What model did Robin Lakoff promote?
the deficit model
when did Robin Lakoff carry out her research
1975
what was Robin Lakoffs book called?
Language and a Woman’s Place
why did Robin Lakoff say women were kept in their place?
because being ladylike was a restriction to being powerful
according to Robin Lakoff, how were women made to sound like ‘ladies’
through socialisation and language use
according to Robin Lakoff, women were brought up to sound like what?
to sound inferior to men
why did Robin Lakoff say women couldn’t win?
- if they talked like ‘ladies they would be powerless’
- if they talked like men, they would be seen as unfeminine and therefore less attractive
which lang features did Lakoff say showed weakness when used by women?
hedges, tag questions, fillers, emphatic language, no taboo,
where did Lakoff teach?
a professor at University of California, Berkeley, since 1972
how does the difference model challenge the deficit model (Lakoff)?
just because men and women speak differently, doesn’t mean they’re not equal
how did Marjorie Goodwin (difference model) object against Robin Lakoff (deficit model) ?
- using indirect forms didn’t show weakness
- its not that women can’t use direct forms, they just don’t always find them appropriate
What model did Otto Jespersen promote?
the deficit model
why did Jespersen say women speak differently?
- because women aren’t as good as men
- men’s language is normal and women’s language is deficient in comparison
when did Jespersen carry out his study
The 1920s
what was Jespersen’s book called and what did it focus on?
- ‘the woman’
- how women’s language differs from men’s
what are some features of women’s language according to Jespersen?
- talk a lot
- have smaller vocab
- nice but unnecessary vocab
- indirect expressions used
- no taboo language
how can Jesperson’s theory be challenged?
- his study had no evidence: it was all anecdotal
- confirmation bias: agrees with his prior values and beliefs, men will use the language features he said women exclusively use
when and what did Baker and Freebody study?
- 1989
- bias in reading books to the representation of gender
what adjectives were used to describe boys and girls in Baker and Freebody’s study?
girls:
little, pretty
boys:
tiny, brave, naughty
what were mothers and fathers associated within Baker and Freebody’s study?
mothers:
domestic/emotional related activities, hug, kiss
fathers:
actions like paint, fix, drive
when and what was the the Miller and Swift study?
- 1980
- bias within the press on represent
what emphesis on women was noticed in the Miller and Swift study?
physical characteristics and age
what did the press often imply about women in the Miller and Swift study?
- that they behave irrationally and emotionally
- sexual innuendo
when and what was the Dale Spender study?
- 1980
- language is androcentric (built in bias towards men)
- was built by men as society was controlled by men
