Language: a social mirror

language and gender studies have experienced a long history in the field of linguistics. Sociolinguists did various kinds of research concerning gender-differentiated use of language. The differences between man’s and woman’s language has long been noticed by anthropologists， historians and linguistics. Then there gradually emerged great gap between male and female speech， influenced deeply by social functions， domestic culture， personal experiences， as well as individual physical and psychological restrictions.

1.The manifestation of gender difference in English

Cherry Kramer found that men's language is different from women’s. Gender language do have some differences when is observed from all levels of language carefully.

1.1 Differences in phonology and intonation.In the aspect of pronunciation， in general， compared with the same age， education， social class and region， female’s pronunciation is more standard than male’s. In the aspect of intonation， female speak with rising intonation， and the tone is more expressive； while male talk with falling tone， and the tone seldom changes. As to intonation， Brend claims that the intonation patterns of male and female vary somewhat， female using certain patterns associated with surprise and politeness more often than men.

1.2 Differences in choice of vocabulary.In the choice of words， male and female often have their own preferences and habits， but in general， female’s vocabulary is rich than male and full of change. Lakoff maintains that adjectives such as lovely， charming， adorable， sweet， divine etc. are also commonly used by women but only very rarely by man. But males will only use plain words to strengthen effect， such as good， very， utterly. Lakoff also claims that women mostly use color words but men do not.

1.3 Differences in syntax.Linguists come to a conclusion through the analysis of many language materials that female use tag questions more frequently than male do. In general， male tend to command things directly， for example “Close the door”， or “Bring that here”， while at the same occasion female tend to use the way of suggestion， and the personal pronoun “we”， “you” or specified personal pronouns in the sentence to be clearly understood by the hearer party that he is included.This can express their respect to the other side， shorten the spatial and emotional distance between the speaker and hearer.

1.4 Differences in language discourses.There are various degrees of differences between male and female in terms of the choice of topics， the size of the amount of discourse， mode of discourse and strategies. Female’s talk often involves affairs and relates to the moment. While the favorite topics of male are the opposite. They seldom candidly reveal their inner world and maintain a certain distance with the instant situation. Female in conversation are more cooperative and pay more attention to the listener's reaction and participation.

2.The reasons for the gender differences in English

According to psychologists and social linguists’ researches， the origin of language gender differences is various. There are several reasons of traditional idea and social role aspects. The analysis as follows：

2.1 Male and female's status and power in society.Lakoff and Miroy had once pointed out that the role people play， the field they occupy and the community they reside will influence and restrict their use of language in most degree. In western countries， male are in dominant position， they have power and lord of all， so male present us self-confident when they speak. While female are in subordinate position， humble and have little power， so the female’s language are ambiguous， irresolute and hesitant. They tend to use standard grammar and elegant language， thus female hope to get decent social status. While male are not concerned about this， so their language are more non-standard than female.

2.2 Characteristics of psychological development.After the birth of a child， he or she is distinguished in different direction by almost the whole society. They are given the distinctive names with some gender identities and expected to be someone determined by the physiological factors. After puberty， male like adventure， love to be heroes， act firmly and resolutely， but are careless， don't pay much attention to details. While female become quiet and timid， gentle and slender， sensitive， rich and delicate in emotion； polite and friendly， but irresolute and hesitant， shy and timid， self-distrust. So the different psychological characteristics of male and female are determined the differences in speech.

From the above analysis， language is the mirror of the society and we can observe that there is a close connection among language， gender and society. The studies on the gender differences will contribute to a profound understanding of the British and American culture. It can also adjust to the social relationship between male and female， and get better understanding of both sides. That will benefit a lot in real lives， such as cooperation and even the marriage.

Reference：

[1]陈建平.社会与语言：英文[M].北京：高等教育出版社，2011.

[2]候旭.社会语言学[M].南京：东南大学出版社 2010.

作者简介：

梁钰（1991.11.24）女，辽宁营口人，沈阳师范大学外国语学院外国语言学及应用语言学专业，研究生。