1Who and when was the Deficit Approach?
Lakoff - 1973
210 key features of WL (Lakoff)
Use of particles
Empty adjectives
Tag Q.s
Rising intonation in declaratives
Politeness
Hedging
Hypercorrect grammar
Speak less
Indirect speech acts
Lack of humour
3Deficit Approach: main assertions
- Women are taught to use a certain variety of language
- Women use deficit language due to their deficit position in society
- Language regulates women to subservient function (sex object and servant)
- Women are incapable of holding power in discourse
4Criticisms of Deficit Approach...
- Introspection as method
- Small sample
- Old study
- Only accepted as her findings agree with what society already knows about gender
- O'Barr and Atkins
5What did O'Barr and Atkins do and when?
- 1980
- Conducted investigation into WL in courtroom setting (witnesses only)
- 150 hours of data (not subjective like Lakoff)
6O'Barr and Atkins findings...
- A man used the most WL out of all 6 examples
- WL also applies to men
- More women used more WL
- Women who used less WL were well-educated, professional and middle-class
- Men who used lots WL held low-status jobs or were unemployed
- High courtroom experience = low WL
- WL should be renamed *Powerless Language*
- Women use PL more due to their powerless social status compared to men
7Minor theorist (deficit approach) and when?
Otto Jesperson 1922
87 key points from Otto Jesperson about women's language
Talk a lot
Use hyperbole
Smaller vocab than men
Use 1/2 finished sentences because they talk before they think
Repeated use of "and" for emotional, not grammatical reasons
Shrink from gross expressions
Debilitating effect on language