Language and Gender

Positioning ideas and subjects - Addressing (1)

• Sensitive indicators of how speakers are positioning the addressees
• Comparison: English vs. German
• English:
• Sir, ma‘am, social titles like Dr., Mr. or Mrs.
• assign high position and respect
• First name: indicates familarity, solidarity or that you do not respect the other person

Positioning ideas and subjects - Addressing (2)

• German:
• “du“ (singular) and “Sie“ (plural)
• “du“: more intimate, familiar or when you talk to children
• “Sie“: shows respect
• Several centuries ago: hierarchy was more important
• English had distinction, too: “thou“ (singular) and “you“ (plural)

Positioning ideas and subjects - Conclusion

• Positioning is a very important part of discourse
• Differences between women and men
• Differences because of age and social status as well
• Question of respect

Working the Market: Use of varieties - Contents

• Languages, dialects and varieties
• The linguistic market
• Language ideologies and linguistic varieties
• Gender and the use of linguistic varieties
• Whose speech is more standard?

Working the Market: Use of varieties - Language, dialects and varieties

• Children learn a particular language with a particular variety
• Children, who have contact to different communities might grow up speaking more than one variety
• Bilingualism: learning two languages with two varieties not just grammatically, but strategically
• Differences in dialects can be very subtle
• Grammatical differences
• Phonological differences by which we distinguish regional dialects

Working the Market: Use of varieties - The linguistic market

• “Right” linguistic varieties can facilitate access to positions and situations of societal power
• “Wrong” linguistic varieties can block such access
• Standard language is normally the language of societal power also used at the global market
• Locally based varieties are commonly referred to as vernaculars and are used at the local market
• Vernaculars may be distinct languages from the standard or they may be alternative varieties of the same language