General questions on sociolinguistics 2019

1. What are the social factors and dimensions an that influence the way people
speak?

2. clarify the types and main reasons of code-switching.

4 define diglossia and show its main characteristics.

5. How do sociolinguists differentiate between a dialect and a language?

6. what are the main differences between social and regional dialects.

7 trace the main Various Factors to Determine Social Position and Labovs
experiment in distinguishing social dialects.

 Define standard dialect.

 Define non-standard language and clarify the main criteria of standarization.
 Provide a few examples of how any non-standard dialect of American
English differs grammatically from Standard American English. Then show
social characteristics that distinguish the speakers of the two types of
dialects

8. what is the relationship between the prestige variant of a variable and socio-
economic class?

Lg. differences based on gender.

9, Define and illustrate 4 of the following concept•

jargon
• codeswitching
• polyglossia
• vernacular
• Regional dialect
• gender – preferential features

Quiz

1. Sociolinguistics is most appropriately defined as which of these?

 The study of human behavior
The scientific study of vocal sounds
The study of animal vocalizations
The scientific study of language usage

2. The linguistic term "code-switching" refers to which of the following?

Using a secret or exclusive language in certain circumstances

The use of jargon within a language
A speaker's use of more than one language, dialect or register in an utterance or
interaction
A type of cryptology

3. A person who speaks three languages fluently is most properly referred to

by which of these terms?

Magnalingual
Bilingual
Extralingual
Multilingual

4. Which of the following would NOT be considered a part of sociolinguistics?

The study of the sounds in spoken language

The general perception of a dialect within a society
The study of the attitudes of people towards certain speech characteristics
The study of socioeconomic and/or political power factors and their influence
on language change.

5. Which of the following is NOT a dialect of English?

RP, or "BBC" English

 Pennsylvania Dutch
Gullah
Boston Brahmin

6. Which of the following languages was not widely spread as a result of

colonialism?

French
Swedish
English
Spanish

7. While the United States has no official language, the de facto language of
government is English. Of the following, which is the closest to the number of
languages spoken as a native language (mother tongue) by natural-born
citizens of the United States?

100
2
300
5

8. English is most closely related to which of the following languages?

French
Latin
Frisian
Norse

9. To what does the term "lingua franca" refer?

A dialect spoken in the Franconian region of Germany

Speaking French
 A shared language primarily used for business, education or political reasons.
Speaking bluntly or directly

10. "Pidgin" most closely refers to:

An extinct Native American language

A language group in central Africa
People who speak multiple dialects
A rudimentary language used primarily for business/trade interactions

1. Sociolinguistics is most appropriately defined as which of these?

: The scientific study of language usage

Sociolinguistics is the scientific study of language use in society.

Popular areas of study include dialects or dialectology; bilingualism and
multilingualism; and language and gender.

2. The linguistic term "code-switching" refers to which of the following?

A speaker's use of more than one language, dialect or register in an utterance or

interaction

Code-switching is an area of study within sociolinguistics that has become more

prominent with the advent of mass globalization. Code-switching is common
among populations that speak two or more languages. However, code-switching
does not necessarily mean using multiple languages within an utterance or
conversation, it can also entail using two or more dialects and/or registers.

3. A person who speaks three languages fluently is most properly referred to by

which of these terms?
 Multilingual

In sociolinguistics two terms are acceptable for a person who speaks more
than one language fluently: bilingual and multilingual. However, since
bilingual is somewhat misleading if someone speaks more than two
languages fluently, multilingual is the most proper label.

4. Which of the following would NOT be considered a part of sociolinguistics?

The study of the sounds in spoken language

The study of the interaction between sounds in spoken language is referred to

as phonology, which is itself a proper subset of linguistics. Phonetics refers
to the sounds present in spoken language. While both are important to
sociolinguistic scholarship, neither is central to the subject. Sociolinguistics
is mostly concerned with the study of why language is used in a particular
manner, or why it has changed from a previous accepted norm to the current
norm.

5. Which of the following is NOT a dialect of English?

Pennsylvania Dutch

Despite the misleading name, Pennsylvania Dutch is a dialect of German, or

more properly Low German (Plattdeutsch). The "Dutch" part comes from the
mis-application of the English prounciation of "Deutsch" (German) into
American English orthography as "Dutch". However, Dutch is a separate, but
closely related language, spoken in The Netherlands (or Holland) and parts
of Belgium.

