Human Talk

Do women talk more than men? Do men talk in the same way as women? According to the latest research from the United States of America, men and women talk such different languages that it is like people from two different cultures trying to communicate. Professor Deborah Tannin, of Georgetown University, has noticed differences in the style of boys' and girls' conversations from an early age. She says that little girls' conversation is less definite than boys' and expresses more doubts. Little boys use conversation to establish status with their listeners.

These differences continue into adult life, she says. In public conversations men talk most and interrupt other speakers more. In private conversations, men and women speak in equal amounts—although they say things in a different style. Professor Tannin believes that, for women, private talking is a way to establish and test intimacy. For men, private talking is a way to explore the power structure of a relationship.

Teaching is one job where the differences between men's and women's ways of talking show. When a man teaches a woman, says Professor Tannin, he wants to show that he has more knowledge, and hence more power in conversation. He used his language to show this. When a woman teaches another woman, however, she is more likely to take a sharing approach and to encourage her student to join in.

But Professor Tannin does not believe that women are naturally more helpful. She says women feel they achieve power by being able to help others. Although the research suggests men talk and interrupt people more than women, Professor Tannin says women actually encourage this to happen because they believe it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship. Some scientists who are studying speech think that the brain is preprogrammed for language. As we are usually taught to speak by women, it seems likely that the brain must have a sexual bias in its programming; otherwise, male speech patterns would not arise at all.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the differences between little boys' and little girls' conversation?
2. Differences between men and women in conversations are that in private conversations ____.
3. According to the passage, study shows that a male teacher ____.
4. Why do men talk and interrupt others more than women do?
5. Women allow men to talk more and interrupt more because ____.

(Keys.)