Difference Theory

Definition: The Difference theory in Language and Gender is the idea that the different genders of male and female have different uses of language and there are significant difference between the language that is used by males and the language that is used by females. No gender is better or wrong (says theorist Tannen), however the different languages can be interpreted differently for different approaches.

Theorist Deborah says that "Your genes don't determine your jeans" meaning that she believes that your gender does not determine the way that you speak.

The techniques that are used within this theory:
For Men:
-Blunt, straight to the point reactions
-Use of modal verbs in the sense of instructing rather than asking
-More likely to use small talk
-More likely to talk about factual subjects
-Less likely to be confrontational (e.g. arguments) - Compromise Vs Conflict

For Women:
-Hedging
-Sentence fillers
-Overlap/interrupt
-More likely to seek sympathy and emotion from the person she is talking to or what she is talking about
-More likely to use gossipy language
-More likely to use
-Back-channel agreement
-More likely to start an argument - Conflict Vs Compromise

Women tend to use sentence fillers such as 'yeah' or 'hmm' whereas men either don't say anything or they will be straight to the point with 'right'. Women will also use hedging to cushion or make whatever they mean seem lighter, such as if they are asked a question- "OMG does my bum look big in this?!', they will say 'no not really, it looks lovely on you!' to consider the feelings of the person asking whereas men are blunt and will say what they mean, 'yeah, I'd change' (clothes).

It is also said that 'women talk too much' meaning that 'men get more air'* (obviously from not being able to get a word in) however I don't know if that was written by a very biased male, perhaps, perhaps not!! It is known that women -I won't say talk too much- but women can create more conversation than men, so maybe that is where that point has come from?!

Orders Vs Proposals - The bluntness between the two genders are also different as a man is more likely to say 'close the door', 'shut the window', whereas women soften the approach, 'let's', 'should we go out for dinner?'. This means that men give orders and use modal verbs whereas women tend to ask it as a question with a preference in mind of what the answer will be.

(Tannen's theory) Women are also more likely to create a relationship with the person she is talking to and build the social skills that she has with them, whereas men communicate to get to the point, making their language just message-orientated based upon the information.

(Tannen's theory) Conflict Vs Compromise - Women tend to attempt to resolve disagreements without any direct confrontation, however the language can be stronger in the sense of power when in a argument. Men tend to confront straight away with something that is bothering them which resolves differences, negotiating status. Tannen stresses that both ways of communicating is to create involvement and strengthening bonds.

This theory can be used in advertisements, novels, transcripts/scripts, movies, TV shows and other types of recorded media. It is best to be used in the form of script/novel or video media purely so it highlights the difference theory between men and women.

Bruce:  Honey, I just don’t see the need to make the bed every day with all those pillows.  Do we have to?
Wife: Yes, because it looks better and what if someone comes over?

Bruce:  Who? The pool man?  These pillows just get in the way and clutter up the room when we go to bed.
Wife (sigh): Dear, just do it for me, okay?

Bruce:  Okay, okay.  Can we talk about this shopping trip you want me to come with you on, please?

Wife:  What about it?

Bruce:  I don’t want any new clothes.  I’m fine with what I've got for our trip.

Wife:  Bruce, most of your clothes should be thrown out.  In fact, if you don’t go through your closet, I will and get rid of most of your horribly out-of-style wardrobe.

Bruce:  Please don’t do that.  I’ll clean out some of the older stuff.  Look, I’m just comfortable wearing the stuff I wear. And, a lot of that stuff has sentimental value to me, just like Pete Maravich’s socks did to him.

There seems to be a balanced status between Bruce and (what I'm assuming is) his wife, however the fact that the wife has no name creates a huge significance that she does not have a name of her own and is being referred as his property or his default role in a marriage. Bruce shows no sign of hedging at all and is blunt with his answers, 'I just don't see the need to make the bed every day with all those pillows', stating his opinionated point with a straight-to-the-point mannerism, not thinking about the emotions that it might provoke. He proves the Orders Vs Proposals theory section right as he says to his wife, Both Bruce and his wife both use the Conflict Vs Compromise theory, 'Can we talk about this shopping trip you want me to come with you on, please?', where Bruce is simply asking to talk about the situation to negotiate something that he is not completely satisfied with. His wife then later responds with "if you don’t go through your closet, I will and get rid of most of your horribly out-of-style wardrobe" creating more of a conflict towards Bruce and the subject.

