1. Michael Hall LCS D57 w/b 10 Oct 2016
Variation and Gender
Michael Hall
LCS D57
w/b 10 Oct 2016

2. Gender questions Do women speak differently from men?
Do we speak differently to men and women?
Do we speak differently about men and women?
What does our use of language tell us about the role of gender in society and the comparative status of men and women?
Is there anything sexist about the formulation of these questions?

3. Sex Gender Sexuality What’s the difference?
Sex is a biological concept: how you are born (male/female: now more fluid)
Gender is a cultural concept: how you are raised (masculine and feminine)
“the cultural traits and behaviours deemed appropriate for men and women by a particular society” (Cameron 2006: 724)
Give examples of cultural shaping of gender

4. Gender Traditionally, boundaries clearly marked (for sex and gender)
Now more blurring (in Western culture), distinction seems less crucial (cf nationality, ethnicity): masculine-feminine continuum
“Performances” of gender: women exchange compliments, men exchange insults (Meyerhoff?)
Do you have your own versions of “performances”?

5. Sexuality Identity in relation to sexual activities -> LGBTQ
Classifications -> deviation from the norm
Default discourse position of male (50%), white (20%?), heterosexual (90%?), middle-class (30%)
2.7% of the world population? 1 in 37?

6. Other language features of gender
Can you distinguish between a male and a female voice?
Always?
How?
Voice quality, esp pitch & intonation

7. 3 Gender is a linguistic concept
“natural gender” expressed in English as he-she-it -> reflects gender of living beings
“grammatical gender” (der-die-das) -> reflects gender of words
Nouns have gender in many Indo-European languages:
El hombre, la mujer (Sp)
Der Mann, die Frau, das Mädchen (Ger)
Gender of nouns is not the same in all languages
The moon -> la lune (Fr), der Mond (Ger)
The house -> la casa (Sp), das Haus (Ger)

8. Adjectival concord
Adjectives may agree with nouns and pronouns (examples from French)
Le réservoir est plein (m) = The tank is full
La lune est pleine (f) = The moon is full
Je suis content (m), je suis contente (f) = I am happy
Il est content (m), elle est contente (f) = He, she is happy

9. Pronouns How many personal pronouns in English?
I/you/he/she/it/we/they (subject case)
Only third person singular marked for gender
Yo/tu/usted/el/ella/nosotros/(vosotros)/ ustedes/ellos/ellas (subject case)
Spanish: third person singular and plural marked for gender

10. Arabic: inta/inti (you)
2nd person singular also marked for gender
Japanese: boku/watashi
1st person also marked for gender
Chinese: 我 Wo 你 ni 他 ta + 们 men
Pronouns not marked for gender in speech
Cf Eng: Everyone should try their best

11. Male/female particles
Thai greeting:
Sawatdee krup! (m) Sawatdee ka! (f)
In Thai males and females speak slightly differently
in Fr, Ger, Sp etc we use language differently to speak about males and females

12. Gender & Semantics
Friend -> amigo/amiga (Sp), Freund/Freundin (Ger)
Gender neutral in Eng, gender specific in Sp/ Ger etc
Boyfriend/girlfriend -> novio/novia (Sp) -> see how we distinguish gender in English?
Cf male friend/female friend

13. Gender specific terms in English?
Mother/father -> parent (Sp padres)
Brother/sister -> sibling (?) (Sp hermanos)
Sp Tienes hermanos? Do you have brothers and sisters? = Do you have brothers?
Tienes hermanas? Do you have sisters?
What are the pros and cons of gender-specific and gender-neutral terms?

14. Man-made language Man (n) Man (v) Mankind He Guys
Girl/woman/lady: what’s the right way to refer to a female?

15. Occupations: for whom? Fireman Policeman Postman King Air hostess
Flight attendant
Actress
Waitress

16. Occupations Fireman Firefighter Policeman Police officer Postman
Postal worker
King
Monarch
Air hostess
Flight attendant
Actress
Actor?
Waitress
Server?

17. What I want to be when I grow up
Comment on the arrangement of occupations in this list.
Surgeon
Pilot
Doctor
Engineer
Secretary
Nurse
Masseuse
Nanny
Prostitute
Chair?
What happens if Hilary becomes President?

18. Double standards? Are these pairs really equivalent?
Master / Mistress
Husband / Wife
Mothering a child / Fathering a child
What do we call a male who sleeps around?
What do we call a female who sleeps around?

19. Neutral terms -> pejorative
Mistress
Madam
Governess
Wench
Tart
Hussy
Courtesan
Spinster
Queen
See article by Shariatmadari (2016)

20. Julia Gillard, Australia’s first PM

21. Racist insults
Gay insults
Sexist insults: bitch still okay?
(n) and (v)?
Contempt, sexual aggressiveness, humiliation

22. Some observations from Meyerhoff
Women use the standard language more than men
Example from Norwich (-ing) p 219
Example from Newcastle (cannit v can’t) p 220
What does it tell us about society?
Is this true?
Can we lump all women together as a single bloc?

23. More than one local variant
Ocracoke islanders
"It's high tide on the sound side"
-> "hoi toide on the saind soide”
a marker of pronunciation (or shibboleth) to distinguish speakers of this variety
poker playing fishermen v middle-aged women and gays (p 238)
Two markers of local identity

24. Mothers model different varieties for their children
Cf mate for boys in Australia
They internalise the norms and reinforce them to their children (p 229)

25. Gender and authority
English-speaking women use more question tags than men, don’t they?
The rising intonation pattern is more prevalent among women?
Particles which express authority are more common in men’s speech than in women’s (in Lakhota, p 239)
These examples do not reflect a clear divide between M & F but show how language reflects social roles and status

26. Gendered behaviours
Use of Japanese particle –wa (F), ga (M) in single sex conversations
In mixed gender conversations (F+M) these styles of speaking disappeared entirely (p 240)
Do males talk differently when females are present? And vice versa?
Swearing in English?
Accommodation? Mutual convergence? Cross-cultural differences?

27. Further reading
David Shariatmadari, Eight words that reveal the sexism at the heart of the English language
David Marsh, Sexist language: it's every man for him or herself
Meyerhoff (2011) Ch 10
Wardhaugh (2010) Ch 13