Lakoff's work Language and Woman's Place introduces to the field of sociolinguistics many ideas about women's language that are now often commonplace. It has inspired many different strategies for studying language and gender, across national borders as well as across class and race lines.
Her work is noted for its attention to class, power, and social justice in addition to gender.
Lakoff proposes that women's speech can be distinguished from that of men in a number of ways, including:
- Hedges: Phrases like "sort of", "kind of", "it seems like"
- Empty adjectives: "divine", "adorable", "gorgeous"
- Super-polite forms: "Would you mind..." "...if it’s not too much to ask" "Is it o.k if...?"
- Apologize more: "I'm sorry, but I think that..."
- Speak less frequently
- Avoid coarse language or expletives
- Tag questions: "You don't mind eating this, do you?". Subsequent research has cast some doubt on this proposition
- Hyper-correct grammar and pronunciation: Use of prestige grammar and clear articulation
- Indirect requests: "Wow, I'm so thirsty." – really asking for a drink
- Speak in italics: Use tone to emphasis certain words, e.g., "so", "very", "quite"
Lakoff developed the "Politeness Principle", in which she devised three maxims that are usually followed in interaction. These are: Don't impose, give the receiver options, and make the receiver feel good. She stated that these are paramount in good interaction. By not adhering to these maxims, a speaker is said to be 'flouting the maxims'.
Read more about this topic: Robin Lakoff
Famous quotes containing the word woman:
“I think of you more often than of anyone else in this part of the world. I’d have liked to have you for a sweetheart, or a wife, or my mother or my sister—anything that a woman can be to a man. The idea of you is a part of my mind; you influence my likes and dislikes, all my tastes, hundreds of times when I don’t realize it. You really are a part of me.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)