Empirical support for the gender-as-culture hypothesis.

Abstract

This investigation provided a test of the gender-as-culture, or two cultures, hypothesis proposed by Maltz and Borker (1982) to explain male/female differences in language use. Analysis of previous empirical investigations located 16 language features that had consistently been shown to indicate communicator gender and these were tested within the framework of the four dimensions of intercultural style proposed by Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey (1988): direct versus indirect, succinct versus elaborate, personal versus contextual, and instrumental versus affective. Study 1 provided preliminary evidence supporting the hypothesized language-feature-by-dimension relationships (e.g., male directives were rated more direct and female uncertainty verbs more indirect). In Study 2, respondents rated multiple exemplars of the 16 language features, as well as 16 contrasting foil sentences, on all four dimensions, finding that nearly all of the variables fell on the hypothesized intercultural dimensions. In Study 3, respondents rated four sets of naturally occurring target sentences and matching foil sentences, representing all language variables, on their appropriate intercultural dimensions in order to establish dimensional polarity, Results across the three studies supported the hypothesized language feature-by-stylistic dimension relationships for 15 of the 16 variables: The 6 male language features were rated as more direct, succinct, personal, and instrumental, whereas 9 of the 10 female features were perceived as more indirect, elaborate, and affective. The findings demonstrate that gender preferences for language use function in ways that area consistent with stylistic preferences that distinguish national cultures.