Gender Differences in Power and Social Distance

任琳

摘 要：As one of the popular studies，gender differences in language attract many attentions.It is also an important part of language culture.The gender differences in language are studied in many subjects.As far as this thesis is concerned，it is different from the previous studies.The research will be done about the gender differences in power and social distance between college teachers and students.

關(guān)鍵詞：Gender Differences；Power，Solidarity；Social Distance

中圖分類號(hào)：G712 文獻(xiàn)標(biāo)識(shí)碼：B 文章編號(hào)：1002-7661（2015）24-010-01

Comment The Gender of Students Male Teachers Female Teachers Total

%（raw number） %（raw number） %（raw number）

Power More Powerful Male 73.64 （81） 26.36 （29） 100（110）

Female 63.64 （70） 36.36 （40） 100（110）

Less Powerful Male 26.36 （29） 73.64 （81） 100（110）

Female 36.36 （40） 63.64 （70） 100（110）

Social Distance Long Male 43.64 （48） 56.36 （62） 100（110）

Female 54.55 （60） 45.45 （50） 100（110）

Short Male 56.36 （62） 43.64 （48） 100（110）

Female 45.45 （50） 54.55 （60） 100（110）

Communication Inclination Male 34. 55（38） 65.45 （72） 100（110）

Female 36.36 （40） 63.64 （70） 100（110）

As the author works in the university，her job brings convenience for the subjects and data collection. Some of the colleagues and the undergraduates in North East Dian Li University are chosen as the subjects of this paper. The author is very familiar with some of them， while some are not. The data collection was carried out by taking use of three methods： questionnaire， field observation and interview.

一、Power and Solidarity

Power and solidarity were introduced into sociolinguistics by the social psychologist Roger Brown.People in every language can use language to locate themselves in relation to the people they are talking to and also in relation to people they are talking about.The choice of euphemism can show the participants social status.As power and solidarity are the reflection of the participants relationship，people tend to use more euphemisms if they are not with the same age， the same social rank or unfamiliar with each other. Concerning power and solidarity， females pay more attention to the solidarity because they focus on building and maintaining the social connections that hold communities together.Nevertheless， males emphasize power，the struggle for independence.

二、Social Distance

Social distance refers to the distance between various groups of society，the degrees of mutual experience and understanding，and the grades of closeness and intimacy.Social distance involves the roles people are taking in relation to one another in a particular situation，and how well they know each other.The greater the social distance between two groups of different status or culture，the less sympathy， understanding，intimacy， and interaction there is between them”.the sharing between interlocutors is of the utmost importance in successful communication. Interlocutors of close social distance are in-group members because they have more shared experiences， knowledge， similar interests and hobbies，etc.while far social distance interlocutors belong to out-group members.

In schools，due to the existence of the teacher-student power relation，the appearance of social distance between teachers and students is inevitable and not surprising.Therefore，this paper takes the social distance between teacher and student into consideration.

三、Analysis

The gender differences in power and social distance between teachers and students can be illustrated in table 1：

Table 1 The gender differences in power and social distance between teachers and students

According to the table above， the interesting conclusions can be drawn： most male students （73.64% of the total） have the same idea with the majority of female students （63.64% of the total） that male teachers are more powerful than female teachers in college education； 56.36% of male students think that they have a shorter distance with male teachers， whereas 54.55% of female students feel more intimate with female teachers； the majority of students， regardless of gender， are more willing to have contact with female teachers （the proportion is 65.45% and 63.64% for male students and female students respectively）.

Reference：

[1]Fasold，R.The Sociolinguistics of Language[M].Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2000.

[2]Matsumura， S.‘Learning the rules for offering advice： A quantitative approach to second language socialization.[J].In Language Learning， 2001，51：635-679.

[3]Thorne，B.and N.Henley.Language and Sex：Difference and Dominance [M]. Rowley， Mass.： Newbury House， 1975： 70-73.

[4]Trudgill，P.Sociolinguistics： An Introduction[M].London：Penguin Books， 1984：32.

[5]Weatherall and Ann.Gender，Language and Discourse.New York：Routledger， 2002

[6]Zimmerman，D.H.&C.West.Sex Roles：Interruptions and Silences in Conversations[M].Rowley：Newbury House，1975.