Gender Difference in Using Language
Shelvi Nadia Salsabila (22020230028 )
The definition of gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions and
identities of girls, women, boys, men, and people of diverse gender. The definition of language,
a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of which
human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves.
The functions of language include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative
expression, and emotional release.
Over the past thirty years, and as a result of the women’s movement, gender issues have
become connected with the issue of language. Gender studies and language studies are both
interdisciplinary academic field. The study of language began from thousands of years ago,
while the study of gender is quite short. The study of gender is important to the study of
language, and the first step to study gender is to explore the difference between men and women.
It is quite clear that men and women have a lot of differences in many fields. Generally speaking,
females have more fat and less muscle physically; women are not as strong as men and they
mature more rapidly and usually have a longer life span. Females and males often show different
advantages and skills in doing their work. Why are the two genders different in so many ways?
Besides some physical reasons, we are aware that social factors may account for some of the
differences. Such as, women may live longer than men because of the different roles they play in
society and the different jobs they tend to do. Men usually have to undertake more pressure than
women in life. The differences in job skills may be explained in great part through differences in
the ways by which they are raised. When talking about language, we can‟t help asking if men
and women who speak a particular language use it in different ways? If they do, then we may ask
in what ways they are different. Do the differences change through time?
The reason I chose this topic is that I am very interested in gender differences in language.
Language reflects, records, and transmits social differences, so we shouldn't be surprised to find
their reflections on gender differences in language, for most societies differentiate between men
and women in several conspicuous ways. This essay will discuss the differences in the following
aspects.
A. Differences in intonation
women tend to use high tone and intonation (polite) while men tend to use low tone and
intonation (bass). In general, the intonation used by women varies according to their expressions, so
women prefer to use several intonations in one sentence. conversely, men prefer to use the same color
without changing intonation. Women often like to speak in a high-pitch voice because of physiological
reason, but scientists point out that this also associates with women’s “timidity” and “emotional
instability”. women usually answer questions with rising rather than falling intonation. In this way they
can show their gentleness, and sometimes this intonation conveys a lack of confidence. Men, on the
other hand, like to use falling intonation to show that they really believe in what they're saying. Falling
intonation also shows confidence and sometimes the strength of a man.
B. Differences in Vocabulary
Women generally have a higher vocabulary than men. however, the trend reversed and boys
were found to be adding more new words to their vocabulary than girls. Women also avoid dirty words
in speaking. but men have a bolder character, not worried about dirty terms that are considered taboo
to utter. We can also see that men and women tend to choose different words to express their feelings.
For example, when a woman is frightened, she usually screams, "I'm scared to death"! If you heard a
man say this, you would think he was cowardly and girly..
C. Differences in Choosing Topics
Every gender, both male and female, has its own speaking ability, especially on the topics it
controls. men are very fluent in discussing competitive topics such as sports and politics, while women
who are more cooperative prefer to discuss topics related to family life. This shows that women are
more open about their feelings, while men like topics that can hide their feelings. the men in her
neighborhood talk more about work and sports and never talk about family. while also women only talk
about their jobs, household chores and then their families. At the same time, boys and girls also have
different topics when talking, usually boys talk more about online games, for example mobile legends,
football. boys also talk about football match. the girls talk about fashion, food, makeup and cooking.
CONCLUSION
There is an assumption that gender affects the form of language, women have a different
voice than men, in social reality there are differences in work between men and women. Men
tend to talk about things that are more important and sensible, like work and sometimes sports or
personal problems. Men rarely talk about household or family matters. Whereas women prefer to
talk about things that don't make sense and are sometimes full of gossip, talk about things that
are less important or even unimportant, such as satirizing other people, showing wealth, even
though women prefer to talk. about things that are less important, but on the other hand women
also talk and think about family matters and think about them more. Boys have different
speaking abilities than girls, if. Men tend to speak clearly and decisively, while women choose
the right words. This makes the difference between masculine and feminine language. In
addition, the nature of language is strongly influenced by the surrounding environment, where
men and women meet in different fields. Therefore, the language of men and women is clearly
different, because language development is heavily influenced by social life, men have more
difficulty adapting to language than women.
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