Language and Gender by Mary M Talbot

Language and Gender by Mary M Talbot

This is an up-to-date textbook in the growing area of language and gender. It will be popular with students for its accessibility and with teachers for the range and depth it achieves in a single volume. The book contains detailed discussion of work in the field, including recent research that has previously not been readily available to undergraduates or the general reader. A range of approaches is covered at an introductory level, presenting sometimes difficult and complex issues in an understandable way. Each chapter concludes with a list of recommended readings so that each topic can be taken further. The emphasis is on recent research, with a preliminary grounding in early 'classic' studies in the field. Talbot examines the language used by women and men in a variety of speech situations and genres. For this, she draws on studies working within the Anglo-American tradition of research on language and gender. Issues and problems addressed include the difficulties arising from accounting for gender differences in terms of dichotomies like public vs private and informational vs affective - and, not least, the trouble with looking for 'differences' at all. Another group of chapters present recent, critical perspectives on language and gender grounded in European theories of discourse and subjectivity, with particular attention to Critical Discourse Analysis. These chapters examine not gender difference but the construction of gender identities. They reflect both the high degree of interest in mass media and popular culture found in recent language and gender research and the preoccupation with discourse and social change that is central to Critical Discourse Analysis. The book will become a key textbook for undergraduates and postgraduates in linguisitics, sociolinguistics, cultural and media studies, gender and women's studies and communication studies. The book is usable by students for whom it is their first, or only, contact with sociolinguistics.

Mary Talbot's book will be warmly welcomed by those teaching courses in language and gender at all levelsIt provides a very accessible textbook for those new to the area, but it is also extremely comprehensive and up to date, and will therefore also be of value in graduate courses. The author moves smoothly and coherently from more traditional approaches through the controversies of the 1980s to the most recent research which uses Critical Discourse Analysis and social constructionist approaches. Difficult concepts are clearly and comprehensibly presented. Mary Talbot's own research enriches the book - especially in the later chapters where consumerism, sexist language and masculinity are some of the issues addressed. The text is extensively illustrated with interesting examples, many of which are taken from recent published research, thus introducing students to relevant and authentic material. Janet Holmes, Professor of Linguistics, Victoria University Mary Talbot has written a well-informed and thorough introduction to language and gender in a clear and engaging style. She has managed the difficult task of making a substantial body of research accessible to people who are new to the field without oversimplification and without ignoring important theoretical issues. Professor Norman Fairclough, University of Lancaster

Mary Talbot is Secretary of the International Gender and Language Association

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780745616803
ISBN 10	0745616801
Title	Language and Gender
Author	Mary M Talbot
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Polity Press
Year published	1998-11-22
Number of pages	272
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable