TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LETTERS SPECIALIZATION: ENGLISH ROMANIAN

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
GENDER DIFFERENCES REGARDING THE USE OF LANGUAGE (MEN vs. WOMEN)

GTEJ KARINA-MONICA 2ND YEAR, ER

Coordinating Professor: GABRIELA CUSEN

2013

A. INTRODUCTION 1. TOPIC DESCRIPTION The topic of this research is concentrated on the main differences between women and men with regards to their communication skills and the use of language. This subject has been one of the most interesting ones for the specialists, because there are significant differences between the two genders that can be observed from daily activities to the leadership positions and way of controlling and leading others. Since the emancipation of women, they have been trying to become equal to men and to prove that they can achieve at least as much as them. Succeeded or not, what is clear is that no matter the purpose, the methods are always different. From a psychological point of view, men and women differ, from the style in which they communicate, to the type of persuasion they try to have over the others. These gender differences in communication and influence tactics also have an impact on the leadership skills of women vs. men. (Merchant, p. 18) Another vision on the differences between men and women is expressed by GuoRui: there is a tiny difference between sex and gender. Sex indicates the biological characteristics of men and women, while gender describes more the cultural or social characteristics of these two variables. (GuoRui, 2009) A famous writer for its literature on differences in communication styles across gender is Deborah Tannen (Tannen, p. 77):
For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships ... For most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order.

She found that these differences across gender start at a young age. She noticed that boys create relationships through common activities while girls create close relationships by simply talking; talk is the essence of intimacy (Tannen, 1990) . We can easily observe that this approach has been treated in the specialized literature from different point of views, and the most important detail when realizing a research proposal, is the angle from which we want to see the subject. What questions do we want to answer? There are two main bodies of research on gender differences in communication styles, academic research

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and popular literature. Academic research highlights the major differences in conversation characteristics while the popular research points out the major differences in conversation styles. Overall, women are expected to use communication to enhance social connections and relationships while men use language to enhance dominance. (Leaper, 1991)

2. HYPOTHESIS Communication characteristics and styles are highly influenced by the gender of the subjects. Q1: Which are the differences between communication styles of men and women? Q2: Which are the differences between communication characteristics and traits of men and women?

B. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1. METHODS: In order to understand better the implications of the gender over the language use, there has been collected data from available sources and put together. The specialized literature has been the main driver of this research proposal, because the subject was well studied by a large number of specialized interested parties. There have been different approaches that summed up, concentrate the same information seen from different point of views. Also, Ive decided to collect data during two weeks of observation (June 9th June 23rd) between men and women language use on the well-known social media channel: Facebook. 2. INSTRUMENTS: Specialized Research regarding Men and Women language use; Facebook 3. INFORMANTS: There have been different approaches used in the specialized literature, from children respondents to adults, obviously spit between men and women, boys and girls. The respondents have been kept anonymous, and they have been studied closely over a significant period of time. Different behaviours have been analyzed by different famous authors. Regarding the Facebook data, an amount of 50 persons (women & men) has been studied during a period of two weeks. Their language use and communication skills have been observed without any announcement made to the implicated subjects.

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4. DATA Observing the conversation on a daily basis between two or more persons there can be identified the gender of each participant at the conversation. When talking to opposite sex, men tend to impress while women are looking for extra attention. We can say it is actually a harmonization between the two styles; women and men have their own spots that they will fill in in any situation. In a group, men tend to attract all the attention while the latter ones just want to be around the loves ones, the person they know, with which they can share their experiences and stories. Also, it is observable that either on the internet or in a real-life situation, men are more humorous and open, while the opposite sex is more charismatic and enigmatic. You can also identify the gender of the participants by analyzing the so called emoticons or smiley faces. Women tend to use more emoticons than men (for example the kiss emoticon :*, heart , or the smiley face and others) of course this action is influenced by the age also. The data in the above part of the research has been encoded in the written language and its source is the electronic one (social media channel). As mentioned above the subjects have been studied independently or grouped without being aware (in this way not being able to modify their behaviour in order to change the results more accurate results). The other set of data is originated from specialized literature. A set of women & men has been analyzed and studied in regards to different situations and characteristics; public speaking, job appliances, group meetings, leadership positions, are just some of the situations in which the subjects have been studied.

C. CONCLUSION 1. RESULTS OF ANALYSIS There is a remarkable difference between women and men when it comes to the language use. During time, they have been studied together or separately, but even though we were all aware of this difference offered by the gender of humans, this research proposal has offered me a better understanding of the social skills that women and men share or not. Even from the old times, men have been considered better leaders than women. Why? Women have been considered to be more understanding and able to listen while men have been solution makers. Who talks the most? Who interrupts? What about gender patterns in formal group meetings?
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2. INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

A1: The main differences that Gray identifies between communication styles of men and women are indicated as followed: Men are goal-oriented; their sense of self is defined by their ability to achieve their goals, their limits. (Gray, 1992). On the other hand, women are relationshiporiented; their sense of self is defined by the quality of their relationships and by their feelings (Gray, 1992). Regarding the stress coping, men withdraw themselves from the conversation while women feel better by talking about what is causing their stress. Men prefer to act in ignorance and change the subject, while women like sharing and expressing their feelings. If we look at the communication style when resolving a crisis, men tend to offer solutions; women are more empathic and feel the need to offer unsolicited advices. These natural

tendencies give as an ample view over the reactions that women and men have in different situations and which are their natural impulses and reflexes when meeting a conflict.

A2: Regarding the communication characteristics and traits: women tend to be more polite, social, and expressive; men are more assertive and dominant. Men and women not only differ in the way they communicate but also in the way they try to influence each other. Overall, these gender differences across influence tactics help explain why gender differences in leadership styles exist, as ones ability to influence his/her followers is a primary goal of any leader. These psychological gender differences in communication styles and influence tactics have created a set of stereotypes dictating what is expected from men and women in the workplace.

In conclusion we can say that men and women have different characteristics and communication styles, but before we look at the differences we should realize that there is enormous diversity in communication style and practices within each gender group. Most women and many men have at their disposal a variety of conversational and speech skills, any one of which they may draw upon, depending on the situation, their purposes, the roles they are playing, and the context.

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D. REFERENCES
Gray. (1992). Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: A practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in a Relationship. New York: HarperCollins. GuoRui. (2009). Language - a newspaper survey. Kristianstad University. Leaper. (1991). Influence and Involvement in Children'sdiscourse: age, gender, and partner effect. Child Development. Merchant. (2012). How men and women differ: Gender Differences in Communication Styles, Influence Tactics, and Leadership Styles. Claremont: Claremont McKenna College. Tannen. (1990). You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. http://www.towson.edu/itrow/index.asp

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