...that is more typical for women than for men? My term paper shall try to answer those questions, look at typical forms of language use in relation to gender and I will aim to find possible reasons that explain a gender-based difference. But first it is important to explain why in sociolinguistics the term gender is used rather than sex. While sex refers to biological characteristics, gender is “a social category that is connected to the roles of women and men in society” (Becker & Bieswanger 2010: 185). My term paper will start with some general definitions about gender and language like gender-exclusive speech difference, gender-preferential speech features and gender and class. I will focus especially on women´s linguistic behaviour and answer questions like “Do women talk more than men?”. I will try to find explanations for a different linguistic behaviour. After focusing on explanations for a possible different use of language I will finally give features of women´s language that will make differences obvious. At the end of my paper I will also try to explain what is meant by a “sexism in language” and whether or not English is a sexist language and what could be done to reduce it. I often find myself in a situation were I realize that I sometimes use quite a sexist language and have trouble to avoid it, for example when I am writing a school paper. Because of this, I decided to choose “Language and Gender” as the topic for my term paper. The main source I worked with...
Words: 3599 - Pages: 15
...In linguistics, code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation. Multilinguals—speakers of more than one language—sometimes use elements of multiple languages when conversing with each other. 1. Carol Myers-Scotton : Studies on codes witching, the use of two or more languages in the same conversation. 2. John J. Gumperz : On code-switching, as a speaker’s use of more than one language within a single conversation is known. This work, like his analysis of the Heathrow impasse, centered on the idea of using linguistics in the service of social justice. Though earlier accounts of code-switching had suggested that it was largely a random phenomenon — a speaker, the thinking went, might use a smattering of English followed by a smattering of Spanish in an amorphous linguistic soup — Professor Gumperz showed that this switching, however unconscious, had specific triggers, including the need to encode information about the social relationships underpinning the discourse. But though sociolinguistics as a whole embraces spoken language and the printed word, he concentrated on face-to-face verbal exchanges. 3. Maria Cecilia Velásquez : The relationship in a bilingual conversation between language choice and identity has been the subject of research in different disciplines such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and second language acquisition among others. 4. Richard...
Words: 747 - Pages: 3
...that all the talented women in the division suffered from a lack of self-confidence? In all likelihood, they didn’t. Consider the many women who have left large corporations to start their own businesses, obviously exhibiting enough confidence to succeed on their own. Judgments about confidence can be inferred only from the way people present themselves, and much of that presentation is in the form of talk. The CEO of a major corporation told me that he often has to make decisions in five minutes about matters on which others may have worked five months. He said he uses this rule: If the person making the proposal seems confident, the CEO approves it. If not, he says no. This might seem like a reasonable approach. But my field of research, socio-linguistics, suggests otherwise. The CEO obviously thinks he knows what a confident person sounds like. But his judgment, which may be dead right for some people, may be dead wrong for others. Communication isn’t as simple as saying what you mean. How you say what you mean is crucial, and differs from one person to the next, because using language is learned social behavior: How we talk and listen are deeply influenced by cultural experience. Although we might think that our ways of...
Words: 7904 - Pages: 32
...fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of English Language & Literature. The results embodied in this thesis have not been submitted to any other University or Institute for the award of any degree or diploma. GRACE ABOU ZEID Functional Analysis of “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty” 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the writing of this project. My deepest thanks go to DR. HAYAT AL-KHATIB, my SUPERVISOR, for guiding and correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. I also express thanks to the DIRECTOR of ARAB OPEN UNIVERSITY – LEBANON for the constant encouragement and stimulating atmosphere provided to students. Thanks and appreciation to the helpful people at ARAB OPEN UNIVERSITY Learning Resource Centre, for their support. I would also thank my Institution and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and well wishers....
Words: 9029 - Pages: 37
...Essay Using Different English’s As an African American woman I face multiple barriers every day. Language has always been one of them. People often expect me to speak a certain way based on stereotypes they have grown up with or have been taught. I find that I use multiple forms of the language on a regular basis to relate to the different groups of people that I am around. Although I do speak “Ebonics”, too often people assume that is all I can speak. However, I can also converse quite fluently in proper English over many domains. I always enjoy seeing the surprise on people’s faces when my articulation is not what they anticipated, or when they see me switch seamlessly between them. The common misconception is that all African Americans speak, “Ebonics.” So people automatically expect that I will speak Ebonics. According to the Linguistics Society of America, Ebonics means “black speech.” They also state that this term was created in 1973 by a group of black scholars who disliked the negative connotations of terms like 'Nonstandard Negro English' that had been coined in the 1960s when the first modern large-scale linguistic studies of African American speech-communities began. Well, I grew up in the late 60s and with both my parents being educators, and from the south. Education and proper diction was a thing in our house, primarily because of their southern accent. In addition...
