Cross Gender Oral Communication from Biological Difference and Socialized Identity to Mutual Understanding

Language is an indispensable instrument whereby we organize and build our social ties in our communities, and society at large. Human language is critically interwoven into the processes whereby human beings communicate, build knowledge, transmit information, and determine the identity of both the addresser and the addressee in any communicational exchange. We could hypothetically assert that if there is unmistakably one thing without which man as a species can hardly live in the social realm, it is language par excellence. In an admittedly multi-layered and inherently complex sociolinguistic configuration, the individual speaker’s linguistic choice, the different roles he or she plays, be they in a position of addresser or addressee, and the various situations where the speech takes place do serve as markers reflecting one’s identity and communication styles. In this respect, factors such as sex, age, level of education, occupation, race, and geographical origin can virtually be reflected via one’s speech. This article sets out to analyze (1) the influential role of speech, (2) gender and identity, (3) dominance/difference, and (4) cross-gender oral communication in the Moroccan context using a homogenous convenience sample of Moroccan participants. This study falls within the scope of gender studies. Its major aim is to demonstrate the roles that mixed-gendered interlocutors can play in order to maintain effective communication. Therefore, their perceptions regarding interruptions, conversation dominance, turn-taking and choice of topics in conversations are analyzed. Different research instruments have been implemented to collect data including recordings of real-life conversational speech, classroom observation, and interviews. The findings indicate that gender-based differences permeate the conversational styles of both men and women across cultures and with divergent degrees of strength and expression. It has also been shown that although communication breakdown is a source of frustration, it remains a common phenomenon in social interactions. Therefore, overcoming difficulties in maintaining effective communication between members of different genders is dependent on the interlocutors’ belief that accepting difference in language and communication styles can make cross-gender communication a satisfactory social experience. This study is expected to raise awareness regarding the socialization processes the two sex groups have gone through which shape in substantial ways the way they speak, behave and interact among each other.

Female Discrimination in the Workplace: Skilled Communicators But Undermined Leaders

This literature review examines several studies related to differences in gender communication, gender perception, and the impact of workplace discrimination. Experimental studies on gender have revealed that women’s communication style is seen as genteel and empathetic while men’s communication styles are viewed as noisy and aggressive. And yet, people view leadership qualities as inherently more masculine than feminine. These differences are also reflected in leadership styles between men and women. The question remains if women display capable communication skills and leadership, why do discriminatory practices pervade in the workplace? Through a qualitative analysis of each paper, we draw the relationship between gender perceptions and workplace discrimination, including the lack of women in executive positions. A comparison between review articles helped to illustrate the differences in approach and similarity in results of pair of studies. Social theories presented in articles help to explain social phenomenons that undermine women. Concepts such as counter-stereotypical characteristics of women are discussed and the need for institutional policy enforcements is emphasized.

The phenomenon of “female erudition” in the works by German-language authors in the second half of the 18th century

The article focuses on analysis of some German philosophers and publicists’ views on the phenomenon of female erudition in the second half of the 18th century. In the present article, genetic closeness of the mentioned authors’ ideas to educational program by Jean-Jacques Rousseau is stressed. The author makes attempts to put the phenomenon of female erudition in the wide context that included such issues as functioning of equal cross-gender communication in the frameworks of «mixed societies», crucial tends of female education development, key features of reading culture in the German-speaking space in the period under review, as well as enlightened discourse on the rights and duties of women in the second half of the 18th century.

Emotional-Expressive Vocabulary Through the Prism of Gender Research (on the Material of Spanish Fiction Texts)

The article is devoted to the description of gender specifics of the use of emotionallyexpressive vocabulary in a literary text on the basis of communicative behavior of a female character and a male character. The article provides an overview of the history of gender research in linguistics and gender differences in language behavior. The definition of the concept of "emotionally expressive vocabulary" is also considered. The purpose of the study is to try to describe the use of emotionally expressive vocabulary depending on the gender of the speaker. Definitions such as "gender", "emotional vocabulary" and "expressive vocabulary" are given. Gender stereotypes of femininity and masculinity, the social roles of women and men, their pattern of behavior, as well as the asymmetry of social relations between men and women are reflected in their communicative behavior. Thus, stereotypes of female and male behavior affect the features of emotional communicative behavior. The main content of the theory of linguist R. Lakoff, the theory of dominance of B. Thorne and D. Cameron, D. Tannen are outlined. The study allowed us to state that communicative behavior in men and women has characteristic differences, in particular the means of its expression. The main differences in gender communication are identified, namely: conversation, status positions, sphere of communication, etc. Thus, emotionally expressive vocabulary is characteristic of both male and female speech. However, the means of its actualization differ. Emotionality in women is diverse (epithets, metaphors, exclamations, suffixes), and this can be explained by the fact that women's speech is more emotionally represented, while men's speech is less emotionally rich.