Theorists

Theorists

1. Lakoff

   • Women's work words (topics)
     • Women's vocab includes trivial words because they are forced to talk about unimportant subjects
   • Weak Expletives
     • Women don't use as much vernacular language because they substitute it for things like 'oh dear'
   • Tag Questions
     • Adds a certain sense of reassurance and uncertainty, as if women aren't as confident of their speech and their use of grammar.
   • Intensifiers
     • Avoiding strong statements or committing to a statement
   • Hedges
     • Punctuate speech with uncertainty, such as question marks at the end of statements
   • Hypercorrect Grammar
     • women are more likely to comply with grammatical rules

2. Deborah Tannen

   • Women's Work Words
     • Men usually assume the role of information giver because this reinforces strength of status
   • Interruptions
     • Interruptions can be supportive in women
   • Silences
     • women see listening and supporting as essential to bonding as a group
   • Imperatives
     • men use more. Use them to their sons more than their daughters

3. Jennifer Coates

   • Women's Work Words
     • Men tend to use topics in which they are 'experts' in, whereas women use more personal topics
   • Weak Expletives
     • See Lakoff
   • Tag Questions
     • Men use questions to seek information from each other