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YukiKanda Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Gender difference in word choices?
Hello everyone, I'd like to know if there are words that boys don't use but girls do and vice versa.
I'm a Japanese speaker, and in my language the ways people talk totally differ in terms of their word choices, depending on the person's sex.
For instance, initially I was thinking that boys didn't like to use "Fantastic!" to mean very good because I remember that someone told me that it sounded a little feminine. But later on I figured out guys do say fantastic.
Any information about this kind of gender difference in word choices will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I'm a Japanese speaker, and in my language the ways people talk totally differ in terms of their word choices, depending on the person's sex.
For instance, initially I was thinking that boys didn't like to use "Fantastic!" to mean very good because I remember that someone told me that it sounded a little feminine. But later on I figured out guys do say fantastic.
Any information about this kind of gender difference in word choices will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Top answer
I think this phenomenon is less prevalent in English than it is in Japanese. If you saw only a transcript of an English conversation, the *** of the speakers would usually not be evident (unless there were clues in the content or subject matter itself, obviously). g.
- I think this phenomenon is less prevalent in English than it is in Japanese.
- If you saw only a transcript of an English conversation, the *** of the speakers would usually not be evident (unless there were clues in the content or subject matter itself, obviously).
- g.
- more swearing).
- One specific word that I can think of that is much more common among men than women (at least where I live) is "mate" (as an informal way of addressing someone).
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13 Answers
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I think this phenomenon is less prevalent in English than it is in Japanese. If you saw only a transcript of an English conversation, the *** of the speakers would usually not be evident (unless there were clues in the content or subject matter itself, obviously).
I suppose on average men tend to use coarser language (e.g. more swearing). One specific word that I can think of that is much
I suppose on average men tend to use coarser language (e.g. more swearing). One specific word that I can think of that is much
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One area that come to mind is colours.
eg What my wife calls 'burgundy', I call 'red'
eg What my wife calls 'teal', I call 'green'.
She is more aware of the subtle differences than I am.
eg What my wife calls 'burgundy', I call 'red'
eg What my wife calls 'teal', I call 'green'.
She is more aware of the subtle differences than I am.
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YukiKandaI'd like to know if there are words that boys don't use but girls do and vice versa.I'm sure there are, but I doubt I could name them. I read most of the link that GPY provided, and it seemed to be mostly believable. Woman do have a lot of words for colors. I was in college before I learned what "magenta" looks like, but that knowledge was not lon
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I'd like to know if there are words that boys don't use but girls do
boys/girls makes it sound like you are studying only children, It's better to say eg males/females or men/women.
Clive
boys/girls makes it sound like you are studying only children, It's better to say eg males/females or men/women.
Clive
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Dear YukiKanda,
I could probably think of more, and if I do, I'll write to you again, but here are a few that occur to me.
Men in the US don't generally use the words lovely, precious, or darling to describe something as beautiful or cute, where it would be natural for women to use those words. Men tend to say buck for dollar more than women do, though some women do
I could probably think of more, and if I do, I'll write to you again, but here are a few that occur to me.
Men in the US don't generally use the words lovely, precious, or darling to describe something as beautiful or cute, where it would be natural for women to use those words. Men tend to say buck for dollar more than women do, though some women do
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I can think of a few expletives that men might use more often than women.
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In the US, there are many instances of this. It's difficult to give a comprehensive list, since the context would determine this to a large extent. A few examples:
"Marvy" (marvelous) is no longer heard today, but in its heyday (the 1980s) it was used almost exclusively by female teens: "That's marvy."
"Fantastic" might be used by anyone, but real macho type males would usually
"Marvy" (marvelous) is no longer heard today, but in its heyday (the 1980s) it was used almost exclusively by female teens: "That's marvy."
"Fantastic" might be used by anyone, but real macho type males would usually
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Thank you for all your help.
And Clive, I agree with you. Thank you for pointing that out. I should've written men/women or males/females.
The only difference in men's and women's word choices that comes to mind is terms of endearment.
The tendency that men and women call colours differently, which you've discussed here, was very interesting.
In addition, I personally don't use wor
And Clive, I agree with you. Thank you for pointing that out. I should've written men/women or males/females.
The only difference in men's and women's word choices that comes to mind is terms of endearment.
The tendency that men and women call colours differently, which you've discussed here, was very interesting.
In addition, I personally don't use wor
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All further discussions are still welcome. Please carry on if you would like to.
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YukiKanda all for your fabulous observations'fabulous' goes in the same category as 'precious' and 'adorable'.
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