10 - Language and Gender
from Part III - Language in Context
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 November 2019
Summary
Chapter 10 examines the interaction between language and gender. In this chapter, we describe how language and gender interact in Korean, in the realms of lexicon, phonology, syntax, and discourse. We distinguish five categories of lexical distinction: non-male terms, non-female terms, male-only terms, female-only terms, and terms for both male and female. In terms of phonological differences, women’s speech is characterized by a rising intonation with increased tensing and aspiration, while men tend to use falling intonation with less pronounced tensing or aspiration. With regard to syntactic differences, men use more declarative sentences and deferential speech style, while women use more interrogative sentences, polite speech style, tag questions, adverbials, and deixis. For discourse differences, women use more indirect speech style, hedges, obscure expressions, and cooperative communication, while men use more direct speech style, a difference which may be related to differences in power status in society.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- KoreanA Linguistic Introduction, pp. 329 - 340Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019