Group 1

Huma

Hafee

z !!

Huma Aslam

!!

Kinza Ghafoor!!Sumai

ra Bibi!!

APPLIC

ATIO

N OF

LAKOFF

THEORY

ON ‘A DOLLS HOUSE’

‘Language and Gender’ refer to

the area of studies enclosed by

sociolinguistics

A BRIEF HISTORY OF GENDER AND LANGUAGE

• The early twentieth century,

research have been conducted in

the field of ‘linguistic

Anthropology’ which tends to

explore the differences between

men’s speech and women’s

speech.Recurrent point to be found

among the speakers of same social

status appears to be the use of

‘standard’ or ‘privileged’ language

features among the women and

the use of ‘lower’ or ‘vernacular’

language features by the men

• Concerning feminist researches in regard to the ability of male dominance in mixed gender talk,

• Observing the discriminating male and female utterance or speaking styles as women are normally found using more supportive or cooperative speaking styles.

• While men are more prone towards competitive style, so, the sexism or sexist bias can be identified in language.

THE FIELD WAS ALSO MARKED BY

VARYING POSITIONS, RETROSPECTIVELY

TERMED,

“DEFICIT”, “DOMINANCE; WHICH IS

USUALLY MALE”, “DIFFERENCES” LIKE

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATED WITH THE

DEFICIT POSITION SAW WOMEN’S

LANGUAGE USE AS DEFICIENT IN

VARIOUS WAYS.

THE DOMINANT POSITION OF MALE IS PERCEIVED AS BEING EMPHASIZED ON THE BASIS OF DIFFERENCES IN POWER BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE SPEAKERS;

THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCE POSITION MARKS MEN’S AND WOMEN’S LANGUAGE UTTERANCES AS CULTURALLY DIFFERENT BUT NOT UNEQUAL.

• The use of language among men and women has also been analyzed and interpreted in regard to politeness, where usually women are perceived as being linguistically more polite than men.

A well known linguist came up with an interest in the

features and characteristics of men’s and women’s

language which made her to observe social implications

of speech …….That will be elaborated by

ROBIN LAKOFF• Who Robin Lakoff was ?• Her work?• Lakoff formulated “Politeness Principle” In

three maxims ….don’t impose give options make one’s receiver feel good.

Lakoff assert that the language is

basic to gender inequalities and it

could play part to the deficiency of

women’s power in two areas;

The use of language about women

and

The languge used by women.

THE VITAL FEATURES WHICH DISTINGUISH WOMEN LANGUAGE

• ‘Hedging’ Which shows lack of authorities and uncertainty,• The use of super polite forms, • Use of hyper correct grammar and• Pronunciation especially using English prestige grammar and• Clear enunciation.

Features which distinguish women’s language from men’s language

tag questions like

“isn’t it?” or

“aren’t you?”

Speaking in italics and using more

intensifiers which means that intonation

emphasis becomes equal to underlining

words like ‘so’, ‘very’ or ‘quiet’.

Women use exaggerated intonation or stress for

emphasis which expresses uncertainty.

• Females are more prone towards using “empty adjectives”.

• Lackoff argues that a man appears to be more feminine if he uses such terms as ‘divine, lovely, adorable, delightful and sweetie’ as it hurts his masculine prestige.

• Females use “direct quotation while males paraphrase more often.

• Women use of questioning intonation in declarative statements

• Use of special lexicons is obvious in female speeches• Women speak less frequently• Women use indirect commands and requests

APPLICATION OF THEORY

Nora: “it cost about two hundred and fifty pounds, thats’ a lot, isn’t it?”At a place Mrs. Linde says to Nora,Linde: “oh, I see it was just about that time that he died, wasn’t it?”Nora: “you are proud, aren’t you…” At a place Nora addresses Dr. Rank Nora: “once

• Nora says: “let us do as you suggest Torvald, and then I shall have time to think what I am in want of that, is a very sensible plan, isn’t it?”

• Nora: “it will be splendid to have heaps of money and not need to have any anxiety, won’t it?”

