The Role of Language and Gender Behaviour in the Family

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,0, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg (Institut für fremdsprachliche Philologien), course: Language and Gender, language: English, abstract: 'Parents play an active teaching role that is '...commonplace, conscious, and directive.' For this reason, I decided to consider the role of language and gender behaviour in the family. In this paper, I demonstrate similarities and differences of language and behaviour of parents towards their children. First, I focus on general language and behaviour of parents. Opening, I show how they talk to their children regardless which sex they have. Further, I look at variations of speech to female and male children. Secondly, I concentrate on aspects of fathers language and behaviour towards their children by showing similarities and differences. Third, I give attention to mothers. I consider both general speech towards children without regard to their gender and differentiation between male and female children. To conclude, I demonstrate how children react to their parents. I consider if they have a gender-typed speech towards their parents.