nt styles, and found that the effect of gender on communication is miniscule compared to the effect of culture and socialization. In her research, Tannen asserts that the basic uses of conversation by women are to establish and support intimacy; while for men it is to acquire status. These styles and motives for communicating represent different cultural upbringings, and one is not necessarily better than the other. However, she also notes in her findings that men tend to interrupt more and ask questions less. In fact, the female tendency to ask more questions sometimes results in receiving lower grades from male professors who view frequent questioning as proof that a student knows less than her male counter parts.The theory that differences are fabricated early in a childs life and are not biological doesnt account for everything. David Cohen, in his article regarding Tannens findings points out a mystery in the connections she made. "Since women are primarily responsible for child-rearing and therefore disproportionately responsible for teaching the species to speak, when is it that boys learn to speak in the male style?"From a very early age, males and females are taught different linguistic practices. For example, communicative behaviors that are considered acceptable for boys may be considered completely inappropriate for girls. Whereas a boy might be permitted to use "rough" language, a girl in the same situation might be reminded to use her manners and be "lady-like" The research on women and language shows that women experience linguistic discrimination in two ways: in the way they are taught to use language, and in the way general language usage treats them. So, for example, women reflect their role in the social order by using tag questions, qualifiers, and fillers to soften what they have to say. Women exhibit their subordinate status through avoiding direct and threatening communication. While in recent years thi...
