THE PRAGMATICS OF GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

Danabaeva Indira

1st year of Master’s degree student

of National university of Uzbekistan

danabaeva_i@nuu.uz

+998990214239

Scientific advisor: Sobirova Dilafruz Akrom qizi

Annotation: This research investigates the pragmatics issues of gender differences in communication from a linguistic and scientific approach focusing on discourse by men vs women. The study looks at speech acts, conversational styles and interactional norms to evaluate how language is differently made by men and women and whether these differences have consequences for the male and female communicators themselves. This presented thesis uses linguistic theory, gender studies and empirical data used for the over-arching understanding of gendered communication.

Key words: pragmatics, gender, speech, language, style, communication, socialization.

Аннотация: Это исследование изучает прагматические вопросы гендерных различий в общении с точки зрения лингвистического и научного подхода, фокусирующегося на дискурсе мужчин и женщин. Исследование рассматривает речевые акты, разговорные стили и нормы взаимодействия, чтобы оценить, как по-разному создается язык мужчинами и женщинами, и имеют ли эти различия последствия для самих коммуникаторов-мужчин и женщин. Этот представленный тезис использует лингвистическую теорию, гендерные исследования и эмпирические данные, используемые для всеобъемлющего понимания гендерной коммуникации.

Ключевые слова: прагматика, гендер, речь, язык, стиль, коммуникация, социализация.

Annotatsiya: Ushbu tadqiqot suhbat jarayonida gender masalalari farqlarining pragmatikasini lingvistik va ilmiy yondashuvdan kelib chiqib, erkaklar va ayollar o‘rtasidagi nutqqa qaratilgan. Tadqiqot nutq harakatlari, suhbat uslublari va o‘zaro ta’sir me’yorlarini ko‘rib chiqadi hamda erkaklar va ayollar tomonidan til qanday farqlanadi, shuningdek, bu farqlar erkak va ayol kommunikatorlarning o‘zlari uchun oqibatlarga olib keladimi yoki yo‘qligini baholashdan iborat. Ushbu taqdim etilgan tezis lingvistik nazariya, gender tadqiqotlari va gender aloqasini chuqur tushunish uchun ishlatiladigan empirik ma’lumotlardan foydalanadi.

Kalit so'zlar: pragmatika, jins, nutq, til, uslub, muloqot, sotsializatsiya.

Pragmatics or the context, under which meanings are established in communicative situations, is what this study deals with. Some quirky issues the gender’s role might play are speech act performance (e.g., request, apology, command), politeness strategies, turn-taking and conversational implicates. The pragmatic differences can be socially constructive – disturbing - that is, how gender influences interpersonal relationships and perception of authority, cooperation and dominance during discourse.

While studying the speech of male and female in communicative basis, one may notice some particular linguistic features of men’s and women’s communication styles. Some key areas include the following categories as, speech acts - these contrast how women and men make requests, give commands, apologize and express agreement/disagreement; conversational style - when men use direct and assertive language, while women employ indirect, cooperative and polite speech patterns; TurnTaking and Interruptions - in this context, men interrupt more and dominate conversation, whereas women use backchanneling cues to invite discussion; Lexical Choices and Intonation - women employ more reluctance such as (…I think, maybe) and tag questions such as, (…It is nice, isn't it?), while men prefer plain assertiveness.

According to R. Lakoff, the language of women is more tentative and polite. The features are hedging - for example, “I think”, “maybe” - tag questions, such as “It’s nice, isn’t it?”, and indirect speech which such as “Would it be possible to submit the report by Friday?” instead of “Submit the report by Friday” - makes them look less assertive in speaking. This, linguistic style is a product of society where women are expected to be more deferential and accommodating in all conversation settings. [6; 22]

As it was mentioned in Model of Difference by D. Tannen, “…Men and women have different communication styles shaped by socialization, as she said. According to scholar, men generally use “report talk” focused on information and status, while women use “rapport talk” focused on relationships and understanding. This difference can appear in everyday situations. It could be how they react in a problem situation. A man may provide solutions while a woman seeks emotional support and connection. Men compete for dominance in discussion groups and create ties that are important for women. [7; 86]

Gender communication is not fixed but changes according to the situation. While conducting research on communicative differences on male and female’s speech D. Cameron says that, “…the speech of male and female is not fixed actually, but varies with social context, power relationship between them and individual's personal experience. For example, a female CEO would mostly probably speak directly and assertively in the board meetings, just like other male counterparts, while a male caregiver would use nurturing and empathetic language at home”. [3; 56] D. Cameron’s model does not mention anything about gender being the only factor influencing language use. Occupation, culture, and individual personality also play roles in influencing language use.

