Cambridge Topics in English Language Language and Gender

Essential study guides for the future linguist.

Felicity Titjen (Author), Dan Clayton (General editor), Marcello Giovanelli (General editor)

9781108402170, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 January 2018

122 pages
22.4 x 15.3 x 0.6 cm, 0.2 kg

Essential study guides for the future linguist. Language and Gender is an introduction to the English language as a vital, dynamic force in understanding gender. It is suitable for students at advanced level and beyond. Written with input from the Cambridge English Corpus, it looks at the way English has adapted – through words, meanings and grammar – to represent different views and beliefs about gender. Using short activities to help explain analysis methods, this book guides students through major modern issues and concepts. It summarises key concerns and modern findings, while providing inspiration for language investigations and non-examined assessments (NEAs) with research suggestions.

1. Historical perspectives: 1.1. Introduction: the gender debate
1.2. The 'deficit' approach
1.3. The variationist approach to gender study
1.4. The 'dominance' approach
1.5. The 'difference' approach
1.6. The 'diversity' approach
1.7. Gendered language: censorship or correction
1.8. The 'performance' approach
1.9. Recognising and celebrating diverse identities
1.10. Conclusion
2. Language and gender: 2.1. Introduction
2.2. Defining gender: it's all in the name
2.3. Male firstness: word order and generic terms
2.4. Marking gender
2.5. Patterns and metaphors
2.6. Cleaning up language
2.7. Conclusion
3. Gender and representation: 3.1. Introduction
3.2. Exploring gender and discourse
3.3. Semiotics: Signs and gender
3.4. Representing gender through metaphor
3.5. Gender and power
3.6. Gender and social actor representation
3.7. Different discourses about gender
3.8. Gender representation in the media: health magazines
3.9. Gender and argumentation theory
3.10. Gender representation in corpus data: talking and writing about sports people
3.11. Conclusion
4. Gender and identity: 4.1. Introduction
4.2. Identity in discourse: socially constructed selves in private talk
4.3. Exploring identity and masculinities
4.4. Identity and constructing selves through phonological choices
4.5. Occupational talk: conveying a gendered identity in the workplace
4.6. Social constructing self: performing gender in public and written contexts
4.7. Performing and constructing gender identity in a modern world
4.8. Conclusion
5. Exploring gender: applying research methods to data: 5.1. Introduction
5.2. Creating your own research project
5.3. Finding spoken data
5.4. Analysing conversations and making transcripts
5.5. Reading about language and gender
5.6. Acknowledging your sources
5.7. Practising decision-making
5.8. Conclusion
Ideas and answers
References.

Subject Areas: Educational: English language & literacy [YQC], Educational material [YQ], Linguistics [CF]