The gender-linked language effect (GLLE) is a phenomenon in which transcripts of female communicators are rated higher on Socio-Intellectual Status and Aesthetic Quality and male communicators are rated higher on Dynamism. This study proposed and tested a new general process model explanation for the GLLE, a central mediating element of which…

Differences in the ways that men and women use language have long been of interest in the study of discourse. Despite extensive theorizing, actual empirical investigations have yet to converge on a coherent picture of gender differences in language. A significant reason is the lack of agreement over the best way to analyze language. In this…

Examines the effects of speaker sex, socioeconomic status, ability, communication apprehension, ridigity, and question type on the incidence of 16 style markers and on verbosity in simulated job interviews. (EKN)

Two experiments examined Lakoff's suggestion that men and women use different speech styles (women's speech being more polite and less assertive than men's). The effects of undergraduate students' use of three linguistic variables (tag questions, qualifiers, and compound requests) on person perception was tested. (CM)

The third person singular pronouns are either neuter or sex linked even in situations where they should be neutral. When the sex is unknown then a substitute, for example "heesh" should be used. The present paper examines several of these awkward words and makes recommendations for substitutes. (Author)

Language can both reflect and shape the way people are treated in today's society. It can be used to open doors when it is gender inclusive, or to create barriers when it is not. The goal of this booklet is to encourage gender-inclusive language. Bias-free language is effective language. A number of studies demonstrate that an audience is more…

Points out some of the connections which the study of sexism in language has with other problems in linguistics, cites examples of sexism in English, and argues that sexist uses of language need further systematic study. (RB)

Investigates current generic referent usage among 1529 public school children in grades 3-12. Indicates that there was an overall relationship between referent usage and gender role orientation, with more use of nontraditional referents among students who projected themselves in nontraditional occupational roles. (JK)

Considers an alternative interpretation of the effect of so-called women's language and its appropriateness in society. (CRH)

Described sentence pairs representing Lakoff's "women's language" and corresponding "masculine" styles to examine gender stereotyping as a function of linguistic pattern usage. College students evaluated hypothetical male, female, or sex-unknown speakers on 31 bipolar adjective scales. Participants rated the nonfeminine linguistic style…

This paper describes the preliminary results of research currently underway concerning sex-based differences in written composition. Sixty themes written by college-age native speakers of English were chosen for study. The themes were typed exactly as they had been written. No corrections were made. They were numbered alphabetically by the names…

As a powerful tool for education, language informs, influences, discloses, and communicates. Research on the use of language has found that it also discriminates. Among the different manifestations of sexism in language are (1) the use of "he" as a generic pronoun; (2) the "generic" use of "man" as an exclusively male referent; (3) the use of "you…

The research of W. O'Barr and B. K. Atkins found that the use of "women's language" features--the use of tag questions, interrogative intonation, sex-specific vocabulary, hedges and fillers, empty adjectives, and hypercorrect grammar; the inability to tell jokes; and the tendency to use fewer expletives than men--was associated more with…

From the beginnings of English grammar in the early sixteenth century, our language has been described by men, and the usage promulgated as the "standard" has been that of men. Because men have been able to effectively control English through their control of the communications media and educational institutions, they have made our language an…

Parallel designs were used to test the hypotheses that (1) strongly assertive forms would be attributed relatively more often to females, and (2) syntactic forms associated with males would be rated more intelligent and those associated with females less so. The results of the study were consistent with each of these predictions, suggesting that…