Perceptions of Gender Language Use

Hypothesis• Does a majority of a sample population

believe that men and women communicate differently, and is that difference biological rather than sociological?

vs.

Are there certain differences between men and women in terms of how they communicate? Do gestures, body

language and tone play a part?

Speaking Like a “Man” in Teamsterville by Gerry Philipson

• Men are expected to maintain “manliness,” and this is a large focus of the community as a whole. The “participants of a speaking situation should be matched…in age, sex, ethnicity, occupational status and location of residence.”

Speaking Like a “Man” in Teamsterville by Gerry Philipson

• Men are also expected to use non-verbal communication in the form of threats and physical violence, especially in situations where a mother or girlfriend (Philipsen) needs protection from the verbal or nonverbal communication used by another man.

Do you think the capacity of men and women to make and understand language is set into their genes?

Nature

Conversation a different art for men and women

Jennifer Peck, P.h.D, Univ. of Queensland, Australia

• Men like to talk for a couple of minutes and hold the floor without any interruptions.

• Women tend to cooperate with one another and finish each other sentences.

• Dr. Peck stated these styles are socialized or taught when children are about three years old.

• In a mix group conversation, men see overlapping as an interruption that challenges their control.

Does Nature or Nurture play a role in the style of communication used by men and women when they are in conversation?

Conclusion?

Citations

• Conversation a different art for men and women http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=997

• Philipsen, Gerry. (1975). Speaking 'like a man' in Teamsterville: Culture patterns of role enactment in an urban neighborhood. Quarterly Journal of Speeh. 61(1), 13-22.