DEFICIT APPROACH

Deficit Model is often linked to the linguist Robin Lakoffand her influential work Tanguage and
Women 's Place' In this study, Lakoff identified several differences in the way women used
language when compared to men, which are summarised here.
Lakoff suggested that these diferencesshe noticed were part of 'Women's Language' and was
generalseenas inferior to men. The Deficit Model' refers to how this language use contributes to
women's lowerstatus and weaker position in society.

Another important study to consider was completed by O'Barr-and Atkins in 1980, In their

courtroom study, they tested Lakotf's hypothesis that features of Women's Language'would be

more power, social status and social class, This led to them suggesting that
closely linked to
'Powerless Language' would be a more accurate definition of the features Lakoff identificd.
According to them,men would also often use these features and it was social status, not gender,
which determincd their use.

The deficit approach aims to prove that there are differences in the way men and women use
language, It language that men use is the standard and, therefore, superior. On
argues that the

the other hand,the language that women use is viewed as insuffieient as it differs from the norm
and is therefore inferior.

the Two S's and Two 2 I's:

Men standard and superio

.Women s ingeknt knf
d
inferior

the approachdemonstrates how men'sand women's language can be differentiated by their

levels of deficiency, as some linguists have identified women's language as 'lacking' in

multiple ways.

However, critics of the deficit approach can tell us that there may be problems with the
ways the deficit approach views women the approach suggests inequality between
gendersas women's language is seen as deficient to men's. They also highlight that the
power imbalancein society may not be due to the language used solely by women but due
to language used by both men and women in vulnerable positions.

Otto Jespersen: deficit theory

Otto Jespersen was a Danish linguist who focused the of grammar in the English
language. Jespersen believed that men's languagewas seen as the standard and nomal. whereas
women's language was deficient.
In his book Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin (1922),Jespersen explored the
h
language Dy Chapier
titled Women, Jespersen explored the language dby
n
Relw are some of his findings:

Accordingto Jespersen, women:

Talk a lot.
Use simpler words as they have smaller vocabularies.
Use more false starts and unfinishcd sentences because they speak before they think.

Exaggerate more.
Use too many adjeetives and adverbs.
Are emotional, not grammatical.
Are more indirect and,therefore, less effective than men.

Jespersen also described the language used by women as the:

Indispensable smallchange of language...

This suggests that, although the language women use is necessary to the development of
communication,its influence is not as extensive or desirable as the languagemen use.

So,what did Jespersen sayaboutmen's language?

Accordingto Jespersen, men

Have a arger
la and use more difieult wor.
avea
in
Vocabulary
charge of estable
new shing
m

words in the English language.

This suggests that the language that men use is more impressive and more significant than the language
used by women.
Jespersen then stated:
there is a danger of the language becoming languid and insipid if we (men) are to content
ourselves with women's expressions.
In simpler terms, he believed that if men were to spcak in the way that women did, or if they
continucd letting women speak in such a way, the language would become weaker and
uninteresting

Otto's findings are over 100 years old. Do you think they are still relevant in today's society?

Robin Lakoff: deficittheory

Robin Lakoff is an American linguist who teaches Linguistics at the University of California. In her
book, Languageand Women's Place (1975), Lakoff explores the language used by women. Sheargues
women are 'weaker' and more uncertain than the language used
that the features of language used by
by men. She refers to this weaker form of language as 'women's language.'
So why is women's language scenas weaker?
Lakoffbelieves that the differences in language between men and women reflect their social
and the She
Vomen uSe 1 veake caus status
and
and
Leatnguage
lack of power in

society.
Lakoffalso argues that the powerlessness of women is not only reflected in how they speak but
how men speakabout women. This is because when women are spoken about by men,
also in
and seenas reliant on men. This highlights the unfair treatment of
they are often objectified
women by men in society.

Below are some of Lakoffsfindings regarding women's language:

Women use more: Examples:

Backchannelling "Uh-huh', Mm', "Yeah'

'Sort of, "Kind of

Hedging
Intensifiers "Very, 'So','Really

'I'm sorry, but.."

Apologies

You live here, right?"

Tag questions

You sing. don't you?

Modal verbs Could','Should', "Ought to

Empty (mcaningless) adjectives 'Gorgeous,'Adorable', 'Lovely'

Wh- Imperatives "Why don't we..."

Indirect commands 'I's cold in here' indirectly means 'close the window"

Diminutives (pet names) "Honey,'Sweetie', 'Darling'

Euphemisms 'Passed away' instead 'Died'

of
Direct quotes (instead of paraphrasing)

Polite forms Would you mind if...!

"This is so great'

"Italies' (changein stress)

'I am very tired'

Women may use these things more than men, but they use less:

Slang
Swearwords
Insults

This implies that women tend to usemore formal language, are more polite,and are less aggressive
thanmen.
Lakoffalso observed that women don't have a goodsenseof humour and are bad at telling jokes..

Deficit Approach - Key Takeaways

. The deficit approach focuses on what an individual is lacking as opposed to widersocietal

issues.

. In the English language, the deficit approach focuses on men's language as the standard

and womnen's language as insufficient as it differs from the norm.

. Otto Jespersen and Robin Lakoff are supporters of the deficit approach.

William O'Barr and Bowman Atkins oppose the deficit approach. They support

the diversity approachinstead, which suggests that the amount of power someone has in

society is not dependent on their gender.