Abstract
The present study investigated gender differences in the use of linguistic features as well as the social meanings attached to those differences. Academic essays, written by 44 (22 male, 22 female) first-year undergraduate students enrolled in the English Language Teaching program at a government university were analyzed with respect to the use of linguistic features (adjectives, empty adjectives, intensifiers, linking adverbials) as well as the number of words and sentences used by the students. The results showed that, in comparison to males, females used more adjectives, intensifiers, and words. Males, on the other hand, used more empty adjectives and linking adverbials than females. Based on the results, pedagogical implications are discussed, and recommendations are provided in order to increase teachers' awareness of gender differences and improve students' writing skills.
TopIntroduction
The purpose of the present study is to explore the relationship between gender and written language in English as a foreign language (EFL) setting from a sociolinguistic point of view. The role of gender in using a language has always been an important component of sociolinguistics. While some scholars (Longobardi et al., 2016; Newman et al., 2008) investigated how different gender groups form their identities through language in social contexts, some (i.e., Troia et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2019) examined the relationship between gender and academic achievement in educational contexts. Many scholars who conducted sociolinguistic research usually acknowledged three important studies: Jespersen’s (1922) pioneering book entitled “Language, its Nature, Development and Origin” (1922), Lakoff’s (1975) pivotal work on “Language and Woman’s Place” and Tannen’s (1990a; 1990b; 1994) “Genderlect Theory”. Jespersen’s (1922) book marked the beginning of a new era in sociolinguistics. In his chapter on “The woman”, Jespersen (1922) argued for linguistic differences in the speech of men and women. For example, he observed that while women used empty adjectives, intensifiers, and euphemisms more than men, men used more adverbs and impolite words than women. He stated that:
The vocabulary of a woman as a rule is much less extensive than that of a man. Women move preferably in the central field of language, avoiding everything that is out of the way or bizarre, while men will often either coin new words, or expressions, or take up old-fashioned ones, if by that means they are enabled, or think they are enabled, to find a more adequate or precise expression for their thoughts. (p. 248)
Lakoff (1975), based on analyses of how she and her acquaintances spoke and how television programs and commercials were presented, identified a variety of linguistic features that women used more than men. According to the author, women used empty adjectives (adorable, lovely), tag questions (he’s eating a desert, isn’t he?), hedging (it seems like, kind of), polite forms (would you mind…?), correct grammar, color terms, intensifiers (so, very, really), modals (should, could), wh- imperatives (Why don’t you…?), and declarative statements to ask questions. Women also avoided impolite language, apologized more than men, and lacked a sense of humor. These usages, according to the author, were the result of male dominance and unequal power relations between males and females. As she (1973) explained:
Our use of language embodies attitudes as well as referential meanings. [...] In appropriate women’s speech, strong expression of feeling is avoided, expression of uncertainty is favored, and means of expression in regard to subject-matter deemed ‘trivial’ to the ‘real’ world are elaborated. [...] The personal identity of women thus is linguistically submerged; the language works against treatment of women, as serious persons with individual views. (p. 45)
Tannen (1990b), on the other hand, emphasized that the language used by men and women was affected by the ‘culture’ to which they have been exposed. This, according to Tannen (1990b) resulted in ‘cross-cultural’ miscommunication in conversations. For example, Tannen (1990b) observed that when women talked to their female friends, they often interrupted each other. This behavior, which Tannen (1990b) called “participatory listenership” (p. 3), did not cause any problems among women; however, men perceived it as interruption and lack of attention. Another observation was concerned with the amount of talking that men and women did. According to Tannen (1990b), while men were more talkative than women in public, women talked more than men at home.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Linguistic Features: Grammatical or phonological characteristics of a language.
Intensifier: A grammatical term used for vocabulary items that strengthen or weaken a word’s meaning.
Linking Adverbial: Adverbs that are used to connect clauses in a meaningful way.
English as a Foreign Language: The teaching of English to people who live in a country where English is not used as a native or primary language.
Gender: The features that distinguish males and females in terms of the norms they follow in the society.
Sociolinguistics: An area of study in linguistics that deals with the relationship between language and social variables such as gender, social class, socioeconomic status, educational level, occupation and so on.
Empty Adjective: Adjectives without any exact meanings.