Gender + Occupation

Gender + Occupation

1. Theorists

   • Pamela Fishman - Women use tag questions to keep a conversation going; this is called conversational 'shiftwork/'shitwork'
     • Dominance theory - men are more likely to interrupt than women in mixed-sex conversations
   • Deborah Tannen - Men compete in conversation, and women cooperate. 'Difference theory', they speak differently due to them being from different cultures - known as 'cross cultural communication'
   • Janet Hyde - Psychology of women. Men could throw further, are more aggressive + were more positive about sex in uncommitted relationships.
   • Jenny Cheshire - showed that both sexes break the linguistic system rules, but men more than women due to their social surrounding + showing of variations. Dodgy background = common based English, Healthy background = good standard english
   • Peter Trudgill - Overt + Covert prestige. Women use more standard English. Investigated dialects of England, Men use more nonstandard English because they don't care as much.
   • Jennifer Coates - Women are supportive and cooperate. Women also use tag questions and turn taking in conversation.
   • Deborah Cameron - Believes women tend to be more polite + tentative with questions. Men are capable of understanding what women want, regardless of whether they're being polite or not.
   • Dale Spender - Strong feminist. Males are more dominant in public + traditionally have more power than women. Men are straight to the point in conversation + have short responses.