Gender and Discourse (Hardcover, New)

In attempt to defend and expand upon her theories of miscommunication between men and women, sociolinguist Tannen provides the scholarly underpinnings of her 1990 bestseller, You Just Don't Understand. The material included in these five previously published and ponderous essays differs from Tannen's earlier book primarily in that it is addressed to a jury of her academic peers. Jargon abounds throughout, from terms like "kinesic/proxemic analogue" to "the polysemy of power and solidarity." However, the central ideas are quite familiar: Pervasive miscommunication between men and women is due, in large part, to a complex set of "cross-cultural" and stylistic differences; though men do tend to dominate women in society, their domination of women in conversation is not necessarily born of an intent to dominate; linguistic strategies (such as interruption) can mean different things in different instances; and understanding style differences allows for adjustments without casting blame on either gender. Also repeated are many of the studies and examples Tannen cites elsewhere (Marianne and Johan's conversational strategies in Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage; videotaped dialogues between eight pairs of same-sex friends). Tannen is at her most interesting (and original) in the introduction, in which she elaborately defends her own "culture difference theory and research." Responding primarily to her scholarly critics who see gender and language according to models of power and dominance, rather than cultural differences, she insists that one does not preclude the other. Though she does not convince so much as pique interest in the debates raging in her field, this is one of the book's more compelling sections. This may offer intrepid Tannen fans or academicians worthy bits of information and insight, but general readers are likely to find little reward in this dense tome. (Kirkus Reviews)

Tannen collects five of her published essays on gender and language, which provide a background as well as a response to her bestselling You Just Don't Understand (1990). She adds an introduction that discusses the surprising reactions to that book and explains how these essays deal with the questions raised by the book's critics.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	October 1994
First published:	July 1994
Authors:	Deborah Tannen (Professor of Linguistics)
Dimensions:	244 x 162 x 21mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	216
Edition:	New
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-508975-2
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Semantics (meaning) > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gender studies > General Promotions
LSN:	0-19-508975-8
Barcode:	9780195089752

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