Language and Gender 2

Exam Question

During certain interactions, male and female participants behave differently in the way they speak and the language that they use. This text shows multiple ways in which gender is used to portray how one person is speaking.

Firstly, we experience the male trainee using limited language. For example, ‘cool’. This goes against Lakoff’s theory that men want women to be silent during conversations. Instead, this male lets ‘Suzie’ do more of the talking while he sits back and listens. This could suggest that he doesn’t want to engage in a long conversation with the other two participants, but instead would like to finish the interaction promptly and carry on with the job in hand. We then experience in this interaction the male manager use hedging. For example, ‘…and you Suzie, erm’.  This also challenges Lakoff’s theory as she suggests that women hedge rather than men. This suggests that the manager is buying time to think about what he wants to say to the trainees. This could be evidence for the fact that men like to be in control over women and therefore, if he did get any information wrong, then it would reflect badly for someone to correct him. This actually links to Tannen’s difference theory where she suggests that men’s conversation is competitive and that they seek to achieve the upper hand.

Throughout the interaction, Suzie uses a lot of repetition. This is evident in line 5 when she says ‘yes, yes’. This gives the impression that she is trying to confirm what she has been told and ensure that the manager knows she has registered what he has been saying. This again ties in with Tannen’s difference theory where it could be seen the same as when she says ‘women view conversation as a network of connections seeking support and consensus’. This is linked as Suzie is trying to reach consensus with her and her manager, possibly with Josh aswell. Suzie also uses a lot of hedging throughout the interaction. For example, ‘erm, er…’. This shows evidence for Lakoff’s theory where she suggest that women hedge most of the time. This suggests that Suzie might need time to think about what she is going to say. This may mean that she does not wish to say the wrong thing and consequently anger or insult the manager. This also shows that the manager has a certain control over Suzie in the interaction. Additionally, Suzie uses many polite forms. For example, ‘hope its okay’, ‘that’d be great’ and ‘thank you’. This shows evidence of Lakoff’s theory. Perhaps this suggests that she wishes to be grateful for the help from her manager and that she wishes to show her gratitude in order not to displease him. This also shows the control and power that the male manager has over Suzie as Josh does not thank the manager once throughout the whole interaction, however the manager does not pick up on this as it does not bother him.

Linking to Tannen’s difference theory, Suzie uses a proposal in oppose to orders during the interaction. This is shown when she mentions ‘sorry hope its okay but my bus is late sometimes so it should be fine’. This shows that she is trying to negotiate with her manager by asking whether it would be acceptable for her to turn up to work late if this situation does happen. She also seeks to be polite about it so again, she uses polite forms like ‘sorry’ in order not to insult or displease her manager. However, Josh also uses Tannen’s difference theory of advice vs understanding. He uses this in lines 14 and 16 when he tries to solve the problem. He says ‘I live near yours Suzie… ill give you a lift’. Although he is using limited language again, he gets straight to the point and resolves the problem just as Tannen suggests that men try to do. Also, the manager  uses this theory as he tries to resolve the problem as well. He says ‘but if you can see about getting an earlier one if you can’. This ties in with the theory as it suggests that he wants a solution to the problem rather than supporting Suzie and discussing it further.

Lakoff’s theory is again used in lines 23 and 24. Josh interrupts Suzie while she is trying to ask a question, ‘although I just wondered// fine do we work every Saturday’. This is evidence of Lakoff’s theory that men interrupt a lot more than women do. It could also suggest the control that the males seek in the conversation as Josh feels free to talk whenever he wants. The manager also shows control as he chooses to answer Josh’s question and not return to what Suzie might have wanted to ask. However, Suzie does not choose to question Josh and the manager on their rudeness or try to interrupt the conversation as, according to Tannen’s difference theory, women try to avoid conflict and in order to achieve that they agree even though they do not agree with what is being said.

Towards the end of the interaction, the manager begins to patronise Suzie. This is shown when he says ‘little miss efficient’ and ‘sweetheart’. This could also suggest the control he has and that maybe he believes is more superior to Suzie. This again links to Tannen’s theory where she suggests that men try to achieve status in conversation and the manager tries doing this. Another example of this is when he says ‘you going to be OK with that Suzie’. By asking Suzie if she is going to be ‘OK’ and not asking Josh, it suggests that the manager believes that Suzie may struggle with the task in hand as she is inferior because she is a women. This again shows the control and status that the manager tries to achieve.

Throughout this interaction, it is clear the both the males show that they believe they are superior to Suzie, and therefore achieve control and status in the conversation. However, we do not see much evidence of the competition between the two males to try and achieve top status throughout. Also, it is evident that Suzie agrees with the male participants and does not oppose of the things that the men seem to be saying. This therefore show shows evidence of Tannen’s difference theory.