Talking Like a (wo)man? The Veracity, Utility and Fragility of Gender-specific Language Norms

Gender-specific language norms refer to culturally shared ideas about how people with various gender identities use language in their daily lives, often distinguishing between typically feminine and masculine language use. This chapter firstly discusses the veracity of gender-specific language norms by reflecting on the extent to which these norms represent speakers’ actual language use. Secondly, this chapter examines the utility of gender-specific language norms in language production as well as in language perception. Finally, the fragility of gender-specific language norms is considered, by discussing the potential of the current time and place to change these norms.