LIN5000 Forum topic 2.3: Gender-based differences

Do you believe that there are gender-based differences in terms of how males and females process and use language? Discuss.


We need to note the difference between sex (the physical property) and gender (the social condition) to fully explore this question. An informed response needs to consider the opposite views that:

• language creates and informs cultural identity, vs
• cultural identity creates and informs language

as well as questioning whether the language in question has gender, and understanding any gender-bias of the culture to which the language belongs.

In her acclaimed text You just don’t understand: Women and men in conversation, Tannen (1990) highlights a gender-based difference in terms of “rapport-talk” and “report-talk”, in that:

• women speak a language of connectivity and intimacy
• men speak a language of status and independence

and also discusses a common relationship ‘norm’ – one would presume in reference to middle-white culture, at least – in which one partner (typically the husband) is almost mute at home but overly talkative publicly, while the other partner (in Tannen’s discourse the wife) is the reverse. Obviously it would be inappropriate to apply this generalisation to all relationships and cultures; it excludes gay relationships and assumes stereotypes; it is, however, thought provoking.


Tannen, D. (1990). You just don’t understand: Men and women in conversation. New York: Morrow.