He’s a man and she’s a woman: A Conversation Analysis on Linguistic Gender differences

Abstract

This study used a conversation analysis design guided by a questionnaire adopted from Rowe and Levine (2015) to assess the linguistic gender differences of male and female. Three pairs of interactants of varied age group, children, teens, and adults, were observed as they engaged in dyadic conversations. Interactants chose the topic of their choice to give the conversation a natural and smooth flow. Age, gender and physical appearance were noted to describe the profile of interactants and to find out how these would possibly influence their dyadic encounters. Elements of communication such as number of interruptions, clarifications, reference to past and future events, and initiators were noted. Social aspect of communication relating to speech acts were also observed since this would show similarities and differences between male and female interactants. One of the conclusions reached in this study was age and physical appearance had no impact since each pair of interactants belonged to the same age group and all interactants were physically fair. Gender differences, however, were manifested in the varied communication elements as well as in the social aspects of communication, particularly in speech acts.