RP or "BBC" English is the standardized version of English spoken in the

UK. Gullah (sometimes referred to as Geechie or Gullah/Geechie) is a dialect
of English spoken on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. (Some
might consider Gullah/Geechie to be a creole language rather than a dialect,
with significant arguments to support such a claim.) Boston Brahmin is a
dialect spoken by a small group of upper-class Bostonians.
6. Which of the following languages was not widely spread as a result of
colonialism?

Your Answer: Swedish

While all political powers have at one time or another spread their language
through exploration, the best answer is Swedish. The French, English and
Spanish spread their languages to far corners of the world during the period
of European colonization (circa 1500-1900).

7. While the United States has no official language, the de facto language of
government is English. Of the following, which is the closest to the number of
languages spoken as a native language (mother tongue) by natural-born citizens of
the United States?

The correct answer was 300

There are over 300 separate languages spoken by natural-born citizens of the
United States. Many are familiar, such as Spanish, Italian and German.
However, the US has rather large pockets of Chinese, Korean, Japanese,
Arabic, Vietnamese, Taglog etc. speakers. The number is driven higher by
the number of indigenous languages still spoken, such as the Athabascan
languages (i.e. the Inuit languages in Alaska), and other languages such as
Cherokee and Navajo.

8. English is most closely related to which of the following languages?

The correct answer was Frisian

English is a Germanic language. While French has had an enormous

influence on the lexicon of English (thanks to the Norman invasion of 1066,
and further through French political and social influence over centuries),
Frisian, a nearly extinct Germanic language, is considered the closest relative
of English per linguistic genetics. German, with 100-150 million native
 speakers worldwide has the second-most speakers of a Germanic language
after English. However it is not the closest relative of English. Standard
German of today is based on Old High German (OHG). The "high" refers to
altitude, not latitude (or even prestige, although coincidentally the prestigious
connotation of "high" is appropriate for sociolinguistic considerations).
Contemporary German therefore stems from the dialects of the southern part
of Germany (i.e. around Bavaria, or the highlands), while low German
(Plattdeutsch), along the same argument, stems from the lowlands, or the
northern areas of Germany. The dialects of the north separated into Dutch,
Frisian and English as Teutonic tribes migrated westward. Frisian is the
bridge of sorts between English and Low German/Dutch speakers. German
diverged as a standard language based on OHG's relatively distant proximity
to the the North Sea (and Martin Luther's choice to translate the Bible from
Latin into a High German dialect), and therefore German diverged from
Dutch, Frisian and English. Dutch is therefore the closest non-endangered
language relative of English, followed somewhat distantly by German.
Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic are the other major surviving
Germanic languages. French, a Romance language, is closely related to
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and the nearly extinct Romansch
language spoken in Switzerland.

9. To what does the term "lingua franca" refer?

A shared language primarily used for business, education or political

reasons.

A "lingua franca" is a mutually understood language between two or more

groups who do not share a native language. The term originates from Roman
Empire era Europe when Latin was the language of religion, scholarship and
international (or inter-societal) relations. During the Roman Empire, most of
Europe north of Rome was considered Frankish (or Franconian), hence
"lingua franca" literally means Frankish language, most likely referring to
some point in a dialectal continuum between Roman Latin and various other
dialects of Latin (dialects that have diverged into the Romance languages
such as Romanian, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese). Latin, therefore,
was a lingua franca, but only among a small portion of society beyond Rome,
namely Roman Catholic monks and other converts of high social status.
 In modern times, the term means any language that is shared between two or
more groups that do not share the same native language. English is currently
the most common lingua franca between people, however any language can
be used as a lingua franca. French, Spanish and Russian are all prominent
lingua franca in addition to English. Geography and political factors heavily
factor into the lingua franca of a given area. For example, former Soviet
block countries used Russian as a lingua franca before the collapse of the
Soviet Union. English is the primary lingua franca of western Europe.
Spanish is the primary lingua franca for most Central and South American
countries where many speak various indigenous languages.

Review and Discussion after Chapter 6

1. Define the term language (as opposed to dialect and idiolect).

2. What is a dialect continuum? Describe it and give an example and explain it.
3. Dialects begin to diverge from each other because of isolation and other factor.
Explain.

Chapter 7

1. What are some differences between men’s and women’s speech?

2. What is the difference between Gender-Exclusive Features and

Gender- Preferential Features? Cite examples?

Gender and Politeness and Stereotype

3 What is meant by mutual intelligibility?

 4. DIFFERENCES in communication styles between men and women help us
understand some of the problems of communication between men and
women. Do you agree? Explain.

