again shows men’s language. It can be noticed by the expression of swear word
shit. Actually, the difference of using oh dear and shit is only a matter of the
choice of particle. It shows “how strongly one allows oneself to feel about something.” Lakoff and Bucholtz, 2004:44. It can be assumed that the strength
of emotions lies in the strength of the particle.
c. Gossip
Gossiping is talking about one’s private lives, but it can show a way to express solidarity between speakers and listeners. It shows
that “gossip conveys information about people, events, or attitudes as well as serving the cohesive
social function of emphasizing membership of the in-group and reinforcing solidarity between contributors
” Holmes, 1995:4. It is also explained that gossip is to “affirm solidarity and maintain the social relationship” Holmes, 1992:331.
As stated in the previous section, McDonald, Putallaz, Grimes, Kupersmidt, and Coie 2007:390 explore the topics of gossip. Those are physical
characteristics, personal characteristics, behavior, sexuality, or peer associations. In this case, physical characteristics include appearance, clothes, or hygiene.
Personal characteristics refer to individual traits, like intelligence, ethnicity, religion, or family. Then, behavior represents actions or behavior, including social
skills, abilities, specific actions, and morals. Sexuality refers to sexual interests or sexual behavior. The last topic shows group associations, or group membership.
Women and men might have different topics to gossip. It is stated that gossip is “women’s interest in talking about one’s lives” Tannen, 1990:96. Moreover, it
is explained that women like to talk about “trivial topics and gibberish” Aries,
1996:164. In addition, it shows that “women’s gossip focuses on personal
experiences and personal relationships, on personal problems and feelings ”
Holmes, 1992:331. The topics might include criticism of the behavior, but women tend to avoid criticizing people directly because it can make discomfort
feeling. Meanwhile, men are likely to talk about things and activities, rather than personal experiences and feelings. It is more on information and facts rather than
on feelings and reactions.
d. Interruption
Interrupting is stopping people’s talk for a short time. It is assumed that “interrupting is a violation of an individual’s right to speak and is therefore often
the privilege of the more powerful, while being interrupted is the fate of the less powerful
” Frank and Anshen, 1983:30. It means that interrupting is stopping a speaker’s turn aiming to dominate the talk in conversation. If listeners interrupt
speakers’ speech, it shows that the topic might not be interesting at all Holmes, 1995:51. Therefore, listeners might not care and listen about what speakers say
Tannen, 1990:189. In this case, men and women might have different stereotype. Frank and
Anshen 1983:30 describe that women do interrupt more than men do. However, supported by other researchers, “men interrupt women more often than the
reverse ” Holmes, 1995:51. By interrupting, men try to get more attention from
women, and vice versa. Moreover, it is also described that “interruption in same
sex is equally used between speakers, while men interrupt more than do women in cross-sex interaction
” Holmes, 1992:325. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
