2007 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 30-40
This work reports findings on the relationship between speaker sex and linguistic behavior of young Japanese in explanation-giving dialogues. The relationship between speaker sex and (1) the choice of utterance final forms; and (2) the prosodic characteristics of these forms, was examined. Data from 110 students of the Tokyo area revealed no statistically significant effect of the sex factor on the linguistic forms used. However, a statistically significant difference between males and females was seen for the intonation and rhythm of utterence final syllables. Also, the scripts written by women revealed a statistically significant use of symbols, suggesting underlying vowel lengthening or hesitation.
