Watching He Said, She said 3/1 (I'm at an unplanned DR. Visit)

TANNEN FILM: Viewing Guide

Distinctive aspects of MALE SPEECH

• regarded as normative language
• referential and competitive
• swearing and use of taboo words acceptable
• vernacular often preferred to more correct forms
• blunt imperatives are customary
• interrupting the speech of others is usual
• bald criticism acceptable
• questions are more frequently asked
• compliments are minimized
• apologies are minimized
• language is used as a tool of power
• topics of conversation are mainly:
• politics, economics, money, carer, job, sports, cars, women, sex

 Distinctive Aspects of FEMALE SPEECH 

• regarded as deviant language
• affective and collaborative
• hedges are common
• tag questions are common
• super polite forms are normal

These features can make female speech appear mopre tentative than male speech.

• empty adjectives are used (sweet, divine, adorable)
• intensifiers are frequent (really, so, well)
• hypercorrect grammer and pronunciation are preferred
• lack of sense of humor; less joke telling
• directy speech is used (She said to me...)
• special vocabulary (colors, etc.)
• a question intonation used in declarative statements
• topics of conversation:
• self, friends, body issues, family, domestic issues, womens problems