Gender Differences in the Use of Adjectives and Intensifiers

Did you know, “men and women talk differently because they are raised in something like two different cultures: a male culture from which young men learn to speak like men and a female culture in which young women learn to speak like women?”(Cooper and MacDonald 9). Well, not actually from two separate cultures, but the idea of men and women being opposites as pointed out in the opening. Deborah Tannen has made her theory that a male culture and female culture each exist, very popular with the human population and has written an extensive book on her theory.

What is it that makes a woman a woman, or what makes a man a man? Deborah Tannen, author and Ph.D. of linguistics, investigates this question within the essay, “There Is No Unmarked Woman.” An excerpt from a larger publication, “Talking from 9 to 5,” written in 1994, “There Is No Unmarked Woman” is an effective examination of the social injustice as to why the state of womanhood is “marked” while the state of manhood is “unmarked”, and what this means for each sex. The book itself is a result of real-life research about the conversational

Language is used all around the world. Men and women have various ways of using language. There are many factors in using language such as: regional, ethic, and class backgrounds; gender; and age (Tannen 214). Deborah Tannen “How Male and Female Students Use Language differently” elaborates on this topic adequately. Tannen elaborates male and female language patterns, the debate type teaching formats used in college classrooms, and the different male and female attitudes toward vocal expressions exercises used in the classroom that creates a dissatisfying environment for females. Ms. Tannen mainly focuses on the languages differences of men and women. She concludes that different classroom strategies need to be studied and applied in order to accentuate and improve student participation in the classroom from both males and females. In analyzing this paper, three things are evident. One must consider how men and women bond differently, how speaking in a classroom is more adaptable to men in a debate scenario, and how men and women communicate and participate in a group exercise

“Sex Differences” is an essay written by a professor of linguistics named Ronald Macaulay. In the essay, he pointed out that there were no gender differences regarding to language development. He talked about various stereotypes about how men and women speak. He also explains in depth about how social environment made an impact on the talking between men and women. He also concluded that those linguists who still believe in that theory only continue to do so even if what they found in their research is not statistically significant. In many ways, Macaulay’s essay is persuasive. Through this essay, one would agree with him that there is no different form of language in which women and men speak.

Living in the United States with a limited understanding of the English language is a challenge that countless foreigners have suffered with when pursuing a new life. Luckily for me, my parents made the decision to emigrate to America while I was only five years old. This decision allowed me to adapt to a new language while my mind was still young, and much more capable of learning it quickly. Mastering basic words and sentence structures wasn’t much of an issue, but when it came to expressing my thoughts I always felt as if lexicon was inferior to those around me. Simple and flavorless adjectives such as good, bad, and sad became were frequent options when trying to express my opinion. At the time, this never seemed to inconvenience me as I was young and

Years later McConnell-Ginet (1989, as cited in McConnell-Ginet, 2011) began to study about language and gender in which it focused on speeches of men and women. Later in 2002, in investigating the characterisation of men and women in language, a study has been conducted that covered the sexism in language (Weatherall, 2002). Thus, the foundation of this research is based on the study of language and gender and its effect on

Men and women speak the same language, but there are multiple speculations that women talk differently compared to men. Women are constantly seen as super talkative, while men try to control conversations. Deborah Cameron, a professor of language at Oxford University, wrote an essay titled, “What Language Barrier?” where she discusses the similarities and differences men and women have when they talk. Cameron begins her essay by stating women and men do not communicate differently, she claims, “The idea that men and women ‘speak different languages’ itself has become dogma” (Cameron 268). Cameron believes there are no differences in the way males and females talk and she continues to prove her claim by using examples of the female/male brain, power between sexes, and research. She essentially discusses the biological and social reasons why we talk and how gender does not matter when communicating. She concludes the folk-belief that women talk more than men is only a social prejudice; therefore, it depends on each person whether they talk more or less (Cameron 267-273). I disagree with Cameron, the dogmas that women are more talkative and men are controlling are true because there is a difference in empathy, power, and topics that allow us to become better in different areas when having conversations.

Through her use of the rhetorical devices of personal experience, ethos, and comparison, venerated Georgetown linguistics professor Deborah Tannen persuaded me to concede with her argument that males and females communicate differently in the classroom, as indicated in her 1991 article How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently. In this composition, she emphasizes that because of intersexual differences in utilizing the spoken word in class differently, instructors, including herself, consider reevaluating their teaching strategies. In her case, revising the approach involved building experience through closely monitoring her classes and collaborating with colleagues.

Two very compelling theories to explain to the audiences why different gender employ different verbal

As in many other gender differences, miscommunication between males and females can be explained by either the biological aspect or the cultural/environmental aspect. Deborah Tannen, a University professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and an Author, suggests the biological explanation to

Individuals are perceived according to their facial expressions more so than the words they speak.

Robin Lakoff found that women’s language lacks authority when compared to that used by men and she believes that women use many techniques in their speech that are deficient to men 's speech. In the Deficit Model Robin Lakoff describes male language as stronger, more prestigious and more desirable. She argues that women are socialised into behaving like 'ladies '. She gives examples of language techniques women use that make their language seem deficient these include, fillers, hedges e.g. “sort of”, “you know”, intensifiers e.g. “so”, weak expletive terms e.g. “oh dear”, empty adjectives e.g. charming, sweet, hypercorrect grammar and tag questions which shows uncertainty e.g. “isn’t it?” Moreover she interprets that women use more precise colour terms e.g. mauve, magneta.

Nisbett and Timothy DeCamp Wilson (1977) in efforts to add supporting evidence to an ideal similar to the Halo Effect. They staged two interviews with participants where the interview in both was a man that had a distinct accent (Nisbett & Wilson,1977). The interviewer in one group was as charming as he could be in his “appearance and mannerisms and accent” (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977). In the other, he was instructed to basically act more strict and harsh to the subjects. The resulting difference in ratings of the interviewer’s personality and other factors by the participants spoke to how people immediately judge someone based on how they presented themselves through multiple characteristics.

According to Deborah Tannen, a linguistic professor of Georgetown University, men and women talk differently and sometimes it might be very complex as she stated that many coupes 'grew in diverse cultures.' Men consider communication as a primary language of 'report.' They feel more

From a very early age, males and females are taught different linguistic practices. For example, communicative behaviors that are considered acceptable for boys may be considered completely inappropriate for girls.