Gender and Discourse. Communications & Media. Reaction Paper

Linguistic Analysis
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Reflection
In consideration of the linguistic analysis that has been introduced by Tannen, there is a clear pattern that is associated with the way that women and men communicate. This is an element that is associated with the dominance theme and at the same time the cultural context. Tannen correctly cites the fact that, whenever men and women are communicating, their interaction is affected by the element of dominance that is associated with the male precepts of being dominant over their female counterparts. As such, for the men, when in a conversation with a lady, the former take on a lecturer’s approach while the ladies take on a student’s stance. This means that much of the decisions in such a conversation are going to be coming from the man other than the woman. For the most part, women are supposed to be listening with little to no input. This is a common element when it comes to the workplace. For the most part, men have been given the leading roles where they make many of the decisions. At the place of work, I have noticed with great concern that, for the ladies, other than the fact that they are considered inferior in some way, they are also not given a chance to air their views amicably as the men. It is common for example to find, leaders in the company seeking advice from lower raking men while ignoring ladies that are above them. At the same, there have been instances where ladies have been called into a meeting, but their inputs rarely leave the boardroom. However, when a male counterpart who is even lower in rank gives their input, this is taken into consideration. What is important to note is that this does not take place in a way that most people will note. It is not an element that would be considered discriminatory in a rather blunt manner. It is a practice that takes on an innocent approach, where the board will be more comfortable negotiating with the males rather than the females (Tannen, 1994). This is an element of bias that is also cited by Tannen, pointing to the element of gatekeeping. There are biases associated with the dominant party, where the discriminated party, may never get their chance to express themselves in a manner that counts. The latter is always considered less important in any conversation and so is their input in the same.
Communication Characteristics
Tannen brings out some crucial characteristics of communication situations. In a highlight, Tannen is keen to mention the element of culture and the fact that it does have some element of distinction that is associated with the cultural interactions. Though Tannen does not fully agree with the influence that is associated with culture; there is a subtle element of the same that impacts the way different people from different cultures interact (Tannen, 1994). For the African Americans, for example, or any minority races in America, they have experienced time and time again the element of discrimination (Tannen, 1994). This is common, especially where the minority is having a conversation with a white. There are tendencies for example, as cited by Tannen, where counselors have talked down on an African American student, relative to their sense of superiority...