ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with differences between women and men in the way that they use language. It will also be concerned with why these differences arise. It is possible that some differences between the language of men and women stem from differences in anatomy and physiology. The view taken here, however, is that the more significant differences are socially constructed. For that reason the term ‘gender’ rather than ‘sex’ has been adopted to discuss the linguistic differences between men and women.