Words: 636 - Pages: 3
...Theory of Multiple IntelliGENCE PSY/300 April 9, 2012 Instructor: Angelique Grady In this paper, I will discuss the theory of multiple intelligences, developed by Howard Gardner. There are eight intelligences that Howard Gardener indentified, but I will be discussing three of them that would have an impact on my own personal success. Linguistic intelligence which refers to verbal intelligence, iInterpersonal intelligence is being able to appreciate and identify what others require, and iIntrapersonal intelligence refers to one’s self and their abilities (Smith, 2002, 2008). “Intelligence is multifaceted; that is, aspects of it can be expressed in many domains.” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, p. 271) “We can thus define intelligence as the application of cognitive skills and knowledge to learn, solve problems, and obtain ends that are valued by an individual or cCulture” (see Gardner, 1983, p. ?). “It is also to some extent culturally shaped and culturally defined, since cultural practices support and recognize intellectual qualities that are useful in the social and ecological context.” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, p.274). Gardner did not believe that there was only one inventory for intelligence. He used many criteria to come up with these eight intelligences. These criteria dealt with damage to the brain, and how a portion of the brain could be affected, but the other portion still worked fine. Another criteria area...
Words: 1721 - Pages: 7
...training them to write and deal with a variety of lesson plans. It is an internationally-recognized program and a highly respected one which opens the door for the best working opportunities. CELTA holders stand out of the crowd in today's competitive job market. Correspondingly, CELTA gives me a chance to seek the best employment opportunities with competitive benefits and salaries. CELTA trained teachers are known to be the best thanks to the detailed feedback and individual attention given to candidates during the program. It can provide me with the ability to deal with teaching challenges. It can back me up in expanding my knowledge of TESOL fundamentals. It does no only expose candidates to TESOL theory, but...
Words: 839 - Pages: 4
...The author is rebellious towards a forced process of assimilation. Anzaldua quotes Gwyn Smith by stating; “Who is to say that robbing a people of its language is less violent than war (Anzaldua 53).” She argues in her defence that this linguistic oppression violates her rights based on the First Ammendment as her Chican form of expression is censured (Anzaldua 54).Based on her argument, one can pull the notion that formation of a language identity in America is affected by social input. However, the extent to which an immigrant conforms to an American English identity is subject to individual control. According to Val and Vinogradova, the formation of a linguistic identity is a continuous process of negotiating personal attitudes with social pressure and modifying one’s identity in tandem with this process (1). It is important to understand the social context in which Anzaldua revolts against a forced adoption of a foreign identity. Born and raised in Texas, Anzaldua continously faces and adapts to the challenges of linguistic...
Words: 1629 - Pages: 7
...Being a good leader isn’t easy According to the University of Georgetown Professor of linguistics, professor Deborah Tannen’s article on “The Power of Talk”, she explain that there is no particular way to communicate; for example, In saying what you mean or how you say what you mean is crucial, and differs from one person to the next. Because using language is a learned social behavior that will lead to a positive attribute in making a connection professionally or personally in our lives. And in order to be a leader and deal with others is to become profeciate and interact with different gender, cultural or diversified individuals. Therefore, in making these improvements on yourself to better understanding how to comprehend, verbal or nonverbal linguistic style, is a positive attribute to have as a manager. For this reason, one must be flexible in all situations and understand how to regulate one’s communication into meaning if a leader is to inspire confidence,...
Words: 844 - Pages: 4
...assignments titled ³Multiple Pathways to Learning´ and ³Personality Spectrum´ used as information resources within the text. This paper will illustrate the concepts and strategies for success in a social setting, known as working with others. Communicating and Collaborating Strategy Communication is a skill that we learned and developed through the course of our lives experience. Whether it is verbal or nonverbal, we use it in our everyday lives. It makes you grateful, that I decided to return to school, in doing so I am now working to enhance my communication skills. On May 10, 2011, I started my general education courses, which is the beginning of attaining my. BS in Environmental Science; the course I am now taking, which is; “GEN/200 Foundations for General Education and Professional Success,” I was skeptical about taking this course, because of the content, until I started the class. I found out it is something I need to enhance my skills in...
Words: 1315 - Pages: 6
...POLITENESS AND INTERACTION I. Introduction As human being, we need to do the interaction with other people. Every interaction will has different sense depend on the people who do it. Particularly, when we talk about linguistic interaction. A linguistics interaction is necessarily a social interaction. Interaction occurs when speaker and listener are active. We will know if there are many factors that relate to social distance and closeness are established prior to an interaction. To get the sense of interaction we should look at various factors that relate to social distance and closeness. Typically, social distance and closeness involve the relative status of the participants, based on social values tied to such things as age and power. However, there are other factors, such as amount of imposition or degree of friendliness, which are often negotiated during an interaction. These are internal to the interaction and can result in the initial social distance changing and being marked as less, or more, during its course. These internal factors are typically more relevant to participants whose social relationships are actually in the process being worked out within the interaction. Both types of factors, external and internal, have an influence not only on what we say, but also on also how we interpret (Yule, 1996). Every interaction that people do usually got the impact from their culture and behavior. So when we do the interaction with them. We will think how to show our politeness...
