A Sociological Analysis of the Linguistic Differences between Men and Women

Introduction 

The different languages of the world, just as they reflect their peoples’ belief systems, ways of thinking and material culture, also reflect the different roles and the relations between men and women in any given society. These linguistic differences either highlight the distinctions between genders or reinforce them. Indeed, language among men and women is often not neutral in terms of structure, vocabulary or usage, it carries gendered messages or biases. That is why sociolinguistics is one of those disciplines that can provide important information and insights into the sociology of gender; enabling us to look at the differences from a linguistic perspective while considering the dual role of language in representation and reinforcement, as gendered language can reinforce social differences between men and women. Therefore, this research looks at the different languages of the world, in particular, how they reflect the roles, expectations and statuses of women. The aim of this research is to identify the underlying causes of the linguistic differences between men and women, and to analyze the impacts of gendered language biases by relying on empirical data and theoretical perspectives. 

Linguistic Differences between Men and Women

Linguistic studies show that in many societies, the speech of men and women differs. In some cases, the differences are small and subtle, barely noticeable for the majority of people or accepted as natural, just like variations in facial expressions. In some instances, gender differences between males and females are noticed. In some languages, differences do not lie only in the frequency of usage, but pair words, one male and one female, are used to convey the same meaning. To illustrate, in the Caribbean Islands of the West Indies, women use the word ‘Koyo’ to refer to rain, while men use the term ‘Konobo’. Many other similar word pairs are found in this language (Hickerson, 1980: 90). In Koasati, an indigenous language used in southwestern Louisiana, differences are found in specific and conditional verb forms that vary depending on the gender of the speaker. Koasati-speaking men use the term ‘Lakahoz’ when they want to say ‘Lift it’ while the women say ‘Lakahol’ (Haas, 1964: 228). In this case, grammatical forms are employed, not to refer to the listener, but are chosen to align with the speaker’s gender (Pi Ferraro, 2000: 100). 

According to Sapir (1929,a), Similar to the Djabugay natives in Queensland, Australia, there are individuals who use a specific language variant which explicitly distinguishes between male and female (Dixon, 1971). This dialect shares the same phonemes and approximately the same grammatical system as the main language, but it has a completely distinct vocabulary. However, both genders can use both types of terms.  Another indigenous language of Australia, Yanewa, has some 90 to 150 speakers. Yanewa features variants which distinguish between genders. These variants use the same core vocabulary but different class-indicative prefixes are added to nouns, verbs, and pronouns. According to Bradley (1998), the men use a dialect among themselves while the women use a different one among each other. The children are raised using their mothers’ variant, and boys must switch to the men’s dialect as they reach puberty (Wardhaugh, 2013: 508-509).

In some languages, the difference is so significant that men and women actually use different vocabulary, pronunciations and grammatical forms. This issue is observed in the Japanese language, where there exist different words for men and women (Lawrence Tresk, 2001: 120). Rarely, there are cases where men and women use two completely different languages, such as the Chinese language Nüshu. Nüshu was used until recently and spoken only by women. According to a report by JamJam Online: The last Chinese woman who spoke Nüshu (The only language spoken exclusively by women) passed away. Nüshu, a century-old script, became extinct with the woman’s death. According to Canal 3, a French TV channel, “Yang Huanyi”, the only woman who still used Nüshu passed away at the age of 98. Her death signifies the end of Nüshu, a scripted language used for centuries by women in remote areas of Central and Southern China. Nüshu is the only language in the world specific to women. Manuscripts in Nüshu are very rare; they were traditionally burned or buried with the dead. 

Additionally, gender differences can be observed in the intricacies of most languages, such as in the rhythm of speech, pitch and tonality, emphasis and manners of expression. For example, according to Kramer  (1974), in America, compared to men, women speak with less emphasis and use more qualifiers after making a statement  (ie: This might just be my opinion, but…) or forming questions (ie: ‘Isn’t that so?’ or ‘Don’t you agree?’). Moreover, women use less inappropriate and impolite words and tend to use evocative expressions like ‘as far as i know’ and emphatic phrases such as ‘very’ and ‘so’ (ie: I was so happy to see you). Compared to men, women are more keen on speaking precisely and thoughtfully (P. Ferraro, 1379: 101). To add, women are more prone to using expressive or emotive terms such as ‘divine, cute, thrilling etc’ whereas men rarely use them. Moreover, distinctions made by women in certain domains are more precise than men’s. For example, in the domain of colors, women are more likely to use specific terms such as neon green, ecru, chartreuse, and lavender (Lawrence Tressk, 2001: 121). 

Research Questions:

This research attempts to answer the following questions

• Are languages gender neutral? Or is there a clear and observable difference in the usage of language between men and women?
• Does the language of men and women differ in content and structure? 
• Which factors contribute to differences in the language of men and women?
• What is the impact of linguistic differences between men and women? In other words, what is the gender of languages?                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Theoretical Framework:

Colonial Theory 

“Many words are unique to men, women understand these terms but never use them. Conversely, certain words and phrases that are unique to women are never used by men, or that men are mocked for using. Frequently in their conversations it appears that women have a different language from men” (Trudgill, 1997: 105). How can we explain these differences? The West Indians have their own generally accepted explanation for this condition. The report cited continues on this topic. "The natives of Dominica say that when the Caribs came to occupy these islands, the Arawak tribe settled. The Caribs annihilated everyone besides the women, whom they married to increase the population. The presence of similarities between the speech of the Arawaks of the American continent and the speech of Caribbean women was confirmed" (Tradgill, 1996: 105). This suggests that they attributed these differences to the mingling of the Carib and Arawak linguistic groups, which were divided by gender following the occupation of these islands. 

