Question

1.Robin Lakoff, a linguist who has studied American speech patterns, identified some gender differences.2.Why did she say that women were more likely to say such things as "Oh my goodness!" while men were more likely to curse or swear?

Answer 1

Women's speech reflects women's traditional lesser power in American society.

Explanation:

According to Lakoff’s book, the way people communicate holds a clear distinction about who holds the power. The language used by both genders depicts gender inequalities and also leads to a lack of women’s power in areas that involves women. In addition, Lakoff states that the language women use to communicate indicate their inferiority and weakness.  

She recognized gestures such as hedging, super polite forms, tag questions and many more in women’s language. While this is notable there has been debate regarding gender inequalities arising from language and communication.