A Study On Gender Discourse Styles

Do males and females talk differently? This paper makes an attempt to answer this question. For years, there has been a considerable interest in discourse variation associated with the speaker's gender. Many of the previous researches have established that there are differences in discourse style between males and females. This author will try to establish that the language of males and females does differ and how it differs. This paper is primarily a sociolinguistic account of the relationship between gender and discourse styles. It is not about the relationship between language and sexism, except in a very broad sense. It will describe language use, in particular, the different language use of males and females as speakers. Efforts have been made to find out ways for males and females to communicate more successfully.As far as the terminology is concerned, gender rather than sex will be the key category under discussion. Sex refers to a biological distinction, while gender is a term used to describe socially constructed categories based on sex. In this paper, emphasis will be put on inter-group variation rather than on intra-group variation. In other words, the paper will focus on the differences of language use between males and females, rather than on differences within any one group.Gender difference exists in English vocabulary widely. Historically, females are considered as a weaker group, the males' subordinates. Such discrimination also shows itself in language. Although both males and females use the same language, it is clear that they do not stand in the same relation to that language. Males are the proprietors of language, and males' words are considered as the norm. Therefore, females' words are the derivation of the males' words. Male is the namer while female the named; males' words are the norm, unmarked language, while females' words the marked. In addition, some females' words are held with derogative meanings. When the topic of gender and communication is mentioned in conversations, almost everyone has an opinion on how males and females differ in their communication...