-equivalent 'Lady'

Dr Judith Baxter

Women naturally use self-deprecating language with men, reflective of their subservient role

Females in power adopt 'masculine' features of language:

• Interruptions
• Simple, declarative phrases = symbol of influential power
• Imperatives

Androcentrism: language revolves on unmarked male 'standard' lexicon, then marked via affixes to reference females

• Language reflects how speech is predominantly male, expectation of her
• Constituent element of a patriarchal society
• Marked occupational nouns: fireman, dinner lady - reflect social expectations

Gendered order of precedence: Idiosyncratic language

• 'Husband and wife'; 'boys and girls' , 'Mr and Mrs'
• Men literally lead the way for women to follow

Article:

• Men are from 'er'; women are from 'um'
• Gendered use of fillers- Robin Lakoff??

Forum- discourse structure- mimicking spontaneous features of speech