Language & Gender Mindmap

Language & Gender Mindmap

1. Theorists

   • Spender & Zimmerman + West
     • DOMINANCE THEORY
   • Spender (1980)
     • Language was constructed by men
   • Stanley (1977)
     • More positive words for men than women
   • Hyde
     • Found similarities between genders
   • Coates
     • Women talk to support and co-operate
     • Use TAG's and turn taking
   • Keith + Shuttlewood
     • Strerotype Men and Women
       • Men- Swear more, Interrupt, insult etc
       • Women- Talk more, Hesitant, Ask more questions
   • Zimmerman & West
     • Believe men interrupt more
       • 96%!
   • Holmes
     • Use of politeness to compliment
       • Women use Positive P to connect
       • Men use Negative P to judge
   • Cameron
     • Women are more polite and men are deemed as blunt
   • Fishman
     • Men experience awkward pauses, whereas women use TAGs.
       • CONVERSATIONAL SHIFTWORK
   • Trudgill
     • People's speech is affected by their regional features
   • Cheshire
     • Women are more likely to follow the rules of speech
   • Tannen (1991)
     • Men & Women are from different cultures
       • WOMEN CO-OPERATE
       • MEN COMPETE
         • CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS
   • Beattie
     • No difference in gender in relation to interruptions
       • 557 interruptions
   • Lackoff (1975)
     • DEFICIT
       • Women talk differently due to 10 features
         • SEE SHEET
   • Stanley (1977)
     • Males are more important due to the original title
       • Unmarked terms
   • Shulz
     • A man's political power gives them less negative words

2. Key words

   • Denotation
   • Connotations
   • Marked (CHANGED)
   • Unmarked (Unchanged)
   • Lexical Asymmetry
     • Words are unequal in their connotations
   • Order of precedence
   • False Generic (MAN)

3. Exam Tips

   • Clear and easy to explain point
   • More than one example from the data
   • Explain point in relation to contextual factors
   • Use theorists/terminology where possible
   • Link/use words from question
   • End with consideration for the data
   • Explain how it is affected by gender