Language, Gender, Technology, and Politeness

Language is considered to be a system of communicating with other people using sounds, symbols and words in expressing a meaning, idea or thought. Language can be used in many forms, primarily through oral and written communications as well as using expressions through body language. This essay is about to show the relationships of Language and Gender, Politeness, and Technology based on three articles.

First article   : Gender, Identity, and Language Use in Teenage Blogs.

                     By: David A. Huffaker and Sandra L. Calvert.

Second article: Teen Textuality and The Text Flirt in language of SMS.

                     By: Sean Cadhain.

Third article  : Politeness strategies Used by Indonesian Chatters in Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

                     By: Ima Khalimatus Sa'diyah.

          Gender is used to describe those characteristics of women and men, which are socially constructed, while sex refers to those which are biologically determined. The language that used by man and woman (gender) is different, the different ways in which men and women use language and how the structure of language reflects and/or promotes gender division within a society.

          Politeness is an aspect of pragmatics in that its use in language is determined by an external context. The external context is the context of communication, which is determined by the social status of the participants. Politeness is a system used by the speaker in order to keep up to the addressee's expectations.

          Technology's role in our lives is astonishing. Its effect on the way we communicate. To be more specific, the way we speak today is, the way we spoke before the Internet became what it is, albeit with an enriched vocabulary. Conventions of telephone conversations have changed little: we still use the same methods to greet and sign off, for example: The way we write our text messages is now so widely accepted that it has infiltrated mainstream advertising, and then we have the meteoric rise of blogging, the growth of the key social networking websites - and we start to see the whole picture.

First article:

        This study purposed on on-line identity and language use among male and female teenagers who created and maintained weblogs, personal journals made publicly accessible on the World Wide Web. On-line identity and language use were examined in terms of the disclosure of personal information, sexual identity, emotive features, and semantic themes. Male and female teenagers presented themselves similarly in their blogs, often revealing personal information such as their real names, ages, and locations. Backgrounds of this research are: 1) Identity, Adolescent Development, and Online Discourse,2) Age and Gender Characteristics of Bloggers, 3) Disclosure of Personal Information in Blogs, 4) Gender and Emoticons, 5) Sexual Identity in Teenagers, 6) Gender and Language Use. Methodology that researchers used to test these hypotheses is random-sampling method, the researchers conducted a content analysis of randomly-selected blogs that were created and maintained by teenagers ages ranged from 13 through 17, 26 males and 21 females. And the result based on the background of this research are: There was a trend for males to provide their location and use more emoticons than females, these authors were overwhelmingly male (83%), males tended to display more motion in their language than did females, while there were no gender differences for the master variable (being more cooperative and accommodating).

Analysis:

►               Based on the research, the participants are teenagers ages ranged from 13-17, so this study can be thought start from the 1^st year of Junior High School until Senior High School. As a teacher, we have be able to understand about the differences between male students and female students, and how their languages. To know it better, we can explain to them how is the male or female languages should be.

    In Living Language (p. 222), George Keith and John Shuttleworth record suggestions that:

·        women - talk more than men, talk too much, are more polite, are indecisive/hesitant, complain and nag, ask more questions, support each other, are more co-operative, whereas

·        men - swear more, don't talk about emotions, talk about sport more, talk about women and machines in the same way, insult each other frequently, are competitive in conversation, dominate conversation, speak with more authority, give more commands, interrupt more.

    We can teach them how is the good language as male or female, and also we have to correct them if they are make a mistake in their language. For example, if female students start to talk too much, we can warn them to just say what should be said, the point of what they want to say. If male students too much swear, we have to warn them that swear is not a game that can be said whenever they want, or if they start to interrupt, ask them to do it in manner. It is not intended to limit their freedom in talk, but they have to learn how to talk as male or female, they have to know the good manner in it.

    How to teach it in the classroom is by practice. We ask the students to make conversation in pair, give them the topic to talk about, and see if they make mistake in their conversation, if it's so, correct them in a good way by giving example how should they say. This method may be cannot included in curriculum, but it can be include in our method, as a teacher, to teach them and to develop their soft-skill in their written or spoken language.

Second article:

                   The writer did the research to defining what type of SMS language is. This research was a social investigation of human interpretation skills and public behavior, specific to teenagers. Method that used is the domestication approach (three process: imagination, appropriation, and objectification). This approach allows us to understand why innovations, such as SMS communication, have been adopted, by placing both the group and the innovation into context. The participants ages ranged from 11-22 years old. As the result and discussion: Of the 29 participants, 18 claimed to either always use short forms and abbreviations or often however, and most of the 11 respondents deciphered almost all of the emoticons, which were more fun. In sum, participants could only understand abbreviations that were well know sayings in spoken language. The second half of their analysis revealed that almost all participants used SMS to flirt, to note a marked difference in the behavior of teenagers when using SMS rather than talking on the telephone, or in face-to-face communications. SMS allows individuals to behave in a manner contradictory to their norm of social sensibilities.

