The Deficit Model Exemplified by Robin Lakoff Research

The Deficit Model (Exemplified by Robin Lakoff)

Research Describe the colour you see in the box:

The results…

Hedges (words and phrases which soften or weaken the force with which something is said, e. g. perhaps) Interrupt more, more often with me to hijack the conversation, or dominate Use more non standard forms with covert prestige Intensifiers such as so, very, absolutely Emphatic language e. g. so Tag questions (turning a statement into a question, e. g. isn’t it? ) Swear more Question intonation in a declarative context Polite forms Better sense of humour Empty adjectives e. g. adorable, sweet Tell more jokes Lack of humour Hypercorrect grammar and punctuation use directives and explicit commands Direct quotations Specialised vocabulary e. g. in colour terms Simplified vocabulary in some fields

Trends of female spoken language Hedges (words and phrases which soften or weaken the force with which something is said, e. g. perhaps) Polite forms Tag questions (turning a statement into a question, e. g. isn’t it? ) Emphatic language e. g. so Empty adjectives e. g. adorable, sweet Hypercorrect grammar and punctuation Lack of humour Direct quotations Specialised vocabulary e. g. in colour terms Question intonation in a declarative context Intensifiers such as so, very, absolutely Trends of male spoken language A more direct style – use directives and explicit commands more e. g. ‘Give me the scissors” Interrupt more, more often with me to hijack the conversation, or dominate Swear more Better sense of humour Tell more jokes Simplified vocabulary in some fields Use more non standard forms with covert prestige, that is to say they ‘dumb down’ their language as a means of social bonding

Robin Lakoff – The Deficit Model This is theory that the male way of speaking is the normative, and the female departs from the norm. Sufficient distinctive features of male and female language have been identified in order for it to be given its own name, ‘genderlect’. Language and Gender: Male and female stand up comedy http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=i. GKBAT 7 RCJs&feature=related http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=xg. IUYDTo. CNc&feature=related

Apart from gender, are there any other factors which might help to explain why speakers use language in this way? Ø Social status is more important to women than men – speech can be taken as an indicator of social class, so women make more effort to conform to standard usage in an effort to demonstrate their respectability. Ø Society’s expectations of women Society expects ‘better’ behaviour from women than men. This begins in childhood when boys’ misbehaviour is tolerated more than girls’. “If a little girl ‘talks rough’ like a boy, she will be ostracized, scolded or made fun of”Lakoff Society also expects women to play the dominant role in child rearing, and this includes providing children with models of ‘correct’ speech for them to imitate.

Ø Overt and covert prestige This approach shifts the focus towards men: why are they more likely to deviate from Standard English? Men associate non-standard forms with masculinity and toughness. Ø The subordinate role of women Suggests that women’s speech patterns are created by their subordinate role within society. Women must defer their speech to men. Lakoff’s features that reflect women’s lack of confidence and lack of assertiveness. Ø The Dominance model…This is theory that in mixed-sex conversations men are more likely to interrupt than women, as show by Zimmerman and West (1975). They report that in 11 conversations between men and women, men used 46 interruptions, but women only two.

Germaine Greer “Comments sent to a blog I came across bewail the tendency of female comics to work around themes of “bras, periods, chocolate, Weight. Watchers’. ” Janet Holmes (1992) Tag questions – not a sign of uncertainty but a sign of politeness. They also help keep conversations going. Mills (1991) Sees feminine styles of speech as a mechanism of social control. This means that women try to be ‘nice’ and ‘ladylike’ and carefully monitor their behaviour to ensure it is appropriate. Lakoff (1995) “If a little girl ‘talks rough’ like a boy, she will be ostracized, scolded or made fun of”