MILLENNIALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF GENDERED LANGUAGE FEATURES OF FACEBOOK COMMUNICATION

Fung, Kirstie Tet Mei and Ting, Su Hie and Chuah, Kee Man (2021) MILLENNIALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF GENDERED LANGUAGE FEATURES OF FACEBOOK COMMUNICATION. In: The 3rd International Conference on Language Studies (iCLS 2021). “Language Sustainability: Reality, Challenges and Directions in the Digital Technology Era”, 8 - 9 September 2021, Online (Virtual).

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Abstract

The study examined millennials’ perceptions of gendered language features in Facebook communication. A total of 60 millennials were presented with samples of Facebook messages and asked to guess the gender of the writer, and to give reasons for identifying the writer as female or male. The results showed that the participants correctly guessed the gender of 71.43% out of 14 Facebook commenters. The main markers of male language features are harsh language, straightforward and shorter comment length, certain topics of discussions, word choice, and social role. The harsh language refers to rough, animal references, and cursing. Male word choice is inclined towards negativity. On the other hand, the main markers of female language features are giving advice, longer comments, presence of emotions, supportiveness, soft spokenness, word choice and feminine topics of discussion. Female word choice is reflected in use of words like “whatever”, certain modifications of spellings and use of selected swear words. The findings indicate distinctions between female and male language features in face-to-face communication which have persisted through time and are carried into the context of social media communication.

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