1. Language and Gender: English and English Speakers Chapter 7

2. Gender Differences Effects of Cultural Norms English- variety of frequencies of: – Sounds – Grammatical features – words Stereotypess – Effects – Hierarchy favoring who? “Gender is an aspect of identity that is enacted through discourse practices” (188)

3. Pronounciation Phonological Variants – Differences in the frequencies of using particular sounds “A link bw speech variants favored by females and an interrelated constellation of cultural meanings, including formality, politeness, and compliance” (189) – Rules of appropriateness for males and females Other factors include class and contextual style Females use standard and prestige pronunciations, and in context also quicker and sharper stylistic shift

4. Intonation – Intonation is a complex combination of rhythm, volume, and pitch overlaying entire utterances. – Women use more dynamic intonation contours – Feminine- speech varied in overall rhythmic and pitch patterns. – Masculine- speech is narrower in limits regarding rhythm and pitch.

5. Grammatical Variants May be anecdotal or introspective – May be actual or stereotypical – Inconsistent results Lakoff study: women use more (tag) questions because they are reluctant to make direct assertions. – See charts on page 197

6. Choices of Vocabulary Differences in certain words or categories of words used in speech frequency. Controversy over results – Age as an additional factor to gender – Use of profanity found among men and lower class women. – Men are expected to control their feelings and refrain from using words that marked emotional expressiveness. Women- indecisive, imprecise, or mitigated speech Men- norm or neutral form of communication, opposite to women.

7. Gender-Related Conversational Styles Alternatives in speaker turns, topic introduction and control and mechanisms of signaling active listenership. Cross-ethnic miscommunication: – Conceptions of friendly conversation – Rules for engaging in it and interpreting it. – “Boys & girls grow up in different worlds…and as adults they travel in different worlds, reinforcing patterns established in childhood” (201) Critique of Tannen

8. Gender-related Conversational Styles Men and women reproduce their social rights by the way that they present themselves and interact- political act. – i.e. study in the use of silence and speech to establish and maintain authority. Powerful people are more likely to interrupt and less likely to be interrupted Fishman’s data- “strategies to insure, encourage and subvert conversation” – Attention beginnings (2x more by women) – Asking questions (women 2.5 x more than men) – Asking “D’ya know what?” (women 2x more)

9. Gender Bias in English Words that demean females: reproduce and reinforce negative stereotypes – Become internalized symbols and result in male attitudes – Females accept negative self-assessments. Classes of Vocabulary – Opposite sex- polarity, no overlap or congruence, antagonism – Male & female- denotes primary status of males – Gender hierarchy in marital relationships – Girls’names (ending in -a, -ine, -y), use of “girl” and “boy” for adults. – Sexist language- “He” and “Man”