Man and Woman Talk: Grammatical and Syntactical Similarities and Disparities

Multiple research studies on grammar and syntax used by men and women stress disparities stemming from gender specific styles of “talk”. Borrowing from the existing literature, we analyzed transcripts of 107 employees in an Indian organization to study variations, if any, in grammar and syntax across genders at the middle management level. Our study was based on an analysis of reported speech of a critical incident of upward influence in the organization. We classified the transcripts into two clusters, viz., male and female. A frequency count for some grammatical and syntactical forms was taken. Frequency count of the grammatical forms revealed no significant disparity in language used by males and females in same and mixed sex groups. The reasons for this finding are as follows: 1. Use of language is not gender specific. More specifically, sentential constructs are not governed by gender. 2. The content and context, if similar, yield similar results. 3. Evolution of a language pattern that is “organizationally fit” rather than gender governed. Significant variations in use of tags and hedges were identified. Based on the above findings, we attribute the variations in syntactical forms to aspects other than those related to “male” or “female” concepts of style, proposed by earlier researchers – for a study of the concept of style will require a framework which studies the linguistic form and the social functions in sync.