• Mrs. Linde: “you spent a whole year in Italy, didn’t you?”• When Nora tells Mrs. Linde about the trip to Italy with

Helmer, she says: • in a way-that’s so, isn’t it, Dr. Rank?”

Hence from the above examples it is

proved that women use tag questions in

their speeches, but it is not true that

they use tag questions more than men

as the male character in the play are

also observed as using the questions in

their language.

CONTRADICTION

Helmer: “… and a big enough income it’s

delightful to think of, isn’t it?”

Another evident instance is of Krogstad’s

speech when he talks to Nora about

Mrs. Linde:

Krogstad: “she is a great friend of yours.

Isn’t she?”

He again uses the tag questions in

another speech

Krogstad: “haven’t you? I thought you

said yourself just now”.

Again at another place he says “didn’t

you?”

Use of more Intensifiers:

Linde: “and much, much older Nora” Nora: “perhaps a little older; very, very little, certainly not much.Another incidence from the text is:Mrs. Linde: “I quite understand, dear” Nora: “it was very bad of me”.

• Many of Nora’s other speeches

are evident of Lakoff’s claim like:

• “…I shall in a very short time be free

of the whole thing”

• “…and you certainly won’t keep you

post them”

• “Yes, indeed I am”

• “It is not so very late…”

• “…I look so nice …”

Similarly there are many Mrs. Linde’s speeches which explicitly exhibit this feature.

• Mrs.Linde:“…come in; we are quite alone…”

• Mrs.Linde: “is it too late now?”

• Mrs.Linde: “I understand very well…”

• Mrs.Linde: “and your husband came back quite well”

• Mrs.Linde: “quite so”. • At a place Nora asks

Mrs.Linde: • Nora: “how you have altered,

Christine” and Mrs. Linde replies as:

• Mrs. Linde: “yes I have indeed”.

• Lakoff says that women use more intensifiers but

the idea contradicts when it comes to the

application of the text as in the text the male

characters are also observed as using this feature

for instance Krogstad says to Nora

• “you will be so kind…” • Some other dialogues by male characters display intensifiers:• Krogstad: “I can quite understand that your friend is not very anxious

to expose herself to the chance of rubbing shoulders with me; and I quite understand, too…”

• Helmer: “…my dear Nora, you look so worn-out”.

Over Use Qualifiers:

EVIDENCES FROM TEXT

• Mrs. Linde: “ I see he lives

at the corner here”

• Mrs. Linde: “you don’t

recognize me I suppose”

• Mrs. Linde: “I thought your

maid said the gentleman

who arrived here just as I

did, was the doctor?”

• Mrs. Linde: “I believe he

was quite well off”

• Mrs. Linde: “I think I have the right

to be”• Mrs. Linde: “there is the bell;

perhaps I had better go”.

• Similarly, Nora also uses the ‘over

use qualifier’ as she says :

• Nora: “no, perhaps you were quite

right”• Nora: “I think so too”• Nora: “I think I have heard

something of the kind”• Nora :“I don’t know; I think there is

…”

MEN USING QUANTIFIERS IN TEXT …

• Dr. Rank: “I think I passed you on

the stairs”

• Helmer also says “a school friend

of my wife’s, I presume?”

• At a place Krogstad says:

• Krogstad: “…I suppose someone

forgot to shut it”.

• Krogstad : “I presume you can

give me a moment?

Questioning Intonation:

• Nora:“…then I will wrap it up in beautiful

gilt paper and hang it on the Christmas

tree. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

• Nora: “what! Have been snow balling? I

wish I had been there too!... what shall

we play at? Hide and seek?”

• Nora: “is it so long since we met? I

suppose it is”

• Nora: “you don’t mean that you will tell

my husband that I owe you money”

• Nora: “…but what would my assurances

have been worth against yours? That

was the wonderful thing that I hoped for

and fear”.

• Mrs. Linde: “how am I to thank you?”

• Mrs. Linde: “and your husband keeps

the key?”

Questioning Intonation Used by Male in Text

• Helmer: “but can’t we live here like a brother and sister?

