LANGUAGE AND GENDER – CONVERSATION RITUALS. A CASE STUDY
LANGUAGE AND GENDER – CONVERSATION RITUALS. A CASE STUDY

Summary/Abstract: Human languages, in all their forms (speech, writing, signs, etc.), are based on a fundamental constant: they vary depending on the context and the people involved. Just as space and time cannot be repeated or duplicated, so human interactions are unique. The principle of difference defines all spheres of human activity, the concept of identity being purely theoretical and not applicable in reality. Although these differences can be observed starting from the cellular level, we do not need to be experts in biology to understand how the world is structured. We just have to look around and notice. In the 1920s, labov was writing about the differences and variables one can find in languages, and in recent decades, sociolinguists have deepened his theories and found that those variables are dictated not only by culture, age, religion, education, or environment, but also by gender. According to them, people speak differently also because they are biologically different. Considering that the notion of gender is extremely important for our times and that communication is one of the defining components of society, we shall try in the paper to present the gender differences in language and to exemplify them.

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