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Purpose: We investigated cross-linguistic differences in fundamental frequency range (FFR) in Welsh-English bilingual speech. This is the first study that reports gender-specific behavior in switching FFRs across languages in bilingual speech. Method: FFR was conceptualized as a behavioral pattern using measures of span (range of fundamental frequency--in semitones--covered by the speaker's voice) and level (overall height of fundamental frequency maxima, minima, and means of speaker's voice) in each language. Results: FFR measures were taken from recordings of 30 Welsh-English bilinguals (14 women and 16 men), who read 70 semantically matched sentences, 35 in each language. Comparisons were made within speakers across languages, separately in male and female speech. Language background and language use information was elicited for qualitative analysis of extralinguistic factors that might affect the FFR. Conclusions: Cross-linguistic differences in FFR were found to be consistent across female bilinguals but random across male bilinguals. Most female bilinguals showed distinct FFRs for each language. Most male bilinguals, however, were found not to change their FFR when switching languages. Those who did change used different strategies than women when differentiating FFRs between languages. Detected cross-linguistic differences in FFR can be explained by sociocultural factors. Therefore, sociolinguistic factors are to be taken into account in any further study of language-specific pitch setting and cross-linguistic differences in FFR.

Age is by far the most underdeveloped of the sociolinguistic variables in terms of research literature. To-date, research on age has been patchy and has generally focused on the early life-stages such as childhood and adolescence, ignoring, for the most part, healthy adulthood as a stage worthy of scrutiny. This book examines the discourse of adulthood and accounts for sociolinguistic variation, with regards to age and gender, through the exploration of a 90,000 word age-and gender-differentiated spoken corpus of Irish English. The book explores both the distribution and use of a number of high frequency pragmatic features of spoken discourse that appear as key items in the corpus. Part 1 of the book provides an introduction, a theoretical overview of age as a sociolinguistic variable and a description on how to compile a small spoken corpus for sociolinguistic research. Part 2 consists of five chapters which investigate and explore key features such as hedges, vague category markers, intensifiers, boosters and high-frequent items of taboo language in relation to the variables, age and gender. The book is of interest to undergraduates or postgraduates taking formal courses in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, pragmatics or discourse analysis. It is also of interest to students and researchers interested in using corpus linguistics in sociolinguistic research.

This study explores the link between gender and language in single-sex schools in Colombia. Using feminist theory, the study analyzes the gendered subjectivities of English-as-a-foreign-language learners in a private school in Bogotá. It examines how heterosexuality is forced upon learners and how their subjectivities are impacted by the heteronormative discourse surrounding sex-gender learning differences. The study utilizes conversation analysis and speech act theory to examine data. The findings reveal that gendered subjectivity is complex and constitutes an ongoing struggle. There is a need for further research on gender and English teaching in educational settings, emphasizing the importance of studying sociolinguistic power relationships.

Wikipedia is the largest free online encyclopedia and the seventh most visited website worldwide, containing >45,000 freely accessible English-language medical articles accessed nearly 1.6 billion times annually. Concerns have been expressed about the balance of content related to biological sex on Wikipedia. This study aims to categorize the top 1000 most-read (most popular) English-language Wikipedia health articles for June 2019 according to the relevance of the article topic to each sex and quality. In the first step, Wikipedia articles were identified using WikiProject Medicine Popular Pages. These were analyzed on 13 factors, including total views, article quality, and total number of references. In the second step, 2 general medical textbooks were used as comparators to assess whether Wikipedia's spread of articles was typical compared to the general medical coverage. According to the article's content, we proposed criteria with 5 categories: 1=\"exclusively female,\" 2=\"predominantly female but can also affect male individuals,\" 3=\"not sex specific or neutral,\" 4=predominantly male but can affect female individuals,\" and 5=\"exclusively male.\" Of the 1000 Wikipedia health articles, 933 (93.3%) were not sex specific and 67 (6.7%) were sex specific. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of reads per month between the sex-specific and non-sex-specific articles (P=.29). Coverage of female topics was higher (50/1000, 5%) than male topics (17/1000, 1.7%; this difference was also observed for the 2 medical textbooks, in which 90.2% (2330/2584) of content was not sex specific, female topics accounted for 8.1% (209/2584), and male topics for accounted for 1.7% (45/2584; statistically significant difference; Fisher exact test P=.03). Female-category articles were ranked higher on the Wikipedia medical topic importance list (top, high, or mid importance) than male-category articles (borderline statistical significance; Fisher exact test P=.05). Female articles had a higher number of total and unique references; a slightly higher number of page watchers, pictures, and available languages; and lower number of edits than male articles (all were statistically nonsignificant). Across several metrics, a sample of popular Wikipedia health-related articles for both sexes had comparable quality. Wikipedia had a lower number of female articles and a higher number of neutral articles relative to the 2 medical textbooks. These differences were small, but statistically significant. Higher exclusively female coverage, compared to exclusively male coverage, in Wikipedia articles was similar to the 2 medical textbooks and can be explained by inclusion of sections on obstetrics and gynecology. This is unlike the imbalance seen among biographies of living people, in which approximately 77.6% pertain to male individuals. Although this study included a small sample of articles, the spread of Wikipedia articles may reflect the readership and the population's content consumption at a given time. Further study of a larger sample of Wikipedia articles would be valuable.

