MANIFESTATION OF GENDER PREDISPOSITIONS IN CONVERSATIONAL STYLES AMONG THE LUHYA IN MULEMBE FM RADIO CALL-IN- SHOWS BY BOAZ S.W. MALOBA A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN LINGUISTICS MOI UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES P.O. BOX 3900 ELDORET AUGUST 2014 ii DECLARATION Declaration by the Candidate This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for the award of a degree in any other university. No part of this work may be reproduced without the prior permission from the author and/or Moi University. Signature……………………………………………Date……………………… BOAZ S.W. MALOBA SASS/PGL/06/06 Declaration by the Supervisors This thesis is submitted with our approval as the University supervisors. Signature………………………………....………Date…………………………… DR. JUSTINE SIKUKU. DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES, MOI UNIVERSITY. Signature……………………………………………Date……………………… DR. JERRY AGALO. DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES, MOI UNIVERSITY. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this study to the late Mzee James Maloba Wabulitsa and all those whose vision is to better our lives through the power of knowledge. iv ABSTRACT Differences in conversational styles between men and women usually turn out to disadvantage women. Language perpetuates male dominance and determines the way we view the world around us. It is not clear however; whether men are actually superior to women. The main objective in this study is to establish whether participants on Mulembe FM call-in programmes use different conversational styles in mitigating their face needs and how notions of power and powerlessness tend to manifest as a factor of their socio-cultural background. A mixed method approach on the case study of Mulembe FM radio station call-in programmes is used to collect and analyse both quantitative and qualitative discourse data. Three theories are adopted for this study: the Community of Practice (CoP), Conversational Analysis (CA) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). CoP proponents Eckert and McConnell-Ginet (1999) look at conversational styles in relation to language and gender research, as a move away from reliance on binary oppositions and global statements about the behaviour of all men and women, to more nuanced and mitigated statements about certain groups of men and women in particular circumstances. CA focuses distinctly on the organization and use of language while CDA on the other hand focuses on communicative features that play a role in the production of dominance by one group over another. It views language as a form of social practice that focuses on the ways social and political domination are reproduced by text and talk. The current study reveals that in as much as there are differences in the speech patterns and behaviour of men and women who speak Luhya language, other factors including age, status, economic prowess other than gender can determine the way one speaks on Mulembe FM call-in programmes and in general conversation. It is concluded that men are dominance oriented, more assertive and competitive in their speech while women were found supportive and cooperative but this is dependent on the context. It is recommended that future studies in language and gender must take into account the variety of contexts and other external factors. More studies need to be done in different contexts to examine gender behaviour on the discourse level. Such studies can include informal interactions between husbands and wives, casual conversations among same or cross sex friends, and forth. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ..................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................................................... x ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................. xi DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS ...................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................. 1 Background to the Study ....................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the Study ................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................ 4 1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study ..................................................................... 5 1.4 Research Questions ......................................................................................... 5 1.5 Justification of the Study ................................................................................. 6 1.6 Assumptions of the Study ................................................................................ 7 1.7 Scope of the Study .......................................................................................... 8 1.8 Limitations of the Study .................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................. 10 The Literature Review, Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks ........................ 10 2.0 Introduction................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Theoretical Foundations in Language, Gender and Politeness ........................ 10 2.1.1 Dominance Approach ................................................................................. 11 2.1.2 Politeness, Gender and Community of Practice .......................................... 14 2.1.2.1 Amount of Speech ............................................................................. 16 2.1.2.2 Turn Taking and Floor Holding ......................................................... 16 2.1.2.3 Interruptions ...................................................................................... 18 2.2 Powerful and Powerless Language ................................................................ 19 2.2.1 Assertive and Supportive language ............................................................. 20 2.2.2 Questions and Question tags ....................................................................... 21 vi 2.2.3 Indirectness ................................................................................................ 23 2.2.4 Stereotypes ................................................................................................. 24 2.3 Culture, Language and Gender ...................................................................... 27 2.3.1 Language and Culture ................................................................................ 30 2.3.2 Gender and Status ...................................................................................... 32 2.3.3 Honorifics .................................................................................................. 34 2.4 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................. 35 2.5 Gap in Literature ........................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................... 41 Research Methodology........................................................................................ 41 3.0 Introduction................................................................................................... 41 3.1 Research Design ............................................................................................ 41 3.2 The Research Area ........................................................................................ 42 3.3 Study Population ........................................................................................... 43 3.4 Sampling Techniques .................................................................................... 43 3.5 Methods of Data Collection ........................................................................... 45 3.5.1 Primary Data .............................................................................................. 45 3.5.1.1 Audio Recorded Data ........................................................................ 45 3.5.1.2 Interviews .......................................................................................... 46 3.5.1.3 The Check List .................................................................................. 46 3.5.2 Secondary Data .......................................................................................... 46 3.6 Validity and Reliability of the Research Instruments ..................................... 47 3.6.1