Among the most recognized works by women could be found in the genre of - books. Women writers are especially at their best mostly when making groundbreaking research, study, and writings on the concerns of women, in the hopes of bringing about more instructive information on women and relationships. Deborah Tannen for one, demonstrates in her book "Gender and Discourse" how communication affects the woman.

In "Gender and Discourse," Tannen makes the point that communication is vital for a woman as it improves her esteem at the same time proves her involvement in a particular culture. Discourse for women is a source of feminine leadership, and the differences in the way a woman talks with a man and vice versa, reveals relationships of power and/or group (cultural) cohesion to the speakers involved.

The themed collection of her five previous articles specifically re-examines and analyzes in detail the different conversational styles between men and women in order to come up with a theory on gender-specific discourses hopefully to become a helpful application to women most especially in practicing communication. With this end in mind, Tannen observed how (universal) communication strategies as interruptions, topic changes, silence, conflict, and indirect speech - reveal gender differences, as well as stylistic and cultural ones.

One controversy involved in this book is that it asserts that depending on the interaction of men and women's communication styles in different cultures - balance in power relationships in genders could be achieved and could be molded through expert individual styles. It shows that when there is no strategy in discourse, there would also be no expression of dominance or submissiveness in the conversation.

Hence, identifying gender-specific patterns of communication could allow one, whether woman or man, to recognize which conversations aim for domination from those that do not intentionally result to miscommunication. This idea then could guide one into choosing the appropriate mode of speech depending on the kind of conversation that he/she is presently involved in.

However, the individual should also note that there are specific pervasive communication styles (between genders) in different cross-cultural settings. Although men in general do tend to dominate more in almost all kinds of interactions compared to women, this should not always be seen as intentional.

This in part is because communication strategies such as interruptions could naturally mean different things in different contexts or instances of interaction as well as in different cultures.

On the other hand, Tannen was also able to conclude that among almost all cultures, people most often use some particular (universal) linguistic strategies specifically - the indirect form of communication - the standard reason behind miscommunication in all the different types of culture.

On the outset, "Gender and Discourse" is able to explain why miscommunications are prevalent, and suggests that these interactional misunderstandings could not be blamed on either men or women all the time. This could be the major contribution of Tannen's book as it diverges from the typical researches that commonly conceive of language-use and gender-relationships only according to models of power and dominance between genders, apart from also explaining them in terms of cultural-differences concepts.

"Gender and Discourse" only shows that social relationships, most especially between the two genders, could involve various complexities; and that it could be explained through a focused analysis of conversations that include examining gender-linked as well as gender-and-culture linked patterns of communication. This is to clarify that while men are found to do dominate women in all cultures, still there could be no (universal) "essential natures" in men and women in all cultures; - But rather, the character of men and women and their styles of communication could vary (relatively) in different cultures. To academicians, (including or most especially critics), this point is especially insightful; and for the standard reader - it is informative as well as instructive. Gender-difference is not the only factor commonly overlooked in its role in our everyday lives; so is the diversity of language styles or strategies in its relative (cultural) sense.

~Ae Dechavez

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Reference

Tannen, Deborah (1994). Gender and Discourse. New York: Oxford University Press.