An investigation of gender differences in styles of speech in Syrian spoken Arabic : a sociolinguistic perspective

Abstract EN

Language and its relation to gender have attracted the attention of many sociolinguists.

Much of the research that has been done in this area indicates that men and women do not differ only biologically but also linguistically.

Unfortunately, the number of studies conducted in the Arab world in general and Syria in particular regarding this issue is so limited.

For this reason, gender and its influence as a social and cultural constructed element on the verbal behaviors of female and male main characters in the social realistic TV series: ''Jalsat Nesaiah''has been considered and discussed.

To conduct the study, R.

Lakoff's (1975), Holmes' (1998), and Coates' (1986-1996) ideas have been examined and the frequency of four grammatical items has been calculated to determine the presupposed differences between the two sexes.

Our results have indicated that Adnan (man main character) used more questions and directives than Hala (woman main character); they have also shown that this female character used hedges more often than male characters.

No great differences have been found in their usage of affirmatives.

Moreover, our investigation has proved that the chosen characters' conversations are shaped by the context in which they function as man/woman, Syrian, and as unique personalities.

Key words: sociolinguistics, gender, sex, stereotype.