Relationship between language,power and gender - Essay Example

?Relationship between Language, Power and Gender Language, power and gender are highly related to each other. In order to understand the relationshipbetween language, power and gender, let’s analyze their relationship with the other individually. Many scholars have commented on the relationship between language and the power people have on it. Writers have written many novels and stories on the issue the examples of which include Leslie Marmon Silko's short story Lullaby, Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of King Richard II and The Tempest, Frederick Douglass’s Learning to Read and Write, and Gloria Anzaldua’s How to Tame a Wild Tongue. All of these works convey the same message that language and power are interrelated to each other and one cannot survive without the other. Patel (2009) states in his article that “the way a person speaks or writes determines that person's power (social status) in the world.” Elaborating on this will give the whole idea how easy it is to define the social status of an individual while considering the language with which he defines himself. An analysis of languages spoken in different regions in the world shows that there are some languages which are recognized and spoken internationally, while there are other which are only spoken within a limited are like within a country. Even inside a country, there are many forms of that one language by which that country is known. This is a sad truth that for a country to progress in this competitive world and to eventually come in power, it is important to get acknowledged with the internationally known languages so as to facilitate the trade and business. Just getting acknowledged is not sufficient but to inculcate that language in the educational curricula is vital to raise the nation with an intense knowledge of that language so that the people of the country can read, write and speak that foreign language just like they easily go with their own mother tongue. This brings power. The relationship between power and gender raises questions like whether one gender is given advantage over the other so that one gendered is empowered and the other is left discriminated. The gender differences in many countries makes power stay stuck to only one gender like men are politically preferred to women. Similarly, there are gender discriminations at occupational workplaces due to which men are given chances to get better jobs and women are told to stay at home in front of the stove all day. “Although women have made gains in the workplace, with more women working than in the past and women possessing approximately a third of all management positions” (Colwill, as cited in Carli, 1999). Male children are also preferred to get higher education which later on offers them high paying jobs within and across the border. This reduces power for the female gender. The difference in social power between the two genders has given rise to the feminist theories which fought for the liberation of women so that they come out of their houses and stand on equal status as men to enjoy the different luxuries of life. Beeching (2004) affirms that the relationship between language and gender gives rise to man linguistic issues. According to her, “Men's and Women's Talk have arguably been demonstrated to show differences at the phonetic, syntactic, lexical and discourse levels.” Gender socialization affects the overall structure and use of a language. Language has defined the changing responsibilities and roles of the men and women in different walks of life, nationally and internationally. Simkins-Bullock and Wildman (1991, p. 149) have studied in their research the differences in gender in the use of a language and have come to the conclusion that there is much inconsistency among the scholars in agreeing whether or not the two genders use the same language differently. They state that scholars suggest that there are several ways in which the males and females make use of a language but other aspects should also be considered besides gender in describing how an individual uses a language. The study of relationship between language and gender has contributed to the fields of psychology, literature, sociology and philosophy. Hence, we see that language, power and gender are interconnected to each other. Language not only defines the social status (power) of the individual, but also illustrates the social gendered identity of that individual. Gender has effect upon both the language and the power, as researchers suggest that men and women belonging to the same region use different (words in a) language, and also the gender discrimination has distributed power unequally between the two genders. How does Verbal and Nonverbal Language Contribute to (and Reflect) Gendered Power Relationships? This section of the paper throws more light upon the relationship between the language (verbal and non-verbal) and the gender, and how does it relate to the gendered power relationships. Verbal communication is one in which two individual convey their thought to one another though the use of words; while, non-verbal communication is one in which one individual; relates to the other by means or actions rather than words. We are not able to clearly differentiate between the verbal and non-verbal language because according to Mast, Klockner and Hall (2009, p. 63), “sign language, for instance, is ‘non-verbal’ behaviour through its use of gestures, but also ‘verbal’ in that each gesture has distinct linguistic meanings and there is an established grammar.” Non-verbal gestures and cues add to the understanding the verbal language. Non-verbal communication mainly involves facial gestures like “eye gaze, gestures, posture, touching, tone of voice and speech modulation and duration” (Mast, Klockner & Hall). It has already been discussed that many scholars have agreed upon the fact men and women make of the same language differently, may it be verbal or non-verbal language. On the same time comes the issue of power. People use language to negotiate with each other for power and dominance. Gender socialization tells that men use greater force in their gestures and behaviors to assert their influence on the other gender and within the same gender. Non-verbal communication is also affected by social status of an individual. People with higher social status tend to assert power on the ones with lower status using verbal and non-verbal cues. For example, bosses, and especially the male bosses more often, tend to sexually harass their subordinates especially when the latter are females. The male boss is in gendered powered position and thus he uses forceful gestures and language to show his power on his female secretary. The modern day literature and popular culture points to the fact that men and women express their emotions and feelings in different ways. They communicate differently and their expressions in language are different too. If we talk about men and women relationships and how they are affected by language, we can say that most conflicts between the relationships occur because of household chores and domestic responsibilities. How they both resolve their conflicts shows how they make use of language differently. Many anthropological studies have been conducted to examine the use of gendered language. In 1960s, the gendered language was studied on a serious note and the publication of Language and Woman's Place by Robin Lakoff threw much light upon the importance of this issue. Lakoff (2004) in his book has put forth impressionistic conclusions regarding the gendered speech especially the speech of heterosexual white females belonging to middle class and low social status. Lakoff sates that some words are specific to women’s language like the words mauve (color), maybe (word used to evade a statement), so (as in expressing it is so hot today), and soft terms like isn’t it (as in the weather is cold, isn’t it?). Women are also likely to raise the pitch of their voice when using declarative statements and avoid using tabooed words and phrases. This is because they are kept at a socially low status as compared to men and are not allowed to use strong means of expression and strong language to express their emotions and thoughts in the male-chauvinistic society of today. However, it is also true that language is affected by the social status within the same gender as well. For example, a woman at a high job position as a managing director of a corporation will use different language than a sex worker of course. Her use of verbal and non-verbal language cues will be quite different from those used by a woman of lowly status. This means that language not only relates to the differences in gender but is also affected by social status not only among the two genders but within the same gender as well. Conclusion Language, power and gender are intertwined with each other and each creates great impact upon the other. Language is used by the two genders differently, as is studied by different researchers and scholars, and this has been portrayed in the literature as well. Gender differences in male-dominated societies distribute power between the two genders unequally due to which female often get disadvantage because of their gender. Language and power are interrelated in that people of high social status speak different language and their vocabulary is different from those of lower social status. References Beeching, K. (2004). Language and gender. The Higher Education Academ. Retrieved 14 January, 2011, from http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/958 Carli, L. (1999). Gender, interpersonal power, and social influence. Reference Publications. Retrieved 15 January, 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0341/is_1_55/ai_54831711/ Lakoff, R. (2004). Language and Woman's Place: Text and Commentaries. USA: Oxford University Press. Mast, MS., Klockner, C., & Hall, JA. (2009). Gender, Power, and Non-verbal Communication. Retrieved 13 January, 2011, from http://www2.unine.ch/webdav/site/gpa/shared/documents/staff_pdf/MSM/06_Kissane_Ch-06.pdf Patel, D. (2009). The relationship between language, power and identity as seen in different texts. AssociatedContent. Retrieved 15 January, 2011, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2277199/the_relationship_between_language_power.html. Simkins-Bullock, JA., & Widman, BG. An investigation into the relationships between gender and language. Sex Roles, 24(3/4), pp. 149-160. DOI:  10.1007/BF00288888 Read More