ABSTRACT
The study of language in relation to gender has two main foci. First, it has been observed by many linguists that men and women speak differently; secondly, it has been observed by many feminists and by some linguists that men and women are spoken about differently, and it is often claimed that the language is discriminatory against women. This entry will deal with both foci, although some linguists would claim that only the first is truly a linguistic issue. While it is undoubtedly the case that an entry could be written about each and every topic that language is used to refer to, it is also true that the question of how the language deals with men and women respectively has been a major topic in feminist debate; it is therefore fitting that the subject should be covered here (compare, also, the entries on METAPHOR and CRITICAL LINGUISTICS, both of which similarly suggest that the defining power of language is of major sociological importance).
