Gender Differences in English Syntax (Linguistische Arbeiten)

Description

The present book provides the most comprehensive account so far of gender differences in syntax. It is an in-depth corpus-based study of syntactic variation in the use of adverbial clauses and tag questions. Written in a broadly functional framework, it pays due attention to the interaction of gender with other internal (semantics, syntax, prosody) and external (style, power, surreptitiousness, group composition) determinants. This volume is essential reading for those interested in language and gender and in how functionalism can be brought to bear in illuminating language structure and use. 1. Introduction 1.1. Subject of Investigation 1.2. Four Principles of Gender Differences in Language 1.3. Tag Questions 1.4. Adverbial Clauses 1.5. Structure of the Book 2. Theoretical Preliminaries and Hypotheses 2.1. Functional Syntax 2.2. Syntactic Variation 2.3. Theories of Gender Differences 2.4. Hypotheses 3. Methodology 3.1. Statistical Testing in Previous Research 3.2. The Data 3.3. Methodological Preliminaries 3.4. Tokens as Common Denominator 3.5. Significance Levels 4. Syntactic Variation According to Sex: Tag Questions 4.1. Definition of Tag Questions 4.2. Tag Questions According to Gender 4.3. Formal Classification of Tag Questions 4.4. Functional Classifications of Tag Questions 4.5. Summary 5. Syntactic Variation According to Sex: Finite Adverbial Clauses 5.1. Definition of Finite Adverbial Clauses 5.2. Syntactic Functions of Adverbial Clauses 5.3. Semantic Functions of Adverbial Clauses 5.4. Adverbial Clauses According to Sex 5.5. Bidirectionality of Adverbial Clauses 5.6. Continuing and Final Intonation 5.7. Functional Differentiation of Adverbial Clauses 6. External Determinants Co-Extensive with Sex 6.1. Style 6.2. Power 6.3. Group Composition 6.4. Surreptitiousness 6.5. Other Factors 7. Explaining the Findings: Why Women and Men Talk Differently 7.1. Semantic Aspects Underlying the Gendered Distribution of Finite Adverbial Clauses 7.2. Positional Aspects Underlying the Gendered Distribution of Finite Adverbial Clauses 7.3. Gender and Turn-Allocation 7.4. Functional Aspects Underlying the Gendered Distribution of Tag Questions and Finite Adverbial Clauses 7.5. The Relation between Gender and other External Factors 7.6. Implications of a Status Explanation of Gender Differences 8. Conclusion References