Analysis:

►               Based on the research, the participants are teenagers ages ranged from 11-22, so this study can be thought start from the 1^st year of Junior High School until University. We can begin this effort by providing professional development on communication strategies. This can be done in-service days or by simply to ask the students to send message to us (by SMS) or collect their assignments by e-mail, or even to our facebook account.

          How to teach it to them is by practice, through learning by doing. We can teach them how to use a good language in SMS by explain to them how is the good form of SMS language for certain people such as SMS to parents, teacher, and friends. After the brief explanation, ask them to practice it by send us SMS. Correct them wisely if they are make mistake.

          How to write in a good form by e-mail and whatever, you can teach them how to use a good language in all media (technology products) by giving them the example first or show them the form so they can make it as the procedure to practice it. Ask them to practice more and more with wise correction for the mistake. Then we can conduct it (technology products) in the teaching-learning process.

Third article:

                   The writer did the study is to find out politeness strategies used by Indonesian chatters in the discourse of on-line environment specifically in IRC channels. This study investigates three downloaded data of written conversations or messages in the IRC. The written conversations or messages that are taken as data are only the one containing face-threatening act (FTA).  Method that used is collected data only the one containing Face-Threatening Act (FTA). The data are analyzed using Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness strategy (1987). Based on Brown and Levinson’s model of politeness strategy (1987), the politeness strategies used in chat conversations to reduce the FTA are grouped into four main strategies: Bald on Record, Positive Politeness, Negative Politeness, and Off-the-Record.As the result and discussion: Bald on Record strategy is most widely used by Indonesian chatters in IRC. It may happen due to the setting of the conversation that is the cyber-world where the people communicate there may not really know each other and they may never meet in the ‘real’ world. It can be said that there is almost no boundary for everyone to say what they want to say.

Analysis:

►               In term of politeness, as a teacher, we have to teach this subject matter start from the beginning, or elementary school. Since politeness is one of the important thing that should be thought to the students from the beginning, so they will not use bad language in their daily life. It can be said that politeness in language deals with formal or informal speaking, manner, and also vocabulary. Usually, formal speaking or writing becomes the polite one.

          How to teach politeness in their language spoken or written can be varied. First, we have to explain to them what is politeness, and types of politeness in spoken  and written. Then explain them how is the polite language and impolite language, spoken and written. And then give them example about each of the politeness type in both, spoken and written.

          Politeness also can be taught to the students by practice it in simple conversation. But first we have to explain to them that even in friendship, they are still have to be polite each other. After that, ask them to arrange their own words to express something for each types of politeness, and correct them softly if they make a mistake in their language that deals with impoliteness, and of course in a good language and intonation, so they will not feel guilty and afraid to speak.

Conclusion:

Language is above all a tool of communication, a channel of conveying meaning that deals with gender, culture and social economic background.

          Education or social conditioning can influence gender attitudes in speaking and writing, but there are objective differences between the language of men and that of women, and no education or social conditioning can wholly erase these differences. Based on the research, the participants are teenagers ages ranged from 13-17, so this study can be thought start from the 1^st year of Junior High School until Senior High School. As a teacher, we have be able to understand about the differences between male students and female students, and how their languages. To know it better, we can explain to them how is the male or female languages should be.

          Language that used in Technology products varied and have different aim in each products. Email + texting + blogging + social networking sites (technology products) = people writing more how they speak and less like they used to write. And, essentially, less like they had to write - either for a boss, a parent or a teacher. Technology's role in our lives is astonishing. Its effect on the way we communicate has changed. Language in technology's products can be thought start from the 1^st year of Junior High School until University. We can begin this effort by providing professional development on communication strategies. This can be done in-service days or by simply to ask the students to send message to us (by SMS) or collect their assignments by e-mail, or even to our facebook account. With practice is through learning by doing, we can teach them how to use a good language in SMS, or how to write in a good form by e-mail and whatever, we can teach them how to use a good language in all media (technology products). So then we can conduct it (technology products) in the teaching-learning process.

          Politeness, as a universal phenomenon in society, is a reflection of specific cultural values, which can be observed in all languages and cultures. Language and Politeness. Gender, Culture, and Economic background also contributed to Politeness in Language. In term of politeness, as a teacher, we have to teach this subject matter start from the beginning, or elementary school. Since politeness is one of the important thing that should be thought to the students from the beginning, so they will not use bad language in their daily life. It can be taught to the students by practice it in simple conversation, ask them to arrange their own words, and if they make a mistake in their language that deals with impoliteness, correct them softly and of course in a good language and intonation, so they will not feel guilty and afraid to speak.

girl in the purple,
XOXO