There are many facets to the language we speak.  We each have a dialect, a sociolect, and a genderlect.  How a person speaks based on one’s gender identity is known as a genderlect.  Although we think of gender in binary terms, our genderlect can be plotted on a continuum.  Not all men speak in exactly the same way, just as not all women speak in the same way.  There are many characteristics of a genderlect that can help one plot its place on the continuum.  When you hire Tracey Weigel as a keynote speaker or seminar leader, you learn all of the fascinating aspects that contribute to the relationship among communication, gender and social status.         

The Genderlect Continuum

Both continuum lines act as a whole.  Men and women are separated by biology, then placed on the continuum based on linguistic characteristics.

Women have a larger unmarked area.  An unmarked genderlect is one that is not judged harshly or otherwise by society.  It is considered “normal” or “ordinary”.  Women who speak a genderlect to the left of the unmarked norm often get labeled aggressive, controlling and maybe obnoxious.  Women too far to the right of the norm are seen as weak and helpless.

Men have much smaller room for variation in their speech.  If a man has too many characteristics that push him to the left, he is considered “caveman-ish”.  If he is too far to the right with attributes normally associated with women’s speech, he will be considered too girly and wimpy.

Unfortunately judgments are still made in our society everyday.  One of the things that people use to make judgments of others is their speech patterns.  Your genderlect is a major indicator of how other people view you.  It may not always be fair and it certainly isn’t always right, but it happens.

Where do you think you fall on the continuum?  Hire Tracey today and learn all about it!