Comparison and Contrast of Language Used in Agony Aunts by Age and Gender

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Sasha Campbell

Comparison and Contrast of Language Used in Agony Aunts by Age and Gender

Are men really from Mars and women from Venus? And if so, does it mean they speak two completely different languages? Prior to embarking on a formal study of language I had assumed that we all spoke the ‘same language’ regardless of age and gender. However, my study has revealed a number of interesting points of contrast.

In my study I took agony aunt columns from the internet written from teenage boys and girls and adult men and women. I found that not only is age an important factor in determining how we ‘speak’ but gender also plays a major role in influencing the way that people speak and write.

Males tend to use shorter sentences than women do, for example, one letter opened with ‘I am a chronic snorer.’ This conveys the point briskly without further information. They use more dynamic verbs than women as they avoid saying how they feel as that does not fit in with the macho image of men that is created by society, ‘I WANT TO KILL HIM.’ Furthermore, in my studies I found that men are more likely to use coarse language ‘she likes this this dick head across the road’, this again is most probably explained by the macho stereotype, which most males strive to become. Moreover, males had the tendency to use hyphens, instead of commas and full stops ‘Sometimes I feel like talking to my mates about my troubles at home-but I know they’ll laugh.’ This could be explained by the desire to detach themselves from the emotional part of the sentence. The problem then appears in the adjunct so it distances them from the admittance to actually having a problem or expressing emotional weakness or personal concern.

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Females in my research were more likely to use stative verbs ‘I feel like crying’ as society encourages them at an early age to discuss their feelings whereas boys are encouraged to conform to the macho unemotional image. Moreover, females use compound sentences ‘.I hate it when he hugs them, I feel like crying but I cant because it would upset my mum more, I think I should speak to me dad but I dont know what he would say, he would probably just ignore me and say I was being a drama queen!!! ‘And in my research showed a ...

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