Group Essay
The idea that men and women use language differently is one
that is related to gender inequality. The question is do men and women actually
speak the same language? The three different approaches are the 3D’s. The
dominance approach, as said by Jennifer Coates (1993), sees women as an
oppressed group since we live in a patriarchal society. Deborah Tannen (1989) argues the difference
approach, which is the idea that men and women are socialised differently from
childhood onwards. The deficit approach, as argued by Robin Lakoff (1975),
states that one language is inferior to the other. I believe that men and women
are not all that different but are socialised in a way that makes them
different.
Deborah Tannen (1990) says that there is a difference
between men and women’s language, which would be supported by the data in the
table. Tannen states “the desire to affirm that women are equal has made some
scholars reluctant to show that they are different”. Tannen says that women are
more co-operative, more polite and give less input which could be one of the
reasons that they do not interrupt as often, if at all. Whereas men are more
comparative, this could be why they all interrupted during the conversation and
had the longest length of time speaking. However, this may just be the way that
society has taught us to be and therefore we don’t really know any different.
From the table, woman D speaks the most. However, she is
interrupted the most which could be related to the dominance theory. Men are
more dominant compared to females and men interrupt women more in mixed gender
conversation. This fits with Tannen’s view which says that women belong to
"different sub-cultures" who are socialised differently from
childhood onwards. Tannen argues that theorists like Lakoff and Spender see
language in terms of power and powerlessness.
The dominance theory is argued by theorist, Jennifer Coates
in 1993. The dominance approach “sees women as an oppressed group and
interprets differences in women's and men's speech in terms of men's dominance
and women's subordination.” Women are
known to use more polite phrases rather than commands, for example: “would you
please”, “please can you”. It’s also been argued that men use more taboo language
which can highlight that we live in a patriarchal society. Another thing that
closely links with the dominance theory is the stereotypes like, “you can’t do
it, you’re a woman”, implying somehow that men are more capable just because of
their gender. Men are stereotypically more aggressive and dominant which is
then expressed through the language they use, which may be imperatives. This is
the language which is supposedly not socially acceptable for women to use.
From the table, we can see data which represents the
dominance theory. This is because it appears that the men dominate the
conversation in the meeting. We can see this through the men having more turns
in speaking and the length of time they speak is longer. Man F interrupted 8.0
on average but was also the male who was interrupted the most at 6.7. This
shows that the men are not just interrupting the women but they are
interrupting each other. In relation to the dominance theory, men fight for
power not just with women but with themselves.
Robin Lakoff argues the deficit approach. This is the idea
that men and women speak two different languages and that one is inferior to
the other. This can be shown in Table 1 as it seems that women’s language is
passive and oppressed. In the table, men have more turns on average and they
speak for longer than the women. As
shown in the data, there is the idea that women speak less frequently. Lakoff
found that women use more hedges like “sort of” or “it seems like”. There is
also the use of empty adjectives such as “adorable” or “gorgeous”. However,
Lakoff doesn’t use statistics but phrases such as “many men” or “men tend to”
which are generalisations which lack evidence. There have also been changes
between the genders since 1975 so her work could be considered out-dated. Deborah
Cameron (1995) challenges the whole idea that there are two different and
contrasting languages and that this is simply the deficit model approach; there
are other explanations for differences in the way that men and women use
language. There may be the effect of social class or socio-economic status
which affects the way in which the two genders communicate.
The deficit model approach claims that women’s language is
inferior to men’s. This bold claim is surprisingly backed by the data in Table
1, as the women had less turns, time in turns and was interrupted more than
they did interrupt. Lakoff supports this theory, claiming women generally use
more politeness strategies, as to keep the conversation flowing and keep the
other person comfortable, whereas men are more competitive and dominate
conversation.
In conclusion, Table 1 and the data in it perfectly portrays
the 3D’s in a clear sense, and easily represents the changes in language due to
gender, and helps look a dominance, deficit and difference. Gender equality is
still a massive on-going issue today, as we claim to have a sense of equality,
yet still stereotype and favour one gender, for example in the workplace. We
have a long way to go before we can really feel a sense of equality. Looking at
the differences in language, we can understand the key factors that make women
and men so different in the eyes of society. We can learn to understand each
other and overcome the differences, to finally have the sense of equality we
deserve.
