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Genderlect Styles

Deborah Tannen

Chapter 33
Cultural Context—Gender and Communication

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Theory Overview

Abstracts appear in Appendix A of the 7th Edition

Male-female conversation is cross-cultural communication. Masculine and feminine styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or superior ways of speaking. Men's report talk focuses on status and independence; women's rapport talk seeks human connection. (Semiotic and socio-cultural traditions)

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