It goes without saying that we’re all different and the way we communicate with other people is also very unique. Those differences in communication style and way we express our feelings and emotions depend on several aspects. Where we are from, our background and brought up can tell a lot about who we really are. Age is also a very important aspect for it reflects our level of certain knowledge. Our style, however, very much depends not only on above characteristics, but also on our gender. Women and men speak differently, and those differences are allied with their gender.

Language representations

Language can act as a powerful source of discrimination. Since we rely on language to communicate with each other, the way we describe ourselves and others, or the way in which we address one another, can have a deep impact on our self-image and our relations with other people. If individuals or groups are labeled consciously or unconsciously in stereotyped ways, they often experience pain, develop a negative self-image, feelings of inferiority and even expressions of anger. Such feelings can place a strain on relations between groups and individuals. It is therefore important for authors, editors, professional writers, public speakers and all others who use language in a public manner to be aware of how discrimination through language operates intentionally or unintentionally, and how language can also be used to eliminate such discrimination. Language plays a powerful role both in contributing to and in eliminating discrimination.

The chapter "Language and Gender" that I have read explains how language can be used to discriminate against individuals and groups on the basis of their sex. This chapter also provides some helpful information, which certainly will help us teachers to recognize and avoid discriminatory practices.

Avoiding discriminatory language

Using non-discriminatory language does not involve the conscious learning of a new language in order to communicate; this is due to the fact that people continually learn new words, expressions and constructions. Language is dynamic and reflects changes in society and contributes to such changes. Using non-discriminatory language is, of course, a part of this dynamic process.

Broadly speaking, in most cases, using non-discriminatory language means avoiding certain expressions and selecting others that already exist in the language. Sometimes it may involve combining existing words into a new compound word. Only in exceptional cases a completely new word or expression has to be "created".

Alternatives for "he", "him" and "his"

English does not possess a third person singular pronoun which is gender-neutral. Instead the "masculine" pronouns "he", "him" and "his" are generally used to refer to both men and women. This is confusing and inaccurate and makes women invisible. There are many ways of replacing the "he / him / his" pronouns without distorting the message or compromising style or readability. Here are some major strategies:

- recast the sentence in the plural

- leave out the pronoun

- repeat the noun

- use 'he or she', 'she or he' or in writing 's/he'

- recast the sentence and use another pronoun, for example, 'you', 'I' or 'we'

- recast the sentence to avoid pronouns

In speech it is common practice (however, considered ungrammatical) to use the pronoun "they" as in: "If a student wants to get a practice test, they should come to my office between 2 and 4 p.m. today".

Avoid Alternatives

businessman business executive, business manager, business owner, business person,

entrepreneur, financier, investor, proprietor

[S] businesswoman, businessman, businessmen business community, business people,

[S] businessmen and businesswomen

cattleman cattle breeder, cattle owner, cattle producer, cattle raiser, cattle worker, farmer

chairman the chair, chairperson, convener, coordinator, discussion leader, head (of) … ,

leader, moderator, person chairing a meeting, person in the chair, president,

presiding officer

[S] layman, laywoman

laymen laypeople, laypersons, lay community, laity

milkman milk deliverer, milk supplier, 'milko' (informal)

policeman member of the police, police officer (term indicating rank)

[S] policewoman, policeman

postman letter carrier, mail carrier, mail deliverer, postal delivery officer, postal worker,

'postie' (informal)

[S] post woman, postman

salesman sales agent, sales associate, sales attendant, salesperson, sales representative,

sales worker, shop assistant, shop attendant

[S] salesman, saleswoman (not saleslady or sales girl)

spokesman (principal) advocate, official, representative, (person) speaking on behalf of … ,.speaker, spokesperson

[S] spokesman, spokeswoman

sportsman athlete, player, sports competitor, sportsperson

[S] sportswoman, sportsman

Do not use weathergirl if the forecaster is a woman.

workman worker, employee, working person

Occupational nouns and job titles, which refer exclusively to women, should also be avoided. Often these have been derived from male job titles by adding such suffixes as -ette, -ess and -trix. This practice reinforces the view that women's status is dependent on, or derived from, that of men. Job titles like "girl friday" and "salesgirl" trivialize the work women do.

Women should be shown as participating equally with men. Generic terms, for example "doctor", "lawyer" and "nurse", should be assumed to apply equally to a man and a woman. Expressions such as "male nurse", "woman doctor", "lady lawyer" and "woman reporter" should therefore be avoided in contexts where the reference to a person's sex is irrelevant. If gender specification is necessary, the use of the adjectives "female" and "male" before the gender-neutral noun is preferred.

Titles and other naming practices

Naming practices for women and men are often asymmetrical. Inequality is implied, for instance, in cases where a woman's title is not mentioned but a man's is; where a woman is addressed simply by her first name but a man is addressed by his title, first name and surname; and in some salutations, directed to a man and a woman, when the woman is not addressed. Other practices also can create the impression that women deserve less respect or less serious consideration than men do, such as when endearments are used to address women in situations that do not justify such words.

"Mr", "Ms", "Mrs", "Miss"

Use of the title "Mr" before a person's name identifies that person as a male adult. The titles "Mrs" and "Miss", however, not only identify the person addressed as a woman but also make known her marital status. The title "Ms" was introduced so that a woman is not required to reveal her marital status and so that people writing to or addressing a woman are not required to guess it by using "Miss" or "Mrs". "Ms" should be used for a woman whose title preference is unknown. It should be followed by the woman's own name, or if she prefers, her spouse's name. Any given names or initials used in connection with the title "Ms" are invariably the woman's and not those of her spouse. "Ms" is the same whether singular or plural.

Currently debates have been held about most of the features mentioned above. Much work has been done on pitch, intonation, politeness and "correctness". Sociolinguists such as William Labov have constantly suggested that women speak a form of language close to the standard than men of a similar social background. I wonder again, how should this be interpreted if it is true? Does it mean that women are linguistically more conservative than men?. This claim makes me think that further investigation should be conducted about this in order to find out whether it is a real fact or just speculation based on sexist beliefs.

There is an area that has received more attention in recent times, "communicative styles" or "strategies". Initially research was carried out on private conversation but more recently attention has focused on women's linguistic behavior in the workplace. Deborah Tannen has published various books on women's communicative strategies, including one based on analyzing the work environment. Tannen's work has motivated some controversy among linguists. Her views can be summarized as follows: men tend to employ "contest" strategies and women "community" strategies. If we accept this dichotomy, it would provide a realistic explanation for women's lack of development in the workplace. We might deduce from this that women are too busy establishing a kind of "community" instead of climbing the social ladder by getting involved in contests, just like men, which are more successful in the world of business because of the way they are (competitive).