Question answer

Alexandros Xafopoulos

. Code-switching [1] can be defined as the alternation between languages

or dialects in speaking or writing in a grammatically overall consistent manner. It
usually appears in 3 types, that is extrasentential, intrasentential or intraword.

5. Discuss the distinction between sociolinguistics and the sociology of

language.
6. Discuss the different social categories (interpreted broadly) which may be
reflected in linguistic variation.

Illustrate different types of linguistic variation.

7. What is a lingua franca, a koine, diglossia, a dialect, a patois? How does one
distinguish between the different varieties used in a diglossic situation?
8. What abilities need to be present for a person to be considered a native
speaker of a language? (What abilities constitute (native) linguistic
competence?)
9. Define the concept of speech community.
10.The door is open and you wish someone to shut it for you. Give as many
utterances as you can think of that might bring about this result. Describe
the situation in which you would use each of them, and your relationship
with the hearer.
11.Give graded examples illustrating different degrees of politeness in a
linguistic exchange.
12.In what ways does women's speech differ from men's speech?
13.What is the relationship between diglossia and bilingualism? Do the
concepts of high language and low language have useful application? List a
number of different contexts in which each type of language might be used.
14.Every nation should have only one national language. Is this true?
15.In many languages, the masculine pronoun is used generically to refer to
groups composed of both males and females ("Every student must hand in
 his exam now.") Can you think of other examples of this type, or other
languages behaving in the same way?
16.Define 'dialect', 'accent', 'register'.
17.Distinguish between code switching and code mixing. What are the factors
which influence code switching?
18.Define 'pidgin', 'creole'. Why do many creoles involve components from a
European language?
19.What might it mean to say 'language is sexist'? Give examples of sexism in
language.

Answer

Gender' as a variable in sociolinguistics. ( There is indeed some evidence that

marks language as sexist, or rather their users,
and that both sexes do not speak the same way and that cannot only be attributed to
stylistic or individual differences. It should be pointed out that language should not
be considered as inherently sexist but it is used in a sexist way or even that it
reflects a sexist world.
Trudgill in a study carried out in Norwich (England) found out that women tended
to be more conservative in terms of language use, as men were reported to show
most language change. He studied phonological and sociological variable and he
also discovered that women are generally more status-conscious than men.
Traditionally, the term sex has been used to refer to biological and anatomical
differences between men and women, and gender has been used to refer to
psychological and socio-cultural differences between the sexes. This approach,
although clear and simple enough to categorize profound differences between
males
and females proves to be little simplistic for sociolinguistic research, as one of the
aims of sociolinguistics is to describe the relation between these two, i.e., sex and
gender. Sex is a biological category which constitutes the base for the
differentiation of roles, norms and expectations within a certain speech
community, and these social roles, norms and expectations compose the idea or
gender.
Recent studies have shown neurophysical differences in the way males and females
process language. It seems that phonological processing in males relates to the left
hemisphere of the brain whereas it involves both hemispheres in the case of
females. However, no evidence has been shown that such biological differences
have an effect on male-female language processing and speech; any dissimilarity
seems to be a result of social factors, educational factors, or power.

20.Explain the difference between pidgin and creole.

Pidginization is a process that sometimes takes place when two languages come
into contact and, as a result, there is a process of simplification or hybridization.
Often, the words from one language are adopted while using the syntactic
ordering of the other language, but, as a rule the grammatical system is
simplified as well as other complex linguistic features.
Pidgins have been used for centuries and eventually, some of them, became
creoles. The process of creolization takes place when that language that was
originally a functional language used only for purposeful communication is
acquired as a mother tongue by children who are exposed to it. The social
circumstances in which this language is now used are more complex as they
need to serve all kinds of social needs to communicative purposes and,
therefore, the language expands. In such a situation, the pidgin develops and
becomes more complex both in terms of grammar and phonology and its use
then covers all kinds of communicative functions. The pidgins involve some
kind of simplification, in terms of lexis, grammar and phonological features,
whereas the creoles entail the expansion in all kinds of linguistic features and
communicative functions. This amplification becomes apparent because
the language which originally had limited functions becomes now a system
used as a native language that needs to be used for all types of social functions.
Originally, pidgins served the purpose of a lingua franca, i.e., a language used
by people who speak different mother tongues and who used a common
language for a specific functional situation, such as trade.