Differences in gender roles and the socialization process as an explanatory factor in linguistic differences between men and women

This viewpoint propagates that men and women are social creatures who have learned to behave in different manners. Linguistic behavior is primarily learned behavior. Linguistically, men learn how to become men while women learn to become women. Society makes it so that they experience life differently. As we have seen, the reason behind gendered linguistic variations is that language, as a social phenomenon,is closely tied to social perceptions. From a social perspective, men and women differ as society assigns them different roles and expectations, and language merely reflects this reality (Trudgill, 1997: 116). The differences in verbal abilities between men and women can be largely explained by taking into account the different socialization of men and women (Wardhaugh, 2013: 520).

Taboo Theory 

Taboos could have a strong impact on the development of gender-differentiated vocabulary in general. In case of taboos being  associated with certain things or activities, for example if women are barred from using certain authentic words, they may begin replacing them with new ones and this causes gender differences in vocabulary. 

Relationships of Dominance and the Linguistic differences between men and women 

For some advocates of gender equality, like Robin Lakoff, sexism in language is merely a reflection of sexism in society. In reality, this phenomenon is a symptom, not a cause (Robin Lakoff, 1975). They believe that only through changes that effectively combat sexism can any linguistic changes be achieved. Sara Schultz summarizes this point by stating: People combat sexism through their actions, not merely through ‘speech’ or by exchanging one dialect for another (Schultz, 1981: 25) (Ibid: 170).

Research Methods:

This research is a theoretical, in-depth qualitative study that relies on current studies in the fields of sociolinguistics, sociology of language and sociology of gender.  Data used in this research is based on various languages of the world. This research examines the essential differences in the usage of a language between men and women. The comparative method is used to examine the differences in grammar, vocabulary and semantic load between men and women. These differences are explained using theories from sociolinguistics, sociology of language and sociology of gender. 

Research Findings

In researching the different languages of the world, we observe differences in the language of men and women. This difference exists in various regions of the world; these differences vary from men and women speaking completely different languages, to differences in vocabulary, grammatical structure or emphasis and tonality of expression and word choice. These differences can occur due to different reasons, including historical events, the existence of beliefs such as taboos, gender roles and different expectations imposed on men and women during the process of socialization, social norms and standards regarding the family and women, and unequal power dynamics between men and women in society. 

The difference can be summarized as follows: 

• The usage of language differs among men and women
• Women, in contrast with men, focus more on emotional responsibilities in social relations.
• Women are more inclined than men to use linguistic tools that emphasize solidarity/agreement.
• Women tend to communicate in ways that preserve and foster solidarity/agreement, whereas men tend to communicate in ways that increase their power and prestige (especially in formal contexts)
• In most languages, the nature of words, linguistic content and meaning reinforces the dominance and higher status of men over women. 

According to the findings of this study, linguistic differences between men and women exist in many languages. This aligns with the theory of linguistic relativity, which suggests that such differences have objective and social impacts and outcomes. Whorf believed that people do not only inhabit their material environment and social life, but they live in the world of their mother tongue as well. The world around us is built on the foundations of the ‘world of language’. Dialects notwithstanding, each language has its own distinct perspective and a background that distinguishes it from other languages (Konratov, 1984: 70).

We model the world through philosophy and science and the arts. But one of the most important modeling systems is the language used in daily life. Language is the primary tool for disseminating information in human societies; but language transcends this function. Language can model the world or filter the world through its prism. Contrary to those who simplify it, language is not only an ordered list of different experiences that can be discussed. Rather, it is a symbolic and independent and innovative organization that outlines to us the limits and gaps of experience, on the basis of its own formal wholeness. (Ibid 77). In this way, the biases and directives embedded in language can identify and reinforce gender differences and inequalities in the real world. Therefore, discussing how our language impacts our understanding of the external world is of interest to those who advocate gender equality, for multiple reasons. In this regard, several critical studies on English vocabulary have been conducted by gender equality advocates (Nielsen et al., 1977; Schultz, 1990; John Mills, 1989), which reveal that in many cases, the labels used in the English language are gendered in nature and inherited. 

Other gender equality advocates have written on issues of vocabulary in the English language, referring to those experiences of women that are difficult to express in English because English lacks the necessary expressions to articulate them (Spender, 1980). Moreover, these linguistic findings show to what extent society relies on gendered language. Some gender theorists believe that fundamentally reforming language is of no use, because as long as society is sexist, sexism would manifest itself in language. Changing language is a struggle with the symptoms not the root causes, but those gender equality advocates that accept the linguistic relativity theory, tend to advocate linguistic reform, as they believe the dissemination of those meanings produces more and reinforces gender inequality and sexism in  society (Paknezhad Jabrouti, 1971: 40-48).

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