Linguistic Gender Differences on SMS

• Main Authors: Alice, Wen-Xuan Zheng, 鄭雯璇
• Other Authors: Joseph, Hsu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/93083002712426212511

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 跨文化研究所語言學碩士班 === 99 === With high and rapid technology development, our communicative approaches become more and more diverse. Different communicative approaches involve various characteristics and functions. SMS is one of the popular communicative media in today’s society. According to ADC Telecommunications (1999), the “Short Message Service”, SMS (Acronym for Short Message Service) is a globally accepted wireless service that enables the transmission of alphanumeric messages between mobile subscribers and external systems such as electronic mail, paging, and voice mail systems. Men and women with different socio-cultural background may have distinct performances on the same communication devices. Hence, this study aims to investigate the men’s and women’s performances on SMS application. I also hope that this study can provide both men and women more understanding of various communicative approaches and gendered communicative features. In order to survey the gender differentiated SMS behaviors, SMS linguistic features and their SMS communicative functions, I analyzed and compared the six-month SMS data from 150 participants between ages 20-30. All of the collected data were divided into three groups: the men group, the women group and the cross gender group. Afterwards, I interviewed the subjects to obtain detailed information. The results are summarized as follows: 1. Men and women have distinct performances of SMS in the same gender conversation. 2. Men and women tend to use opposite gender-like styles through text messaging in the cross gender conversation. 3. To some extent, there is a tendency that men change their SMS behaviors, linguistic features and communicative functions in cross gender conversation more significant than women do. In our society, men are taught to be successful, rational, dependent and aggressive while women are taught to be deferential, tender, and emotional. Those social images and expectations unconsciously regulate people’s performances on different communicative approaches. Somehow the distinct social experiences lead miscommunication between men and women. Nevertheless, SMS communication is private, intimate, controllable, and less face threatening, thereby it can assist unexpressive person to engage in conversations, and also help both men and women with different socio-cultural background to develop intimate relationships.