Gender roles in language acquisition Essay

We reprimand our daughters for world bossy and praise our paroles for channeliseing such assertiveness. These were the sen sentencents expressed during Sheryl Sandburg book promotion snag in early 2013. Mrs Sandberg is largely evaluate as one of the well-nigh successful fe manlike businessperson in modern society. During her many lectures and donnish interviews she essentially cited her success as the result of going against the sexuality average for women. Although specifically referring to the business world, does Sheryl have a point? Are we reinforcing gender roles in the vernacular communication we promote and discourage our children to habit?It is largely accepted across both lingual and psychology fields that girls develop their nomenclature skill in understands, quantity, quality and range of expression acquired at an front age and faster rate than their male counterparts.A very upstart study by Rikard Bauman in 2010 (Stockholm University Press) explored voc abulary growth and diction outturn in pre-school children. It is suggested that at 22 months girls have a more than than(prenominal)(prenominal) enormous vocabulary than boys due to capacity differences however, at 34 months such a pattern cannot be piece. Furthermore it is suggested that gender affects verbiage fruit in the sense that male and female speakers will prefer to produce boys that ar associated with their cultures definition of masculinity and womanhood.The study on vocabulary growth is based on the assumption that TTR (type/token ratio) reflects vocabulary size and it proves that, at 22 months, girls have a more big vocabulary than boys however, at 34 months such a pattern is less(prenominal) obvious, if any destruction can be drawn it is that boys have a slightly larger vocabulary than girls. The study on language production is foc using upd on verb production and it shows that boys andgirls prefer verbs that are associated with common stereotypes of m asculinity and femininity.It debatems that these gender tubercles are not unique to the English language or the Western world as Found when examining the Nipponese language. according to Eleanor Harz Jorden, when discipline language in Japan children learn that there are few words and whatever grammatical constructions that are associated explicitly with men or boys, magical spell new(prenominal)s are associated with women or girls. Such differences are nearlytimes called gendered language. In Nipponese, idiom patterns associated with women are referred to as onna kotoba (womens words) or joseigo , womens language).In general, the words and saving patterns associated with men are seen as rough, vulgar, or abrupt, while those associated with women are considered more polite, more deferential, or softer. about linguists consider the rough/soft continuum more accurate than the male/female continuum. For example, Eleanor Harz Jorden in Nipponese The Spoken phraseology re fers to the styles as blunt/gentle, sort of than male/female. There are no gender differences in indite Nipponese (except in quoted speech), and al intimately no differences in polite speech (teineigo), since males take on softer speech, except for the fact that women whitethorn be more likely to use polite speech in the first place.The word onnarashii , which is usually translated as ladylike or woanthropoid, refers to the behaviour pass judgment of a typical Japanese woman. As well as behaving in situation ways, being onnarashii means conforming to particular styles of speech. Some of the features of womens speech include speaking in a higher register, using more polite forms and using polite speech or honorifics in more situations, and referring to themselves and those they address more nutly. Some linguistic features commonly associated with women include negligence of the copula da, the use of personal pronouns such as watashi or atashi among others, use of feminine sent ence-final particles such as wa, na no, kashira, and mashoo, and the more frequent use of the honorific prefixes o and go.According to Katsue Akiba Reynolds, ladylike speech is instrumental in keeping Japanese women in traditional roles and reflects Japanese societys archetype of the difference between women and men.4 For example, there is the potential for conflict for women in the workplace in that, to be onnarashii, a woman moldiness speak politely, submissively and humbly, yet to command respect as a superior, she must be assertive, self-assured, and direct, even when dealing with male subordinates. Actual language utilize by Japanese-speaking women differs from these ideals. Such onnarashii speech is a norm that institutions such as education and media encourage women to adopt. Similarly, these forms may be prescribed for women learners by Japanese textbooks and other materials.There are, however various deviations from these norms in confabulation. Although Japanese women m ay not follow the gender norm in speech, some linguistic studies indicate that Japanese women tend to use more honorific language than men do, which reinforces the idea of onnarashii and traditional gender roles.5 Traditional characteristics of Japanese mens speech editJust as there are modes of speaking and