Language and Gender EN3117

We will examine how gender is reflected and constituted in language, that is, how women and men speak, how language is used to accomplish femininity and masculinity. Students will become familiar with a wide range of studies exploring the language used by women, men and children in a range of different contexts, including informal talk among friends and talk in work or public settings.

The course encourages a critical engagement with past and present approaches to the study of language and gender and draws on a range of different theoretical and methodological frameworks to show how gender and identity can be analysed in language.

Learning outcomes

If you complete the course successfully, you should:

• Have become familiar with different theoretical and methodological frameworks used in the field of language and gender
• Have developed a critical awareness of different conceptualisations of gender and identity
• Be able to contrast folklinguistic and stereotypical notions of gender with empirical findings generated in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis
• Be equipped to investigate the role that language plays in constructing gender and other identities
• Have acquired the knowledge and skills to carry out independent empirical investigations in the field of language and gender

Essential reading

• Jennifer Coates and Pia Pichler, (eds.) (2011) Language and Gender: A Reader. Second Edition. Oxford: Blackwell
• Jennifer Coates (2004) Women, Men and Language. Third edition. Longman.