21.Which of the following could be a definition for Sociolinguistics?

a. the study of language variation as a human phenomenon that affects
large parts of the population
b. a field of research that deals with the relation between language and
society
c. research aim at finding the reasons for linguistic variations in social
and environmental conditions
d. all of the above
22.Who coined the term "communicative competence"?
a. Dell Hymes
 b. Chomsky
c. Hudson
d. It was a collaboration of all of the above

3 What is the aim of Sociology of Language?

 to investigate and describe the relationship between language and society

 finding basic grammatical structures that could account for the existence of
structured patterns across languages
 the study of society and how we can understand it through the study of
language
 all of the above

4. What kind of language is English?

 sinthetic
 analytic
 Sanskrit
 Soundless

5. What does BEV stand for?

 Black English Village

 Bold Elitist Vernacular
 Black English Vernacular
 all of the above

6. Which of the following could be an auxiliary language?

 Esperanto
 Business English
 Esperanto and Business English
 BEV

Questions and Answers

 1.
 Words like ‘lovely’ and ‘nice’ are claimed to be used more by women than
men. This is a case of __________ differentiation.

o A.

Gender-exclusive

o B.

Gender-inclusive

o C.

Gender-variable

o D.

None of these

 2.

A register is a bit of talk that is appropriate in particular _______.

o A.

Speech situations

o B.

Societies

o C.

Conditions

o D.

None of these

 3.
 The co-existence of languages in a fairly stable relationship is known as
_____.

o A.

None of these

o B.

Language maintenance

o C.

Language stagnation

o D.

Language shift

 4.

_____ are among certain features of non-standard varieties that are singled
out by prescriptivists.

o A.

Double consonants

o B.

Double objects

o C.

None of these

o D.

Double negatives

 5.
 The replacement of forms such as ‘chairman’ by ‘chair(person)’ and
‘fireman’ by ‘fire fighter’ involves the elimination of ______ forms.

o A.

None of these

o B.

Generic neuter

o C.

Genitive

o D.

Generic feminine

 6.

Sociolects are usually thought of in terms of the _____ of the speakers.

o A.

Origins

o B.

None of these

o C.

Socialbility

o D.

Socio-economic status

 7.
 The ______ of words seen as offensive, obscene or disturbing is known as
euphemism.

o A.

None of these

o B.

Excessive use

o C.

Playful use

o D.

Semantics

 8.

In sociolinguistics the term ________ denotes any prohibition on the use of

particular lexical items.

o A.

Totem

o B.

Toto

o C.

None of these

o D.

Taboo
 10. Men claim to use non-standard forms more than women do. This is a
case of ______.
o A.

None of these

o B.

Exocentric prestige

o C.

Inherent impoliteness

o D.

In-group covert prestige

 11. ‘Would you mind opening the window?’ This sentence contains a
______.
o A.

None of these

o B.

Statement of purpose

o C.

Politeness formula

o D.

Prestige formula

 12. In situation involving _____ community languages are used at home, in

shopping, and recreational and cultural activities.
o A.
 Multinationalism

o B.

None of these

o C.

Multiculturalism

o D.

Multilingualism

 13. The topic of language and gender includes the differences in language
use that are associated with the gender of the speaker, the addressee and/or
the ______. a. none of these
o A.

None of these

o B.

Referent

o C.

Participant

o D.

Linguist

 14. In sociolinguistics the term jargon denotes the vocabulary peculiar to

_____.
o A.

Faddish usage

o B.

Politics
 o C.

Some field

o D.

None of these

 15. The social construction of masculinity involves _____.

o A.

Saving face

o B.

Facing the consequences

o C.

None of these

o D.

Accommodation

 16. ______ are usually thought of in terms of the socio-economic status of

the speakers.
o A.

Dialects

o B.

Sociolects

o C.

None of these

o D.
 Idiolects

 17. A _____ is a bit of talk that is appropriate in particular speech situations.

o A.

Register

o B.

Conversation

o C.

None of these

o D.

Speech

 18. In situations involving ____ community languages are used at home, in

shopping, and recreational and cultural activities.
o A.

multilingualism

o B.

None of these

o C.

Multiculturalism

o D.

Multinationalism

 19. In certain societies men and women use different verb forms. This is a
case of ______ differentiation.
o A.
 Gender-inclusive

o B.

None of these

o C.

Gender-exclusive

o D.

Gender-variable

20) The replacement of forms such as 'chairman' by 'chair(person)' and 'fireman'

by 'fire fighter' involves the elimination of ______ forms.

