Summary: Gender

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1) Deficit Theory: Robin Lakoff: female language is deficient relative to the powerful, superior linguistics of male speech. Characteristics by deficient discourse markers, such as:

  • Empty adjectives
  • Hyper-correct grammar and pronunciation - establish overt prestige
  • Interrogative intonation in place of declarative and imperative
  • Tag questions - mitigate imperatives (hidden directives)
  • Hedges, and fillers- mark uncertainty within language- connotes to weakness
2) Difference Theory: Deborah Tannen: men and women are raised in different subcultural groups, thus their language is reflective of this 
  • Status v Support:
  • Independence vs intimacy
  • Orders v proposal
  • Conflict v compromise
  • Information v feelings
3) Janet Hyde: disputes Difference Theory - argues differences do not exist, but are ideologically driven by gender stereotypes within patriarchy

4) Dominance Theory: Zimmerman and West: male language is superior in comparison to female language, characterised by greater use of imperative and declarative phrases to exert influential power
  • 96% of interruptions = male in mixed sex conversation
5) Judith Baxter challenges:
Argues Z +W features = influential power NOT gender:
  • Women in power use traditionally 'masculine' syntax and intonation: imperatives
  • Perception of female inferiority is a product of female under representation in influential positions

5) Dale Spender: Man Made Language (!980): Exposes androcentrism within language
  • Language is constructed around male ethos, in reflection of male patriarchy
    • Masculine language taken as standard =unmarked
    • Feminine lexicon= marked with suffix 'ess'
  • The indefinite 'man' used as a stand-alone noun or prefix to represent all humans
    • 'Mankind'
  • Androcentric idiosyncratic language: perpetuates male leadership via gendered order of precendence
    • 'Husband and wife', 'boys and girls', 'Mr and Mrs' - marked titles

5)Janet Holmes: Female address terms reflect the subservient and deficient role of females iwthin society
  • Objectification of women, adopt diminutive form 'honey', 'sweetie'
    • Comparison to food = male possession used to fulfil their sexual hunger/ lust
  • Address terms marked by definite article in 'the Mrs', or possessive pronoun 'my'
6) John McGuirter: Young females branded as linguistic innovators, facilitating integration of new colloquialisms into slang
  • Equally pejorative, influx of new dialect "vocal fry"- connotes to dimwittedness



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