Men use more complex language than women, but the difference has decreased over time: a study on 120 years of written Dutch

Abstract

Differences in language use between men and women have been studied intensely. We take stock of the findings and venture into less charted territory. First, we broaden the scope from well-known lexical features to the domain of syntax. Second, we take a diachronic perspective, looking at changes between 1880 and 1999. Based on a corpus of written Dutch by prolific writers, we find statistically robust differences: men’s style can be characterized as more complex, with the exception of lexical diversity. Through the years, however, there is growing convergence for all linguistic metrics. In the discussion section, we look at different explanations for the observed trends.

Keywords

• complexity
• corpus linguistics
• gender
• historical linguistics
• stylometry