Language in Society: Gender and Language Use - Essay Example

Linguistics Introduction Linguistics refers to the scientific study of language as well as its structure. This paper discusses languages with its aspects of syntax, phonetics, semantics and semantics. It also identifies language use and gender comparing and contrasting male and female language behavior. Chapter 6, question 3; writing in phonetic transcription A phonetic transcription is the type of transcription that is intended to represent every distinct sound using a separate symbol. Below are some examples of words written in phonetic transcription according to my pronunciation. a) Physics [fisics] b) Merry [meri] c) Marry [mari] d) Mary [mary] e) Yellow [yelo] f) Sticky [stik] g) Music [music] h) Abbot [abot] i) Beat [bit] j) Weather [wetha] k) Goat [goat] l) Missed [misd] m) Heath [hith] n) Robert [robat] Chapter 6, question 9; Examples of phonetic features in sounds Phonetic features are the most basic components of a speech sound. a) Features- consonants and stop. b) Features- bilabial, stop vowel. c) Features- bilabial and stop. d) Features- stop, consonant, bilabial. e) Features- consonant, bilabial f) Features- consonant and bilabial Chapter 7, Q.6 a) The classes of sound that end the words in columns A and B could be characterized as bilabial and consonant respectively. b) The words in column A differ from those in column C in that the ones in column A all end with vowels while in column C they end with consonants. c) The allophones are not in complementary distribution because they belong to one phoneme. d) They should not be derived from the allophones since they have similar features. e) The phonetic representations of the words should be- laif, fail, laivs, baik lai and lais. Chapter 7, Q.16 a) The allomorphs are [t] and [ed]. b) The allomorphs of I and you are both in complementary distribution. c) The phonemic form would be [t]. d) They are allomorphs of stem conditioned by case-marking suffixes. e) The rule is a morphophonemic rule that applies to singulars Chapter 8, Q.8 a) The final consonants do not formulate the final consonant rule and they do not behave the same way. The final consonants that undergo the rules are [p] and [s]. b) Some pairs allow the identification some phonemes these are; fish and bip. Chapter 8, Q.12 a) The Egyptian Arabic speakers add the vowels, a and e in the middle of nouns. b) The Iraq Arabic speakers add vowel i as suffix in the beginning of words. c) List A belongs to Iraq Arabic while B belongs to Egyptian Arabic. Chapter 10, Q.9 I would convince the correct or that the statement is the same as I would not get anything. Chapter 11,Q. 3 a) It is nothing pleased his master- nothing pleased his master b) He hath said that we would lift them whom that him please.- he said that he would lift those that he pleases. c) I have a brother is condemned to die. – I have a brother who is condemned to die. d) I bade them take away you. – I bade them to take you away. e) I wish you was still more a Tartar. – I wish you were still more of a Tartar f) Christ slept and his apostles - Christ slept with his apostles g) Me was told.- I was told Language in Society: Gender and Language Use Introduction There are several differences in language use between males and females. Different cultures have also had beliefs on how men and women should as they speak. This essay examines and discusses gender differences in language by listening to their speeches and discussions. Literature review In this session the behavior of both male and female is identified and discussed. We identify and discuss several aspects of speaking such as the use of expressions, syntactic structures, adjectives and others. Methodology In this research, the approach used to obtain data was listening to people from the two forms of gender live as they speak like in the drama, watching them on media such as watching movies and TV programs as well as engaging them on a face to face conversation. The discussions analyzed were among men and women between the ages of twenty and thirty five who are of varying careers and occupations. Results and Discussion Men and women speak the same language, but do it differently. There are gender linked similarities as well as differences in language use. Compared to the body language, there are more similarities than differences. The differences in body language are both cultural and genetic. Language differences between men and women could also be as a result of cultural differences (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet, 2013). Women use fewer non-standard and stigmatized variants than men from their social class (Talbot, 2010). Women also show greater sensitivity to the social evaluative linguistic features as compared to their male counterparts. With women being more conscious of the significance of the different linguistic features socially, their speech forms tend to be more socially prestigious. Male speakers on the other hand, use more of non-standard forms that seem to have masculine connotations that are toughness and roughness (Talbot, 2010). In the observation, women seemed to master standard speech