Gender and the Language of Illness

Contents......Page 8
List of Tables......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 15
1.1 Introduction – sex, gender and identity......Page 16
1.2.1 Introduction......Page 19
1.2.2 Sex......Page 20
1.2.3 Sex roles......Page 21
1.2.4 Comparison of sex and sex roles......Page 23
1.3.1 Introduction......Page 26
1.3.2 Communities of practice......Page 27
1.3.3 Discourse......Page 29
1.4.1 Illness and language......Page 32
1.4.2 Illness and gender......Page 34
1.4.3 Language and age......Page 36
1.4.4 Language and social class......Page 37
1.5 Summary......Page 39
2.2 Variationist sociolinguistics......Page 40
2.3 Corpus-based research......Page 43
2.4.1 Keywords......Page 47
2.4.2 Key concepts......Page 49
2.4.3 Keywords and key concepts compared......Page 51
2.5 Deriving discourses from keywords and key concepts......Page 56
2.6 Corpus and sub-corpora......Page 60
2.6.1 The full matched sample......Page 62
2.6.2 The social class (SEC) matched sample......Page 63
2.6.4 The specific illness sample......Page 64
2.7 Summary......Page 66
3.1 Introduction: Men and discourses of illness......Page 67
3.2 Linguistic strategy: Reification......Page 71
3.3 Linguistic strategy: Deictic distancing......Page 77
3.4.1 Introduction......Page 84
3.4.3 ‘System/s’......Page 88
3.5 Discursive style: Avoidance through sports talk......Page 91
3.6 Discursive style: Swearing......Page 97
3.7 Summary......Page 100
4.1 Introduction......Page 102
4.2.1 Overview......Page 105
4.2.2 Verb analysis......Page 106
4.3.1 Analysis of mental process verb (cognitive): ‘Think/Thought’......Page 110
4.3.2 Analysis of mental process verb (cognitive): ‘Mean’......Page 113
4.3.3 Analysis of mental process verb (cognitive): ‘Imagine’......Page 119
4.3.4 Analysis of mental process verb (cognitive): ‘Know’......Page 121
4.4.1 Analysis of mental process verb (cognitive): ‘Knew’......Page 124
4.4.2 Analysis of mental process verb (affective): ‘Need’......Page 126
4.4.3 Analysis of mental process verb (affective): ‘Want’......Page 131
4.5 Summary......Page 132
5.1 Introduction: Gender and emotion......Page 134
5.2.1 Overview – Emotional disclosure......Page 139
5.2.2 Low SEC women......Page 144
5.2.3 High SEC men......Page 149
5.2.4 High SEC women......Page 156
5.2.5 Low SEC men......Page 160
5.3.1 Overview......Page 162
5.3.2 Younger men......Page 166
5.3.3 Younger women......Page 170
5.3.4 Older men......Page 172
5.3.5 Older women......Page 174
5.4 Summary......Page 176
6.1 Research on support......Page 177
6.2.1 Overview......Page 181
6.2.2 Gender specific use of support-related lexis......Page 184
6.2.3 Socio-economic classification (SEC)......Page 186
6.2.4 Age......Page 187
6.3.1 Men’s sources of support: ‘People: Male’ and ‘Belonging to a Group’......Page 190
6.4 Modes of communication......Page 200
6.3.2 Women’s sources of support: ‘Kin’ and ‘family’......Page 195
6.4.1 Use of ‘talk’......Page 202
6.4.2 Use of ‘phone’......Page 204
6.4.3 Use of reported speech......Page 205
6.4.4 Use of ‘write’......Page 207
6.5 Summary......Page 210
7.2 The language of illness experience......Page 211
7.3.1 Key concepts: Measurement and time......Page 216
7.3.2 Lifestyle change and self-transformation......Page 223
7.4.1 Overview......Page 230
7.4.2 Key concept analysis of gender and heart disease......Page 231
7.5 Summary......Page 240
8 Conclusion......Page 241
Appendix 1 Men’s Key Concepts (Full Matched Sample)......Page 245
Appendix 2 Women’s Key Concepts (Full Matched Sample)......Page 247
Appendix 3 Significance Levels for Log-Likelihood Test......Page 249
Appendix 4 Demographic Sample of the British National Corpus......Page 250
References......Page 252
Index......Page 260