(Un)Successful Communication: Sex-Based Differences and Contrasts

Abstract

The aim of this paper is the presentation of the features of successful and unsuccessful communication as well as the factors influencing the outcome of a conversation. According to the popular belief, in order to reach understanding in a conversation, the interlocutor should correctly decode and pragmatically enrich the message sent by the speaker, observing the general principles of politeness and cooperation. The observance of these norms alone does not, however, guarantee the successful outcome of communication. Another significant factor influencing communication is the sex of the interlocutors. Both men and women are characterized by different linguistic behaviour in communication and various communicative expectations from their interlocutors. The difference in the languages spoken by men and women and the variety of their conversational needs frequently cause the impossibility of reading each other’s intentions correctly and result in failing to discover the speaker’s meaning. One of the main objectives of this paper is to prove that gender differences in informal communication can also influence the results of conversation between men and women and that different communicative features of these interlocutors may cause misunderstandings, understatements and other problems in their every-day interaction. The paper presents Robin Lakoff’s and Deborah Tannen’s insights concerning the communication between men and women, further analysed on example conversations taken from TV series: According to Jim (Season 1, Episode 16), Desperate Housewives (Season 8, Episode 5), Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 1, Episode 2).