4. Speech Differences of Men and Women
According to Coates in Xu, 2009: 6 women and men have a tendency for developing different communicative competence. Women, for instance, tend to use
speech style which functions to support other speakers and show their solidarity to the others. On the opposite, men use competitive styles in showing their individuality
and emphasizing the hierarchical relationship in society. In addition, Poynton 1989
: 69 states that the differences between men’s and women’s speech in terms of linguistic features are presented in three linguistic
structures. Those are discourse, lexicogrammar and phonology. In the level of discourse, Poynton 1989: 88 mentions that there are six features. Those are
interruption, switching pause, topic choice, back-channel choice, speech acts choice, and initiating conversation. In the level of grammar, the differences are classified by
rank such as clause, group and word. In the level of phonology, the differences are realized into two variants namely phonological and intonation. This research focuses
on the discourse stratum since it implicates the conversational structure of conversation.
a. Interruption
Interruption is defined as the act that occurs when a speaker starts to speak before the previous speaker finishes her or his last words. In this case, interruption is
categorized as a vio lation act in a speaker’s turn because this act is used as a way for
exercising power and control in a conversation Zimmerman and West, 1983: 103. However, some critical researchers find that interruption is also used to show support
and solidarity. This statement is supported by Greenwood in Tannen 1994: 60 who
states that interruption is a sign of social comfort in conversation. In this case, interruption does not only refer to a negative act, but also a positive one. In relation
to language and gender, the occurrence of interruption is found more often in men’s
speech rather than women’s in mixed-sex conversation Zimmerman and West, 1975:
116.
b. Switching pause
The process of conversation occurs when there is a speech exchange of the speakers Sacks et al in Zimmerman and West, 1975: 107. It means that the speaker
should follow a rule that only one person speaks at a time and another speaker becomes the hearer. The process between one exchange and the next is marked by a
switching pause. In relation to language and gender, Poynton 1989: 89 states that this style is commonly
found in white male’s speech rather than white female’s in mixed-sex dyads. On the contrary, Zimmerman and West 1975: 118 argue that the
pause is found more in female conversational segment in the mixed-sex conversation rather than men.
c. Topic choice
As fulfilling different social roles, in conversation men and women might have different interest to talk about. According to Moore in Bischoping 1993: 1
men and women are different in terms of topic choices. Women are commonly talking about the persons of the opposite sex, or about clothes, building and interior
decoration in the same-sex conversation. On the other hand, the topic of money, business or amusement occurs in men
’s conversation.
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