behaviour that are considered intrinsically feminine, there are in addition those that are considered intrinsically virile. In speech, being otokorashii (manly or virile) means speaking in a lower register, using fewer polite forms and using them in fewer situations, and using intrinsically masculine words.Research on Japanese mens speech shows greater use of neutral forms, forms not potently associated with masculine or feminine speech, than is seen in Japanese womens speech. Scholars argue that men use typically masculine forms to assert their own authority and knowledge of themselves. Some studies of conversation between Japanese men and women show neither gender victori ous a more dominant position in interaction. Men, however, tend to show a self-oriented conversation style, telling stories and expressing their expertise on topics being discussed, than is typical of women in these studies.Gender differences in modern society - As women gain an increasing leadership role in Japanese society, notions of onnarashisa and otokorashisa, that is, what is deemed assume behaviour for men and women, have evolved over time. Although comparatively more total movements call for the elimination of gender differences in the Japanese language (gender-neutral language), crossroad in usage is considered unlikely and may not even be desirable. Instead, trends in actual usage indicate that women are feeling more comfortable using traditional characteristics of female speech (such as wa) while still maintaining an assertive attitude on par with men. In other words, there is a gradual decoupling of language forms and traditional cultural expectations.Although the ch aracteristics of Japanese male speech have been largely unaffected, there has been an increasing aesthesia regarding certain usages (such as changing the terms used to refer to grow women -chan) that may be considered offensive. Regional dialect may lots consort a role in the expression and perception masculinity or femininity of speech in Japanese. Another recent phenomenon influencing established femininity in speech is the usuality of Okama, very feminine men as popular Geinoujin (television personalities). While homosexuality and transgenderism is still a fairly taboo overcome in Japan, lesbians with male traits, or cross-dressers, are referred to as onabe or tachi. Problems for Japanese learners editWithout the proper instruction by fluent Japanese speakers and/or teachers, non-native persons fortune learning and expressing themselves inappropriately to native Japanese. Compounding the difficulty of language achievement, formal instruction may emphasise learning the pol ite forms of expression (that favour female students) while glossing over informal expression (that favour male students) and honorifics (distinguishes natives from foreigners).It is important for non-natives to be instructed by members of the same sex or be aware that mere mimicry may not have the expected results. In addition to the use of pronouns to refer to oneself and others, the use of titles similarly is strongly influenced by gender-based overtones and is another source of potential problems for the non-native speaker. The situation is further perplex by regional variation. For example, in many regions of Japan it is common for elder men to refer to themselves as boku or older women to refer to themselves as ore.How does this relate to language spoken in the Western world? assent is, as is often the case, divided.AGAINST1) other major influencesMahsa Saligheh Revisiting Age and GenderInfluence in sustain Language Acquisition 2012 states, There is no doubt that langu age learning process is a complex process which involves several factors, and that this process is extremely influenced due to plasticity of the forefront. Furthermore, the types of memory systems involved in females and males are also have a pivotal role that makes the genders distinct. The researchers claim, age and gender, are among the factors that cause in parallel with other factors that deeply influence language acquisition process such as motivation, personality, styles, strategies, gender and age.The present study attempts to go over the last two factors age and gender. Given the importance placed on the role on age and gender, the researchers hold they are not the unavoidable conditions for second language acquisition. However, the writers claim that genetically there are some benefits that can be reaped for those who begin L2 acquisition early. Furthermore, both males and females are fit with some predetermined tendencies that would be helpful for them to acquire s ome aspects of language much faster and easier.2) biological basisMar. 