According to D. Tannen, “…males tend to be more literal when it comes to speech acts, issuing commands or statements of fact. A man might say, “Give me the report by noon”, but a woman might put it more tentatively and use “Could you send me the report when you have time?”, furthermore, females use indirect speech, hedging and politeness strategies maintaining relationships. Women may use more inclusive language in social situations such as, “We should look at other options”, as opposed to a more directive “Try something else”. [7; 90]

The use of politeness strategies by women in their speech is try to build rapport, such as through positive politeness strategies, such as compliments, apologies, and inclusive language. [2; 37] So, for instance, one might hear a woman say in a group project, “I appreciate your effort on this; maybe we could tweak this part a little?”, however, men use negative politeness strategies commands and minimal response tokens. For instance, “Change this part-it doesn't work” might come from a man in that group situation.

There is the point that must be highlighted that men are more likely to interrupt conversations to assert their dominance when the status of males is being competed upon. [8; 74] The findings show that in a discussion with a male and a female, while be male interrupts more, the female rarely interrupts. An example can be a meeting in which a man could cut across a woman who was making a statement in order to put forth his point.

Language processing areas involving greater brain activity where women show greater activity in language processing areas, such as the left hemisphere’s Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, which may contribute to their greater use of verbal expression and multitasking in communication. For example, studies suggest that women outperform men in verbal fluency tasks and word recall. [1; 88] Men tend to be more lateralized than women when it comes to brain function leading to conversation being more taskoriented and purposeful in men. Perhaps this characterizes women’s greater use of indirect speech and discursive markers in comparison to men.

Scholars as P. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet maintained that gender roles provide the background for different linguistic behaviors from childhood. Girls are considered cooperative, nurturing, and polite; whereas boys are considered assertive, competitive, and, of course, authoritative in their speech. [4; 186] However, other scholars as D. Maltz and R. Borker say that boys engage in competitive games in which language is used to set hierarchy (“I’m the leader; You follow me”), whereas girls engage in cooperative ones where language is used to foster bonds (“Let’s decide together what we should do”).

To sum up, the study of gender differences in communication reveals that language use is shaped by different influences. While men and women exhibit distinct speech patterns, these differences are not fixed but vary according to context, power relations, and personal experiences. Recognizing and understanding these variations fosters more effective and inclusive communication, improving interactions in both personal and professional settings.

LIST OF USED LITERATURE

1. Baron-Cohen, S. (2003). The Essential Difference: Men, Women and the Extreme Male Brain. Allen Lane.

2. Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge University Press.

3. Cameron, D. (2007). The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages? Oxford University Press.

4. Eckert, P., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (2013). Language and Gender. Cambridge University Press.

5. Coates, J. (1996). Women Talk: Conversation Between Women Friends. Blackwell.

6. Lakoff, R. (1975). Language and Woman's Place. Harper & Row.

7. Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. William Morrow.

8. Maltz, D. N., & Borker, R. A. (1982). "A Cultural Approach to MaleFemale Miscommunication." In J. J. Gumperz (Ed.), Language and Social Identity (pp. 196-216). Cambridge University Press.

9. Zimmerman, D. H., & West, C. (1975). "Sex Roles, Interruptions and Silences in Conversation." In B. Thorne & N. Henley (Eds.), Language and Sex: Difference and Dominance (pp. 105-129). Newbury House.

10. Djumabaeva, J. S., & Avazmatova, M. M. (2022). International Journal of Social Science Research and Review.

11. Djumabaeva, J. S. (2015). Plesionymy and graduonymy in English and Uzbek. European Journal of Literature and Linguistics, (2), 55-58.