Words: 3441 - Pages: 14
...5gendpolite4.doc; Oct 2002 word count: 13,276 Chapter 5: Gender and Politeness Introduction Given the model of gender described in the last chapter where gender is dispersed into practices and contexts/communities of practice, and is oriented to by individuals in relation to their perceptions of race and class stereotypes, rather than being located at the level of the individual, and also given the model of linguistic politeness as described in Chapters 2 and 3, where politeness/impoliteness is considered to be a matter of assessment within a context and the result of complex negotiations with perceptions of appropriacy norms and stereotypes, it is difficult, if not impossible, simply to approach the relation between gender and politeness as a question of an investigation of the production, by individual men or women of a number of linguistic features which are assumed to be unequivocally polite or impolite. What I would like to do instead is to consider the complexity of the relationship between gender and politeness, so that the common-sense nature of gender and politeness and their relation to each other is troubled. Here, I aim to analyse the way that certain practices which are considered to be polite or impolite are, within particular communities of practice, stereotypically gendered. As I discussed in Chapter 4, these stereotypes do not actually exist as such, but are hypothesised by particular speakers and hearers within communities of practices, on the...
Words: 14049 - Pages: 57
...Indonesia. Since the commencement of my English study at the bachelor programme, I have identified that I have been interested in the field of teaching English. When I was a kid, I dreamt to go abroad to know and study the cultures, history, social life, and people of any countries in the world. I believed that the best ways to make this eager desire carried out, were to study and master the English language because of its position as an International language. Furthermore, I do not just want to master the English knowledge and skills for the benefit of myself, but I also need to make other people in my local area, and in Indonesia generally, have the knowledge and skills better than me. If my students have a good English skills and knowledge, they will take part as an important role in the development of their local area and also for Indonesia. For instance, the Southeast Sulawesi province has a great potential mining beside the agricultural resources. I observed that these potential resources have not managed well because of the limitedness of human resource. I am responsible in preparing the young generations of Indonesia through English language teaching to face the globalisation era so that they can interlace a good relationship or cooperation with any individuals, institutions, or government of other countries around the world in the field of economy, sociocultural life, politics, health, education, and any other fields. Since the beginning of my involvement being an English teacher...
Words: 644 - Pages: 3
...Writing 3 Assignment Annotated Bibliography By: Andre Mutia 12010/NK-1 2012 1. Article 1 Abed, A., Q. (2011). Pragmatic Transfer in Iraqi EFL Learners' Refusals, International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(2), 166-185. doi:10.5539/ijel.v1n2p166 The study deals with pragmatic transfer of Iraqi EFL learners' refusal strategies as reflected by their responses to a modified version of 12- items written discourse completion task; and compare with two groups ,namely Iraqi native speakers of Arabic and American native speakers of English. The data were collected from task consisted of three requests, three offers, three suggestions, and three invitations. Each one of the situations included one refusal to a person of higher status, one to a person of equal status, and one to a person of lower status. Data analyzed according to frequency types of refusal strategies and interlocutor's social status. I prefer this article because it is very useful for my topic. The author found that Iraqi EFL learners are apt to express refusals with care and/or caution represented by using more statements of reason/explanation, statements of regret, wish and refusal adjuncts in their refusals than Americans. Americans are more sensitive to their interlocutor's higher and equal status, whereas Iraqi EFL learners to lower status. The study is suitable for the topic I chose for its valuable information. 2. Article 2 Al-Khatani, S., A., W. (2005). Refusals Realizations in Three Different...
Words: 2596 - Pages: 11
...Chapter III The Social Context of English INTRODUCTION On july of 2005, John Roberts was nominated to be a justice on the supreme Court of the United States. Commenting in this description of Roberts, the noted literary and legal theorist Stanley Fish (2005) argued that Roberts was not really proponent of “strict contructionsm” but of “textualism”, the belief that interpretation involves “sticking to the meanings that are encoded in the texts and not going beyond them.” To illustrate the limitation of this view of interpretation, Fish notes that if a wife asks her husband why don’t we go to the movies tonight ? The answer to that question depends on the history of the marriage, the kind of relationship they have, the kind of person the husband thinks the wife is. The words themselves will not produce a fixed account of their meaning [emphasis added]. What Fish is arguing in this statement is that communication does not exist\ in a vacuum: to engage in a conversation, for instance, we do not simply decode the meanings of the words that people speak but draw upon the larger social context in which the conversation takes place. 1.GRAMMATICAL VS PRAGMATIC MEANING A.GRAMMATICAL The term 'grammar' covers the proper use of words and word-forms as well as thegrammatical structure of phrases, clauses, and sentences. While different wordforms of lexemes are created by the adding of inflectional morphemes, combinations of words into more complex units are the domain of...
Words: 7962 - Pages: 32