5, 2008 Although researchers have long concur that girls have superior language abilities than boys, until now no one has intelligibly provided a biological basis that may account for their differences.For the first time and in unambiguous findings researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Haifa show both that, areas of the brain associated with language work harder in girls than in boys during language tasks, and that boys and girls rely on incompatible parts of the brain when performing these tasks. Our findings which suggest that language treat is more sensorial in boys and more abstract in girls could have major implications for teaching children and even provide support for advocates of single sex classrooms, give tongue to Douglas D. Burman, research associate in Northwesterns Roxelyn and Richard Pepper surgical incision of Communication SciencesThe researchers measured brain a ctivity (using functional magnetic sonorousness imaging) in 31 boys and in 31 girls aged 9 to 15 as they performed spelling and writing language tasks. The tasks were delivered in two stunning modalities visual and auditory. When visually presented, the children read certain words without earreach them. Presented in an auditory mode, they heard words aloud but did not see them. Using a complex statistical model, Burman and Pepper accounted for differences associated with age, gender, type of linguistic judgment, performance accuracy and the method (written or spoken) in which words were presented. The researchers found that girls still showed significantly greater activation in language areas of the brain than boys.The study in the tasks got through to girls language areas of the brain (areas associated with abstract thought through language). And their performance accuracy correlated with the degree of activation in some of these language areas. To their astonishment, however , this was not the case for boys. Boys accurate performance when learning words depended on how hard visual areas of the brain worked. In audience words, boys performance depended on how hard auditory areas of the brain worked. If that pattern extends to language processing that occurs in the classroom, it could inform teaching and testing methods.Given boys stunning approach, boys might be more effectively evaluated on knowledge gained from lectures via vocal tests and on knowledge gained by reading via written tests. For girls, whose language processing appears more abstract in approach, these different testing methods would appear unnecessary. peerless possibility is that boys have some kind of bottleneck in their stunning processes that can hold up visual or auditory information and keep it from being fed into the language areas of the brain, Burman said.This could result simply from girls maturation faster than boys, in which case the differences between the sexes might disappear by adulthood. Or, an alternative explanation is that boys create visual and auditory associations such that meanings associated with a word are brought to mind simply from seeing or hearing the word. While the second explanation puts males at a disadvantage in more abstract language function, those kinds of sensory associations may have provided an evolutionary advantage for primitive men whose survival required them to quickly cognize danger-associated sights and sounds.If the pattern of females relying on an abstract language network and of males relying on sensory areas of the brain extends into adulthood (a still unresolved question) it could explain why women often provide more context and abstract representation than men. Ask a woman for directions and you may hear something like Turn left on Main Street, go one block past the drug store, and indeed turn right, where theres a flower shop on one corner and a cafe across the street. Such information-laden directions may be helpful for women because all information is relevant to the abstract concept of where to turn however, men may require only one inspire and be distracted by additional information.ConclusionAlongside most if not all empirical and theoretical evidence involving human beings it is hopeless to make concrete and definite conclusions. Having extrapolated the information the most obvious conclusion can only deduceIs this only evident in childhood, does the distinction disappear by adulthood or was Sandberg right in stating that the office in language between the sexes continues through life.ReferencesBurman is primary author of end up Differences in Neural Processing of Language Among Children. Co-authored by James R. stand (Northwestern University) and Tali Bitan (University of Haifa).Jorden, Eleanor Harz Noda, Mari (1987). Japanese The Spoken Language. New Haven Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-03834-7.Siegal, Meryl Okamoto, Shigeko (2003). Toward reconceptualizing the teaching and learning of gendered speech styles in Japanese as a Foreign Language. Japanese Language and Literature 37 (1) 4966. Retrieved 2013-4-26.Kazuko, Ashizawa (1998). Mangajins Basic Japanese Through Comics.Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0452-2.Reynolds, Katsue Akiba (1990). Female Speakers of Japanese in Transition. Aspects of Japanese Womens Language (Tokyo Kurosio).Tanaka, Lidia (2004). Gender, Language and Culture A Study of Japanese television system Interview Discourse. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 978-90-272-3079-9.Sreetharan, Cindi Sturtz (2004). Students, sarariiman (pl.), and seniors Japanese mens use of manly speech register. Language in Society 33 (01). inside10.1017/S0047404504031045. ISSN 0047-4045. Itakura, Hiroko Tsui, Amy B. M. (2004). Gender and conversational dominance in Japanese conversation. Language in Society 33 (02). doi10.1017/S0047404504332033. ISSN 0047-4045.