Synopses & Reviews
'Those who, like me, have used this book in their language and gender courses, will warmly welcome this up-date, which brings both the material surveyed and the perspectives covered into the 21st century. Jennifer Coates' lucid and engaging style continues to make this a very attractive text.'
Janet Holmes, Professor of Linguistics, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand'Women, Men and Language has served readers since its first publication as an accessible and balanced guide to the literature on gender differences in language. This revised edition extends the book's scope to reflect recent developments in theory and research, while retaining the clarity of earlier versions. Informative, wide-ranging and always readable, the updated text provides 21st century students and their teachers with an invaluable overview of an increasingly complex field. ' Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication,University of Oxford
Women, Men and Language, 3rd Ed
provides an up-to-date account of gender differences in language to answer the question: ¿Do women and men talk differently?¿
The book takes the reader from an initial ¿men talk like this; women talk like that¿ approach to a more nuanced idea of women and men performing gender in their everyday interactions. It covers a range of sociolinguistic research, looking at grammatical and phonological features a well as at aspects of conversation such as compliments or swearing, and the growing use of the word ¿like¿ by younger speakers. Written in a clear and accessible manner, the book explores:
- the idea that gender is not a given but is socially constructued
- the linguistic strategies used by male speakers to dominate female speakers
- the characteristics of language use in same-sex groups
- the way children develop gender-appropriate speech
- the role played by gender in language change
- the social consequences of gender differentiated language in the workplace and in the classroom
This updated third edition concludes with a new chapter summarising new developments and assessing possible future trends for the area.
Using both historical record and contemporary sociolinguistic research, Women, Men and Language succinctly demonstrates that women and men do talk differently.
Jennifer Coates is Professor of English Language and Linguistics at Roehampton University of Surrey.
Review
'Women, Men and Language has served readers since its first publication as an accessible and balanced guide to the literature on gender differences in language. This revised edition extends the book's scope to reflect recent developments in theory and research, while retaining the clarity of earlier versions. Informative, wide-ranging and always readable, the updated text provides 21st century students and their teachers with an invaluable overview of an increasingly complex field.'
Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication, University of Oxford
Synopsis
Women, Men and Language, 3rd Ed provides an up-to-date account of gender differences in language to answer the question: "Do women and men talk differently?"
The book takes the reader from an initial "men talk like this; women talk like that" approach to a more nuanced idea of women and men performing gender in their everyday interactions. It covers a range of sociolinguistic research, looking at grammatical and phonological features a well as at aspects of conversation such as compliments or swearing, and the growing use of the word a likea by younger speakers. Written in a clear and accessible manner, the book explores:
- the idea that gender is not a given but is socially constructued
- the linguistic strategies used by male speakers to dominate female speakers
- the characteristics of language use in same-sex groups
- the way children develop gender-appropriate speech
- the role played by gender in language change
- the social consequences of gender differentiated language in the workplace and in the classroom
This updated third edition concludes with a new chapter summarising new developments and assessing possible future trends for the area.
Using both historical record and contemporary sociolinguistic research, Women, Men and Language succinctly demonstrates that women and men do talk differently.
"
Synopsis
Women, Men and Language is an essential introduction to the key area of language and gender. It sketches the historical background, summarises recent research and introduces students to the key issues in the field using an unpretentious and clear style.
Gender is a hugely popular topic and this book provides the answer to questions such as ¿Do men and women talk differently?¿; ¿In what ways do they talk differently¿; ¿Does Language play a role in male dominance?¿.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Third Edition
Acknowledgements
PART ONE: INTRODUCTORY
1 Language and gender
2 The historical background (I) ¿ Folklinguistics and the early grammarians
3 The historical background (II) ¿ Anthropologists and dialectologists
PART TWO: THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
4 Quantitative studies
5 Social networks
6 Gender differences in conversational practice
7 Conversational dominance in mixed talk
8 Same-sex talk
PART THREE: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
9 Children and gender-differentiated language
10 The role of gender differences in linguistic change
11 The social consequences of gender differences in language
PART FOUR: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
12 New developments in language and gender research
Bibliography
Index