Gender Differences

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Something that might come to be barriers to communication.

From a extract taken from a book by Jennifer Coates, a professor of English Language and Linguistics, titled Women, Men and Language I’m to answer some questions. The book can be found in my Google Library but the page needed (p.160) has been removed and the handout looks as though it might be a edited selection of quotes which leaves me with the difficulty of interpretation for revision, though using this blog in conjunction with my notes will be my greatest advantage.

So the questions.

What sort of groups do boys play in and what are their friendships based on?
What sort of groups do girls play in and what are their friendships based on?
What three things do boys learn to do with their language? How is this linked to the groups they play in and the basis of their friendships?
What three things do girls learn to do with their language? how is this linked to the groups they play in and the basis of their friendships?
How do girls resolve arguments and quarrels? How might this affect the language they use?
How do boys resolve arguments and quarrels? How might this affect the language they use?

Even the questions here go back to my thought about this subject, the arrangement of the questions is inconsistent. It starts out with the question relating to boys and when the questions address the subject of resolution and argument they switch, leaving me with the consideration of deliberateness.

Perhaps the whole feminist quarrel has pushed the language we seem to take for granted in a more female dominated direction? Thinking about the last two questions for example, why two different words for what is essentially a disagreement, arguments and quarrels? Is an argument masculine and a quarrel somehow more feminine?

I think I may not have ever noticed these things had the first and third questions been the second and fourth. This is my struggle with this subject.

Larger groups, more hierarchical groups based on joint activity.
Small groups, often pairs, based on talk.
i) assert a position of dominance ii) attract and maintain an audience. iii) To assert themselves when another speaker has the floor. This will provide a hierarchy, to highlight this I might become friends with someone in order to recruit others and widen my group.
i) create and maintain relationships. ii) Criticise others in acceptable ways. iii) To interpret accurately the speech of other girls. They have smaller and closer relationships.
They use a more cooperative style and negotiate resolutions to continue with the interconnectedness of the exercise. This may lead to a more evasive style using less direct language.
Using a heavy handed style (although the quote is ‘a more heavy handed style’) to get their own way. This may lead to more aggressive styles and use of language.

I think I’m starting to see the differences and the reasoning. Gender differences, I’ve thought, is a study of the different attributes between the genders and not the differences of gender. Thinking about this might well completely change a persons language, are we comparing females against males or the other way around?

Tags: barriers to communication, barriers to effective communication, Communication and Culture, feminism, gender, jennifer coates
Posted in Everyday Life, Non Verbal Communication | 1 Comment »
Listening to Scraps of Tape – hands in air