Do men and women really speak different languages?
We’re often told that men and women just can’t communicate: in the popular language of John Gray’s book, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Our inability to understand the opposite sex is blamed for the breakdown of relationships and the fact that women don’t reach the top of certain professions in the way that men do.
But what if we’ve got it all wrong – if in fact we’re all speaking the same language? What are the consequences at home, in the workplace – and even in the law courts and Parliament? Ritula talks to the socio-linguist Professor Deborah Cameron, author of a new book, “The Myth of Mars and Venus” to find out.
“The Myth of Mars and Venus” by Deborah Cameron is published on 4th October 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-921447-1, Oxford University Press, £10.99 |