PurposeThis study intends to unveil the imbalance in gender portrayal, reflected in English textbooks, used at the primary level in the four provinces of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachWithin the framework of feminist critical discourse analysis (FCDA), this paper aims to explore the ways in which gender stereotypes and ideologies are inculcated through the discursive schemes in the selected textbooks. The methodology adopted is to connect the linguistic features in the texts (the Micro) to the social factors (the Macro). The analysis has been done on two levels: on the first level, the content analysis was employed to quantify the gender representation in the textbook. On the second level, the discourse analysis was carried out to view gender stereotypes in the wide spectrum of social norms.FindingsThe results of this study reveal a significant disproportion and imbalance in gender representation in the four books. They clearly show that the textbooks in Pakistan contribute to the socialization of children in a very traditional and stereotypical way. The findings of the study recommend extensive awareness at societal level in general, and particular reforms in the education sector for a step toward a progressive and prosperous society.Originality/valueThe current paper is innovative as it demystifies how gendered ideologies are ingrained in the curriculum, used for English language teaching in a developing country like Pakistan. It fosters the value addition in existing research since it investigated the gender disparity systematically by employing quantitative content and qualitative FCDA.

This study investigates the means to translate features of women's language in Ibrahim Asian's novel Nile Sparrows from Arabic into English. Selected Arabic and English excerpts are placed in two questionnaires for native speakers of the two languages to decide whether the excerpts reflect features of women's language. While responses to the Arabic questionnaire showed that the excerpts were brimful with features of women's language, responses to the English questionnaire showed the neutrality of the translations. Eight selected examples were classified into three categories and analyzed using Reiss' (2000) instruction criteria in light of Lakoffs (1973) framework of the features of women's language. The study found that reproducing the features of women's language in another language may require sacrificing the lexical equivalence for stylistic equivalence based on how the translator settles the conflict between formal and functional equivalences. The study maintains that no one solution fits all when translating women's language. Determinants of the translation decision depend on several factors, such as the nature of the target language, language level, ethnicity, geographic area, and topic. Index Terms--Arabic, Aslan, gender, translation, women's language

This study explores how gender and first language (L1) conceptual transfer influence the use of English prepositions among 50 Vietnamese university students aged 18 to 25, enrolled in an English language program. The participants' comprehension of English prepositions in terms of usage, meaning, and context was assessed using pre- and post-tests consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions. The data analysis employed descriptive and inferential statistics, including chi-square tests and independent samples t-tests. Both the pre- and post-test results revealed a moderate level of English prepositional usage, with all participants displaying improvement. Female participants performed slightly better than males on the post-test, while there were no notable gender differences in pre-test scores. In both tests, participants with high levels of L1 conceptual transfer performed significantly poorer compared to those with low levels. These findings highlight the significant role of L1 conceptual transfer in the English prepositional usage of Vietnamese language learners, while suggesting a minor impact of gender. Further research is needed to delve deeper into this relationship. The results emphasize the importance of addressing L1 conceptual transfer in English language instruction, specifically regarding prepositions, within the context of Vietnam.

The presence of gender bias in school textbooks is a global educational challenge often associated with the hidden curricula. However, while the problem has been almost entirely attributed to general education systems little empirical data exists when it comes to higher education. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to shed light on the uncharted terrain of gender representation in textbooks and learning materials in the higher education context. The study combined quantitative and qualitative content analysis approaches to investigate the magnitude of gender bias. The findings generally show considerable male domination in language use (proper and common nouns and pronouns) and portrayal of actors in prestigious professions like scientists, medical doctors, managers, and top government officials while women are depicted as company employees, school psychologists, and fashion models in pictures and other illustrations used in the textbooks. Finally, the article suggests areas for further research and policy interventions.

The ubiquitous nature of metaphor in everyday life and its significance in second language learning has triggered plethoric research on the relationship between metaphor and language learning. To contribute to the still growing literature, the current study explore the effect of learner variables, namely gender and proficiency, on metaphor use in TEFL students’ writing. To achieve that objective, 27 intermediate and 23 upper-intermediate Iranian TEFL students were asked to write on an IELTS Writing Task 2 topic. Fifty essays were analyzed for metaphor use through Metaphor Identification Procedure (Pragglejaz Group in Metaphor Symb 22(1):1–39, 2007) and Vehicle Identification Procedure (Cameron in Metaphor in educational discourse, Continuum, London, 2003). The data analyzed through t-test and multiple regression analysis revealed the advantage of upper-intermediate students over intermediate students concerning metaphor use in their writing. Gender, on the other hand, did not play an influential role in the students’ metaphor use. The findings of this research and the implications they might have for the field of English language teaching will be discussed.