Gender Differences in TV Talk Shows in Taiwan:A Sociolinguistic Study

Autor: Ching-Ju Liu, 劉靜孺
Rok vydání: 2005
Druh dokumentu: 學位論文 ; thesis
Popis: 93
The present study investigates gender differences in language in TV talk shows in Taiwan. In the study, amount of talk, hedges/fillers, tag questions, intensifiers, Southern Min, humorous expressions, polite forms and empty adjectives are analyzed to compare the linguistic patterns of males and females. In addition, accommodation theory is also examined to account for the variation in males’ and females’ linguistic behavior in different types of programs. The data of the present study consists of 12 clips of conversational programs from different TV stations, collected from TV programs videotaped in three months. The result of the study indicates that males’ and females’ linguistic patterns are distinct in many ways. As previous research has observed, on the average, males speak more than women in public contexts. Besides, they use more humorous expressions. Moreover, they also speak more Southern Min. By contrast, females use more hedges. However, some findings of the present study contradict those of the previous research. On the average males use more tag questions, polite forms and intensifiers, which are categorized as women’s linguistic features by Lakoff (1975). Such differences may be due to the different contexts and languages between the present study and the previous research. Furthermore, the finding of the present study shows that people vary their linguistic patterns as the speech contexts and interlocutors change. The accommodation of speech reflects the speakers’ wish for approval and identity from their interlocutors. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggest that linguistic difference does exist between males and females. It shows different patterns of speech style between men and women in the public sphere in Taiwan.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations
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