1887
image of Unveiling the sex differences and their diachronic changes of thanking in spoken British English

Abstract

Abstract

This study employs the local grammar approach to unveil sex differences and their diachronic changes of thanking in contemporary spoken British English. Using data taken from Spoken BNC1994 and Spoken BNC2014, the study found that sex differences do exist and change over time. In particular, the study revealed that in the 1990s male speakers performed thanking more frequently than their female counterparts and that female speakers tended to use formulaic expressions for thanking, which challenges the stereotypical view that women are more polite in their language use. These differences and diachronic changes have been accounted for in terms of (changing) social perceptions of sex roles, communicative conventions and socio-cultural norms. The study concludes that changes in speech act realisations correspond to changes in broader social contexts and as such (diachronic) investigation into speech act realisations could contribute to revealing the (trans)formation of socio-cultural norms in a given society.

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2025-12-15
2026-01-13
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: spoken British English ; local grammar ; diachronic changes ; thanking ; sex differences
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