Power in Conversation
Power in Conversation

Summary/Abstract: Recent works on gender and the English language show that the male-female hierarchy is inherent in the words we use to perceive and name our world. These studies of grammatical forms and vocabulary intend to document a male dominated reality expressed through language. Much less attention has been directed toward how gender hierarchy is expressed in conversation. By turning to conversation, we move to an analysis of the interactional production of male-female power relations traced in people’s talk. The paper - while highlighting gender-related aspects of conversation - argues three points. First, that men and women use different interaction strategies in conversations. Second, that these strategies are culturally acquired temperament traits. Third, inexpressiveness is seen as a product of male subculture.

• Details
• Contents