Deficit Approach

Lakoff - 1973

Use of particles
Empty adjectives
Tag Q.s
Rising intonation in declaratives
Politeness
Hedging
Hypercorrect grammar
Speak less
Indirect speech acts
Lack of humour

- 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

- Introspection as method
- Small sample
- Old study
- Only accepted as her findings agree with what society already knows about gender
- O'Barr and Atkins

- 1980
- Conducted investigation into WL in courtroom setting (witnesses only)
- 150 hours of data (not subjective like Lakoff)

- 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

Otto Jesperson 1922

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