A.none of these
B. generic neuter
C.genitive
D.generic feminine

21) The co-existence of languages in a fairly stable relationship is known as

_____.

A.none of these
B. language maintenance
C.language stagnation
D.language shift

22) The social construction of masculinity involves _____.

A.saving face
B. facing the consequences
C.none of these
D.accommodation

23) Double negatives ('She don't know nothing') are among certain features of
non-standard varieties that are singled out by ______.
 A.structuralists
B. none of these
C.descriptivists
D.prescriptivists

24) ______ lends weight to the notion that 'we talk like those we talk to'.

A.none of these
B. Social network analysis
C.Social stratification analysis
D.Networking skills

25) The topic of language and gender includes the differences in language use
that are associated with the gender of the speaker, the addressee and/or the
______.
a. none of these

A.none of these
B. referent
C.participant
D.linguist

26 Men claim to use non-standard forms more than women do. This is a case of
______.

A.none of these
B. exocentric prestige
C.inherent impoliteness
D.in-group covert prestige

27) A register is a bit of talk that is appropriate in particular _______.

A.speech situations
B. societies
C.conditions
D.none of these
28) The situation with Breton in France and Gaelic in Scotland involves _____.

A.language shift
B. language maintenance
C.language stagnation
D.none of these

29) In certain societies men and women use different verb forms. This is a case of
______ differentiation.

A.gender-inclusive
B. none of these
C.gender-exclusive
D.gender-variable

30) The ______ of words seen as offensive, obscene or disturbing is known as

euphemism.

A.none of these
B. excessive use
C.playful use
D.semantics

Chapter 2 lg. dialects and varieties

Distinguish between dialect register and jargon.

To understand the meaning of language varieties, it's important to consider how

lects differ from standard English. Even what constitutes standard English is a
topic of hot debate among linguists.

Standard English is a controversial term for a form of the English language that is
written and spoken by educated users. For some linguists, standard English is a
synonym for good or correct English usage. Others use the term to refer to a
specific geographical dialect of English or a dialect favored by the most powerful
and prestigious social group.

Varieties of language develop for a number of reasons: differences can come about
for geographical reasons; people who live in different geographic areas often
develop distinct dialects—variations of standard English. Those who belong to a
specific group, often academic or professional, tend to adopt jargon that is known
to and understood by only members of that select group. Even individuals develop
idiolects, their own specific ways of speaking.

Dialect

The word dialect—which contains "lect" within the term—derives from the Greek
words dia- meaning "across, between" and legein "speak." A dialect is a regional
or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar,
and/or vocabulary. The term dialect is often used to characterize a way of speaking
that differs from the standard variety of the language. Sarah Thomason of
the Linguistic Society of America notes:

"All dialects start with the same system, and their partly independent histories
leave different parts of the parent system intact. This gives rise to some of the most
persistent myths about language, such as the claim that the people of Appalachia
speak pure Elizabethan English."

Certain dialects have gained negative connotations in the U.S. as well as in other
countries. Indeed, the term dialect prejudice refers to discrimination based on a
person's dialect or way of speaking. Dialect prejudice is a type of linguicism—
discrimination based on dialect. In their article "Applied Social Dialectology,"
published in "Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science
of Language and Society," Carolyn Temple and Donna Christian observe:

"...dialect prejudice is endemic in public life, widely tolerated, and institutionalized

in social enterprises that affect almost everyone, such as education and the media.
There is limited knowledge about and little regard for linguistic study showing that
all varieties of a language display systematicity and that the elevated social
position of standard varieties has no scientific linguistic basis."

Due to this kind of dialectic prejudice, Suzanne Romaine, in "Language in

Society," notes: "Many linguists now prefer the term variety or lect to avoid the
sometimes pejorative connotations that the term 'dialect' has."

Register

Register is defined as the way a speaker uses language differently in different

circumstances. Think about the words you choose, your tone of voice, even your
body language. You probably behave very differently chatting with a friend than
you would at a formal dinner party or during a job interview. These variations in
formality, also called stylistic variation, are known as registers in linguistics.

They are determined by such factors as social occasion, context, purpose,

and audience. Registers are marked by a variety of specialized vocabulary and
turns of phrases, colloquialisms, the use of jargon, and a difference in intonation
and pace.

Registers are used in all forms of communication, including written, spoken, and
signed. Depending on grammar, syntax, and tone, the register may be extremely
rigid or very intimate. You don't even need to use an actual word to communicate
effectively. A huff of exasperation during a debate or a grin while signing "hello"
speaks volumes.