better than men. In the speeches and discussions, listened to, women had more use of expressions and gestures as they spoke. For instance, they could roll their eyes when surprised and open their mouths when astonished. Women also used other body parts like shrugging of shoulders to mean they were not aware of something and nod heads in agreement with what they were being told. Women are more active in speech than men (Cameron, 2007). For instance, in a drama set, when a relative visited after a long period of time, women in the homestead shouted uttering words such as “oh my God” while the younger ones could jump and dance. Men on the other hand could talk with less physical expressions. They mostly used their hands to demonstrate something and rarely shouted upon hearing of surprising news (De Saussure, 2011). On receiving sad news, men simply held their heads and observed some moment of silence. They both had different techniques of expressing themselves. When women could shout and scream upon receiving death news, men could sit down in disbelief. However, in a discussion between a man and a woman, the man kept interrupting in the woman’s remarks. This could be related to their culture of men dominance over women (Talbot, 2010). In discussions involving a man and a woman, men interrupted the women more and had more use of vulgar language. Men spoke the most and women the least. Women in all discussions used more hedges that signified tentative speech. However, many factors seemed to determine and influence language use other than gender. Some of these factors include; position ranking, social status and cultural backgrounds (Eckert et al, 2013). For instance, following a discussion between a man and a woman at work where the woman was superior to the man, the man did not interrupt the woman and agreed with all the instructions given. In such cases, the woman could sermon the man. The language used in situations such as between a husband and wife seemed different. Men used commanding tones and talked more while women could just answer and had no chance of expressing themselves. In the research women were found to use hedges more than the men. Men could talk more with expressions to their male friends than with their partners at home. Women could also interrupt their female friends in discussions, but did not with their male partners. Men are more vulgar than women (Cameron, 2007). Right from infancy, female and male children are interpreted differently in different cultures. Male and female children are talked to and interacted with differently. Parents tend to use diminutives more when addressing girls than when addressing boys. To girls they use inner state words such as happy and sad, but use more direct prohibitive words such as “no! no!” and “don’t do that” when speaking to their boys. This shows the effect of society beliefs about boys and girls (Eckert et al, 2013). It is said that with this differential treatment, the boys and girls learn to be different as they grow up. These differences advances even as they speak and they do so differently depending on who they are addressing, who they speak to as well as who they are discussing with (Tabolt, 2013).Both sexes express themselves when interacting with people of their age brackets and social class. Many studies have related language behavior between male and female to their cultural beliefs and standards. Other studies show that sex is just a single factor among the many that determine one’s language behavior (Tabolt, 2013). For instance, while women cry after receiving sad news or extremely good news like passing exams, men would never do it. This does not mean that men never feel sad or get excited, but some societies believe that men should never see their tears even when beaten. In other cultures, a woman should kneel before her husband when giving him food and should not speak until spoken to. In such a culture, the language behavior is therefore determined not by sex alone, but by the society’s cultural behavior and men dominance over women (Eckert et al, 2013). In cultures where gender equality is practiced, both men and women get a chance to express themselves in equal measures and their opinions count regardless of their gender nature. For instance, while in some churches, women should not preach, other churches have women as their Bishops and Reverends. Conclusion There are many differences in the use of language between male and female. The differences could be determined by but are not limited to their nature of gender. Other factors such as social class and cultural beliefs could also determine one behavior as they speak. References Cameron, D. (2007). The myth of Mars and Venus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. De Saussure, F. (2011). Course in general linguistics. Columbia University Press. Eckert, P., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (2013). Language and gender. Cambridge University Press. Evans, V., & Green, M. (2006). Cognitive linguistics: An introduction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Talbot, M. M. (2010). Language and gender. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Read More