A historical overview of research into gender and language: from the deficit model to the social constructivist model

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of early research into gender and language conducted in various developed Western countries and their languages. Different models were proposed to establish the properties of the language used by men and women. A major concept in early research was the ‘woman’s language’, re- garded as inferior, and subject to pejorative connotations. The presented models represent an important beginning of research on gender and language, although they are largely no longer considered current due to the many shortcomings of their theory and weak empirical support. The paper also reviews contemporary critical frameworks and offers suggestions for further research.

Keywords

• gender
• language
• woman’s language
• historical overview
• research models