Speech style and gender distinctions in the use of very and real/ really: An analysis of the Corpus of Spoken Professional American English

Abstract

The present study explores the sociolinguistic functions of adjective-modifying very and real/ really, intensifiers commonly used in American English speech, through examining their distribution in the Corpus of Spoken Professional American English (CSPAE) (compiled by Michael Barlow and released from Athelstan (2000 © Michael Barlow)). It is proposed that the distribution of very and real/ really characterizes the nature of American English public speech: in expository speech frequent use of very and rare appearance of real/ really is observed, whereas in exploratory talk real/ really appears relatively frequently. Also, it is demonstrated that frequent use of real/ really in the predication position marks the style of exploratory talk. Gender distinctions in regard to the use of these intensifiers are also examined: in women's speech patterns, real/ really is amply used and very and real/ really frequently appear in the predicative position, compared with the speech patterns of their male colleagues. Finally, the distribution of real and its sociolinguistic status in American English public speech is discussed.