• Krogstad: “I presume you can give me a moment”.

Model Constructions:

I SHOU

LD !!!

I WOULD !!!I COULD !!!

• Nora: “I ought to tell you that we had it from papa”• Nora: “you ought not to be more superior”• Nora: “he should not know my goodness, and can’t you understand

that? It was necessary he should have no idea…how much I should love to travel abroad…I told him that he ought to remember the condition I was in and that he ought to be kind and indulgent to me”

• Nora: “it’s something I should dearly love to say, if Torvald could hear me”

• Nora: “I should just love to say”• Nora: “…sometimes one has a tiny little bit of influence I should

hope”• Nora: “it would be perfectly infamous of you…and it would put me in

a horrible disagreeable position”• Nora: “how should I know?”• Nora: “you should have let it alone…”• Nora: “oh! You would not understand…” • Same feature is evident in Mrs. Linde speeches as well.• Mrs. Linde: ”there was a time when he would gladly do anything for

my sake”• Mrs. Linde: “I could do nothing else”• Mrs. Linde: “…we couldn’t wait for you”.

Lakoff thinks that only females are more inclined towards the use of model constructions while in the text the dialogues of

male characters contradict this idea as well

• Dr. Rank: “I won’t disturb you; I

would rather go into your wife”.

• Krogstad’s dialogues also support

this idea :

• Krogstad:“…I should advise you to

use your influence to prevent that”

• Krogstad:“I shouldn’t have thought

so”.

“WH-“ Imperatives:

• Lakoff is of the view that women use ‘wh’

imperatives in their speeches like “why don’t

you open the door”. An instance of it can be

taken from the play ‘A doll’s house’ from Nora

speech when she is talking to Mrs. Linde. Mrs.

Linde is looking for a room to live and Nora

wants to help her but she has got no free room

in her house so she replies to Mrs. Linde that:

• Nora: “what a pity it is we are short of space here; I am afraid it is impossible for us”.

• From the above example it can be analyzed that female convey the information in form of questions.

Empty Adjectives:

• Nora: “it is really wonderful”• Nora: “it’s wonderfully lovely”• Nora: “to have some fun at Christmas time, of course how

delightful!”• Nora: “It will be splendid to have heaps of money”• Nora: “but during the first week he overworked himself dreadfully”.• Nora: “He couldn’t stand it and fell dreadfully ill”• Nora: “it was a wonderfully beautiful journey…but it cost a

tremendous lot of money, Christine”• Nora: “…and I had my poor sick Torvald to look after”• Nora: “our beautiful happy home”• Nora: “it’s perfectly glorious to think that…”• Nora: “my sweet little baby doll!”.

HEDGES SEEMS TO BE..SORT OF …

• Nora: “…embroidery and that kind of thing”• Nora: “what should make you think I have any influence of that kind with

my husband?” • Nora: “So it seems”• Nora: “…but you must not read anything of that kind now”. • Mrs. Linde speeches also contain hedging:• Mrs. Linde: “… small household cares and that sort of thing...”• Mrs. Linde: “it seems to me imprudent…”• Mrs. Linde: “still I think the sick are those who most need taking care of”.

• The use of hedging by Nora and Mrs. Linde shows lack of certainty, power and authority. The use of hedging is also observed in the dialogues of the male characters of the play as Dr. Rank says:

• Dr. Rank: “yes the general opinion seems to be that it is necessary”.

• Dr. Rank: “yes, he has some sort of appointment there”.

• Krogstad says to Nora:• Krogstad: “…but every way

seems to be close to me after that”.

Women ‘Apologize’ More and Use More ‘Super Polite’ Forms:

• Nora: “excuse me, ma’am there is a gentleman to see

the master”

• Krogstad:“…I shall be obliged to remind you of few

details”.

• Helmer : “with great pleasure if you wish me to”

• Helmer : “I would gladly walk night and day for you”.

• The use of apologizing elements in the language are

also observable in male characters as phrases like ‘I beg

your pardon’ and ‘excuse me’ are frequently used.

CONCLUSION…..

THANK YOU MATES

!!!!