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7. Women in the Profession
The difference approach to language and gender presupposes the existence of differences in men
’s and women’s linguistic behavior. According to Tannen 1990, women and men, like members of different cultural groups, learn different
communicative styles because of the segregated girls’ and boys’ peer groups they play in as children.
Freed and Greenwood’s experimental conditions point out that the speech
style produces in this context to be concomitantly “gendered” as feminine. According to Coates 1988, women may be more likely to be found in contexts symbolically
associated with femininity and men, likewise symbolically associated with masculinity. Freed 1996
points out “an experimental setting puts women and men in symmetrical social relations, performing identical tasks, elicited in the women and
men the same kind of talk ” p.317.
Based on McElhinny’s 1995 study of the interactional styles of male and female, police officers in Pittsburgh offer a particular striking example of such a
setting. McElhinny notes that “in moving into a masculine workplace, female police officers did not adopt an empathetic and warm interactional style associated with
many traditionally workplace e.g., nursing, secretarial work, social work, as might be expected; rather they appropriate a masculine identity in dealing with the public
1995: p.317”. Moreover, McElhiny argues that women in the police force adopted a “bureaucratic” interactional style, a rational, emotionless, and efficient interactional
style associated with masculinity. The women of the police officer drew upon an
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emotionless and hyper-rational interaction style associated with male and masculine workplace.
McElhinny 1995 also points out that women are able to create a space for themselves in a largely masculine workplace by challenging “the hegemonic
definition of a police officer and of working-class masculinity and orienting to an alternative kind of masculinity
” p.318. By looking at some theories which claim women language as inferior, women want to prove that they are able to be like men.
B. Theoretical Framework
In this part, this study explains the theories that were used to analyze the problem formulations of this study. All major theories are summarized and
synthesized. It also explains the reason why the theories are needed and how this study will apply the theories in the analysis.
Women have their own features in the way they speak. In society, women are expected to be polite, indirect, and emotive in communication. Therefore, women
have their special features which are called as women’s language. In order to answer research question number one, the researcher applied Lakoff’s theory. Lakoff 1975
states that there are several women’s language features, including lexical hedge or filler, intensifier, emphatic stress, tag question, rising intonation on declaratives,
‘empty’ adjectives, precise color terms, ‘hypercorrect’ grammar, ‘superpolite’ forms, and avoidance of strong swear word. Women tend to use those features to reinforce
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