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.

Language and Power Texts

Language and Power Text 1 - Political Speech
Speech from Terence McKenna
"We have to create culture, don't watch TV, don't read magazines, don't even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you're worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you're giving it all away to icons, icons which are maintained by an electronic media so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is shit-brained, this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told 'no', we're unimportant, we're peripheral. 'Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.' And then you're a player, you don't want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that's being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.” 
― Terence McKenna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eu9GfHCpVo

Language and Power Text 2 - Education Extract
Educating Essex clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKa4g3YkQmU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu2MCbeKHG0

Language and Power Text 3 - Interview
Jonathan Ross Show- Interview with Russell Brand 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxjcSzjw8kE

Language and Power Text 4 - Parent/ Child Conversation
Outnumbered clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcpohUL5k4w

Language and Power Text 5 - Article about a specific topic where experts are used
The Guardian article about Language and Power
http://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2013/jun/03/speech-language-determine-success-workplace

Samsung F300 advertisement

The advertisement inside an issue of a woman's magazine for the new music phone from Samsung attracts attention and interest of a subset women that are reading the magazine as well as the stereotypical feminine colours of pink and the appearance of Beyonce holding the new and exclusive product. The way in which Samsung have cleverly portrayed the image of this phone is signaled through the images of pop star Beyonce, holding the phone that is being promoted. The image reflects the caption which is underneath to not only inform the audience about the phone but to connect the image to the phone, "imagine flipping from your music, to your life and back again", linking with the image of Beyonce holding the phone listening to her album through headphones, and then the same image flipped however this time she is holding a phone in the 'normal' home setting. This allows the audience to empathize and imagine themselves in Beyonce's place, having the freedom of listening to music as well as having a normal day to day setting all in one phone. Knowing that Beyonce is a huge inspiration to many people encourages the audience to want to buy the phone.

As well as the advertisement of the phone itself, there is also promotion within the promotion itself as Beyonce's album is shown at the bottom left of the poster, and the music version of the phone is playing Beyonce's album.

Lesson Work: Investigation in the Language of Messaging

For my investigation looking into the language and different abbreviations that are used within messaging, I have decided to look at how differently younger teenagers talk compared to older teenagers. The difference in language, abbreviations and emojis/emoticons will be looked at depending what age the person is.

I have decided to research into the different use of socialect, grammar and use of emoticons/emojis depending on how old the person who is sending the message. I narrowed my category down to look into the messages of teenagers, looking further into the ages of young/pre-teens and old, mature teenagers.

The evidence that I have collected is a few sample conversations of myself talking to my friend. I have been friends with my sample friend for many years, meaning that I am able to look at our very first instant messaging messages, and the present messages we send, noticing a difference in how we speak. It has become apparent that there us a difference between the language that is used when I was a young teen, compared to how I talk now/in the present. There is a similar correlation between my friend's language and how it has changed.

There seems to be a continuous use of emoticons used to set a friendly tone in the messages at a younger age, ':)' is used an extravagant amount to keep the friendly register throughout the conversation. However looking at the recent messages, the register seems to be of a more intimate, jokey form. This is because we are both comfortable with the strong friendship and we know each other well enough to not need to set the friendly tone. It seems that the emoticons that are used in the recent messages are used, however for a different purpose. The emoticons that are used in the conversations are used not to be friendly, but to give a sarcastic tone to what has just been said, 'OK THEN;/////', ':((((((((', the multiple use of brackets and slashes are used for effect to show the messenger that the sender is not serious about what has just been said.

The use of abbreviations is also used during the young-teen period, 'hun' however the use of ‘babes’ during the more recent conversations is purposely put for a sarcastic tone. It seem to be seen as funny and ironic when old abbreviations and socialect is used within conversations. Using old short-hand text talk is seen as 'uncool' nowadays, and people tend to associate people who are young and still using this text talk as 'chavvy'. The short hand messaging is used to be sarcastic or to imitate 'chavvy' people as it is seen as grammatically incorrect/illiterate if you use this type of language.

Transcript for Drawing Activity

Beth: in the top left hand corner (.) there's (3) like an eight (.) but on its side (5) Exactly ^ um (.) on the (.) to the right of the eight (1) there's like a (.) circle which is a bit bigger than the infinity sign (1) so it's like a (.) thumb (.) size (3) a circle (3)

Rachel: I'll redraw it (3)

Beth: Done? ^ (4) and then (.) to the right of that (.) a bit further down (.) there's a rectangle (.) but it's like (2) the longest side is (2) on the (.) bottom (.) on the top (/) if you get what I mean?^ (4) um (.) below the infinity sign (/) like quite a bit below (.) so about a fingers length below (2) there's a star (4)

Overview: Beth's spontaneous description was effective and came across with clear instructions, however it took a long time to get her point across due to fillers, pauses and use of interrupting herself with different bits of information. Nonetheless, the understanding between Beth and Rachel is clearly portrayed as there is not a huge confusion, and the way that Beth is describing the objects to Rachel is clear and imaginative, full of common socialect that both Beth and Rachel are familiar with.