Bergvall, Victoria L., Janet M. Bing, and Alice F. Freed. Rethinking Language and Gender Research: Theory and Practice. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Limited, 1996. Rethinking Language and Gender Research" is a compilation of articles and quantitative studies about the biological and cultural influences that gender differences have over language. Of vital importance is Bergvall and Bing's introductory chapter in the book, an article entitled, "The questions of questions: beyond binary thinking." This article summarizes the scholarly studies conducted over the years by social scientists and linguists in an attempt to explain how gender differences affect the language spoken in various areas and cultures. Bergvall and Bing explore this problem by explaining the language and gender problem through the biological and cultural approaches. The authors establish the fact that studies on gender effect on language is historically based on the premise that language is based on the strict dichotomy of male and female genders. Three questions are presented in attempting to explain how the female-male dichotomy affects studies on gender and language, and these are the fundamental question Bergvall enumerates: (1) how men and women speak differently; (2) how language reflect, construct, and maintain male dominance; and, ultimately, (3) hoe men / women are TAUGHT to speak differently. In answering these questions, Bergvall and Bing comes up with the concept of...
Quantitative analyses presented in the book can be helpful for a thorough study of the history of research on the said topic.
Language and Sexuality from a Desire-Based Perspective Anthropology -- Language & Sexuality The broader theoretical treatment of the study of sexuality has long been recognized in the fields of linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics. Historically, sexuality has been discussed in sociocultural studies of language over the long-term. In fact, this work and the research it generated make up the emergent history and the scope of research on language and sexuality. This analytical discourse
Language & Community How Language Circumscribes the World and Defines Community The famous philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote, "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." Wittgenstein used his language to make this profound statement packed with a depth of meaning. Language, whether it is written language, spoken language, body language or sign language, is a fundamental aspect to the human condition. Language permits us to communicate with others, which
Language As Gloria Anzaldua states in "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" from Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, "Chicano Spanish sprang out of Chicanos' need to identify ourselves as a distinct people," (447). Chicano Spanish is a "secret language" of cultural bonding and binding. This is true for the many "forked tongues" that have sprung up in communities of opposition: patios tongues that become crucial to identity formation and preservation (Anzaldua
Language and Culture In many, if not all, instances culture is not beneficial to its subscribers. Inherent within a culture is language. Language itself is very fluid and flexible and can elicit many emotions and feelings within a person or larger group of people. The purpose of this essay is to investigate the social influences of language by describing several issues that deal with interpersonal communication and more specifically the use
Language and Social Grouping Language is used differently in different geographic groups, ethnic, age, gender, and socioeconomic groups (Williams, 2010). Geographic groups use the same languages in different dialects that belong to the particular geographic regions. Within each language are many different dialects that have been formed with different geographic locations and cultures. Shared words, experiences, cultures, and expressions are ethnic and shared elements of the social fabric. Language of a common
Rather, language may be more apt to change the way we see the world, rather than vice versa, at least according to Chomsky. Meaning thus varies and shifts, some would say as the world shifts, others would say as language itself grows and generates new meanings -- while almost all would agree that the drive to communicate and make consistent and coherent meanings endures in all segments of the species.
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