LANGUAGE AND GENDER THEORISTS

Robin lakeoff

• deficit model

• 1975

• argued that women’s language was viewed as weaker/ less powerful than mens

• claimed women’s speech used more: fillers/hedges, tag questions, extreme politeness features, uptalk, tag questions, verbal hygiene

• women are less dominant

zimmerman and west

• dominance model

• 1974

• argued men are more likely to interrupt women, suggesting their dominance

• men control topic shifts

• women are passive using minimal response

Geoffrey Beattie

• dominance model

• 1982

• critiqued zimmerman and west

• found that men do interrupt more but only by a slight margin making it insignificant

• argued zimmerman and West didn't differentiated between overlaps and interruption

pamela fishman

• dominance model

• 1983

• argued women do more conversational work, due to their inferior position

• women: ask more questions, use supportive minimal response, initiate topics

• men: benefit off women’s conversational work, have their conversations taken more seriously

Deborah tannen

• difference model

• 1990

• rapport vs report

• women use language differently, not out of inferiority but because of different social groups

• aim to keep conversation flowing

Deborah jones

• difference model

• 1990

• categorised women’s language use into 4 different groups:

• house talk

• scandal

• bitching

• chatting

Jane Pilkington

• difference model

• 1992

• women in same sex conversations are collaborative using positive and polite strategies

• men are less

Deborah Cameron

• diversity model

• 2009

• verbal hygiene

• argued that the ‘gender template’ (heteronormativity) doesn’t fit everyone suggesting there can be many differences between same sex and mixed conversations dependant on context

janet holmes

• diversity model

• 1984

• researched tag questions discovering they can be used to express solidarity, weaken a command or criticism

O’barr and Atkins

• diversity model

• 1980

• studied courtrooms and speech witness

• found language differences are based on specific authority or power rather than gender

judith butler

• 1993

• argued that the way we present ourselves such as speech and body language, constructs our gender

James pennebaker

• 2005

• mixed sex conversations, average number of words spoken by each gender is the same