Jargon

Jargon refers to the specialized language of a professional or occupational group.

Such language is often meaningless to outsiders. American poet David Lehman has
described jargon as "the verbal sleight of hand that makes the old hat seem newly
fashionable; it gives an air of novelty and specious profundity to ideas that, if
stated directly, would seem superficial, stale, frivolous, or false."

George Packer describes jargon in a similar vein in a 2016 article in the New
Yorker magazine:

“Professional jargon—on Wall Street, in humanities departments, in government

offices—can be a fence raised to keep out the uninitiated and permit those within it
to persist in the belief that what they do is too hard, too complex, to be questioned.
Jargon acts not only to euphemize but to license, setting insiders against outsiders
and giving the flimsiest notions a scientific aura.”

Pam Fitzpatrick, a senior research director at Gartner, a Stamford, Connecticut-

based research and advisory firm specializing in high tech, writing
on LinkedIn, puts it more bluntly:

"Jargon is waste. Wasted breath, wasted energy. It absorbs time and space but does
nothing to further our goal of persuading people to help us solve complex
problems."

In other words, jargon is a faux method of creating a sort of dialect that only those
on this inside group can understand. Jargon has social implications similar to
dialect prejudice but in reverse: It is a way of making those who understand this
particular variety of language more erudite and learned; those who are members of
the group that understands the particular jargon are considered smart, while those
on the outside are simply not bright enough to comprehend this kind of language.

CHAPTER 12

Topics/sample questions – the following topics may appear in question form

1. How do gender ideologies and language ideologies fit together? Put another
way: How do cultural ideas about maleness and femaleness (masculine and
feminine qualities) interact with ideas about language? You could consider
everything from dialect speech and gender to ideas about male and female
roles in the family or on the job and how this affects language usage.

2. What is a “performance-based approach” to gender and language? Using

examples from two of the READINGS for this semester (esp. March 24th
and 31st) show how language usage is one aspect of “performing” one’s
gender in conversation. The examples should show different types of gender
performance (e.g. masculine and feminine).

3. Several of the authors whose work we have read this semester have argued
that men and women have different ideas about “ideal” conversational
interactions and about the goals for conversation. Discuss this idea using at
least TWO of the articles (one can be a film) we have read this semester. In
each of the examples you use, how were men’s and women’s ideas about
and goals for conversation different, according to the authors?

4. What is the “gender order”? How does language use help to maintain the
gender order? Offer two examples from our readings to illustrate your
answer. Can language use challenge the gender order?
 5. From our readings or films, pick ONE example of how gender and language
use fit together. Then offer an analysis of this example from TWO of the
following theoretical perspectives: Social Power Model, Two Cultures
Model, Performance Theory (toolkit).

Quiz answers

1.Three women and three men are chatting. Who is likely to talk more?
The women
The men
They are likely to talk about the same amount
2. Your gender and your sex are the same thing, at least in linguistic terms.

True
False
3. Which of the following are typically true of male speech?

They swear more than women

They describe things more than women

They are more likely to interrupt than women
They backchannel a lot

4. What are weak expletives, who uses them and why?

Weak expletives are a gentle alternative to swearing, such as 'golly', 'goodness

me', 'oh dear' and so on. They are generally used by women, to avoid crudeness,
which is a stereotypically masculine feature of language and to avoid seeming too
aggressive or assertive (again, typically male traits).

5. Who is more likely to use language to bond, encourage and balance power?

Men

Women
Children
6. Women frequently use language and conversation to establish
their dominance within a group
 True

False

7. women use more what than men?

Tag questions
Specific lexis for household chores
Phatic talk

Swear words
Adjectives
References to colour

8. It is important to consider gender within language a power, because people's

gender is the main factor affecting their lexical choice.
True
False

It is a factor which might affect lexical choice and other linguistic features, but it
is unlikely to be the main one. It is important within language and power, because
of the potential differences in status according to gender. This leads to an
imbalance in power, which creates interesting data for linguists.

9 Women use tag questions more frequently than men.

True
False

It helps with bonding and is a form of encouragement to enter a conversation,

as well as avoiding seeming too assertive. There is debate amongst theorists as to
which of these things is the main reason, but it is probably a combination that
varies from person to person.

10. All of the following statements about language are true, EXCEPT:

 It is a system of communication.
 It often involves mutual intelligibility.
 It can include many dialects.
 All the word meanings are the same.