You Are What You Say

You are what you say
 
*As Robin Lakoff shows, the sex based differences can be found in many examples such as how women use tag questions, the euphemisms used to describe women, and the double standards reflected in certain pairs of term.(eg* master: mistress)
*In this essay Lakoff* shows the gender discrimination through language. She *tells about the social implications of differences in men and women’s use of speech.** **She analysed the links between language, gender and power in her essay, where she questions who holds the power and how they use it*.* *Lakoff* argued that language is fundamental to gender inequality and it could contribute to the lack of women’s power in two areas- Language used about women and the language used by women.** **Lakoff* claimed that there were* certain features of women’s language that gave the impression women are weaker and less certain than men are.*  
*Women’s language can be distinguished in a number of ways. One of them is ‘tag question’. The author feels tag questions are used more by women then men. ‘A tag question is a midway between an outright statement and a yes-no question; it is less assertive than the former, but more confident than the latter’ .A tag question makes the speaker sounds like he/she is not assertive* and avoids claim. It* softens the declarative clause. It’s like a question/confrontation which softens the initial part of the sentence. *Lakoff* gives many examples of tag question such as; ‘Sure is hot here, isn’t it’. Then she gives an excellent example *where she shows how women seek confirmation, even though it is clearly a yes or no answer.  
“Q) When will dinner be ready?
A0 Oh...around six o’clock..?’
She also describes the use of ‘euphemisms’ which is a substitute word referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. *The most famous one is the word ‘lady’* instead of woman. Lady brings a non serious tone to a sentence, someone who is not capable of doing *ir*responsible...