*see bibliography reference
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_theory
* http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/gender.htm
http://www.brucesallan.com/2011/01/13/a-conversation-between-a-man-and-a-woman/

Grouping Texts - Formal Register/Language Similarities

 Grouping Texts - Formal Register/Language Similarities

Out of the six texts, I have chosen Text A and Text D as they are both written in a formal register to achieve the purpose that they are written for. Although the purpose of the two texts are slightly different, they both hold a purpose to inform to some extent, however the language that is used shows similarities in terms of form. The target audience for both texts have a very direct audience as they have appeared in a certain place that they know the reader will be interested in the texts. Text A is an advertisement that appeared in a theatre programme for performance at Shakespeare's Globe, and the text is trying to advertise a financial service company. The text has been purposely placed in the theatre programme to attract the specific target audience for the promotion of the company. Text D is an extract from the Higher Education Bill. The register that is held throughout both of the texts is formal, as the choice of words are selected carefully to suit what the message is trying to get across, as well as suiting the target audience's expectations.

Looking at the differences between the two texts, Text D seems to include a constant range of low frequent words, 'institutions providing higher education', indicating that this text is setting a formal approach due to the demands that the bill is asking of the reader. The expectations that need to be followed are carried through this formal language, showing power and authorisation between the text and the reader. Due to Text D's subject being about higher education, there is a frequent lexical field of education connotations and word associations, which could also be seen as jargon, 'students', 'education', 'arts and humanities', signalling the subject that the text is covering and the audience are aware of the language and the topics that are being discussed.

Text A's language is also set out as a formal register, however there is a lack of low frequent words, but high frequent words are used alternatively for a different effect. Using high frequent words means that the audience who are reading the advertisement to understand the language and what is being said in the advertisement. Allowing the audience to have an understanding of the product will persuade them further to discover more about the company as the clear instructions and facts gives the audience the power rather than the text the power. Even though the language is simplified as much as possible to let the readers get the most out of the advertisement as they can, specific jargon is also used throughout the advertisement to make the language formal and professional, 'financial', 'investors', 'policyholders', 'institutions', this signals that even though there is use of jargon, the reader can still understand what the advertisement is about and the jargon is not absolutely needed to know what it fully means due to the clarity of the context.

Target: My target is to revise more terminology so that I can use it effectively throughout my essays
Task: I am going to set myself the task to set myself certain days and times to allow myself to revise 2-3 framework techniques to boost my confidence and knowledge about the terminology that I can use in my essay during my exam. I will review my task with the frequent tasks I set myself.

Text 1:
Pizza Hut Advertisement

Liked this? How about Seconds?

Your own create your own pizza

was just the beginning...

Here are some more mouth-watering

deals to tempt you...

Text 2:

L'Oreal advert starring Cheryl Cole

What if you could transform your skin to look

pixel perfect? Breathtaking. New skin perfection by

L'Oreal. Advanced skincare with powerful formulas

helps transform your appearance of skin quality. 

Texture feels silky soft, pores look virtually undetectable, 

tone appears more even. Cheryl: Look photo-ready at 

every angle.

New Skin Perfection by L'Oreal Paris

Cheryl: Pixel perfect your skin, we're worth it

The two texts that I have chosen are both advertisements, that hold the same primary purpose, to persuade the audience to buy what they are selling. The secondary purpose of the advertisements are to inform the audience about the product that they are trying to sell, telling the audience what effect the product will have on the consumer if they choose to buy the item that is trying to be sold. 

Both texts include Fairclough's synthetic personalisation, as the product from text 1 is assuming that they know the audience's required needs,'mouth-watering deals to tempt you', implying that they are assuming that they know that the deals will have the effect of making the audience's mouth water. Text 2 shows synthetic personalisation, however it also includes Fairclough's idea of building the consumer, as it tells the audience everything that they want to be, making themselves fit into the category of the consumer, 'what if you could transform your skin to look pixel perfect?', along with the list of what the product will help the audience achieve, 'texture feels silky soft, pores look virtually undetectable', making them want to buy the product to achieve the results that they desire. This particular framework allows the product to be advertised successfully to achieve the results that's wanted. 

The fact that the L'Oreal advert also has celebrity Cheryl Cole sponsoring the product allows the audience to relate and wish to look like Cheryl, wanting to buy the product to achieve the same results that Cheryl appears to achieve during the advertisement. The use of choosing a familiar celebrity also encourages the audience to buy the product due to the idea that if Cheryl uses it or rates it highly, then the product must be worth purchasing.