Gender based linguistic variation in Pakistani context:

Genders have various attributes in the usage of language, which leads to the gender variations and
differences in language. Male and female, although being sub-groups of a same community have
distinctive linguistic features. In this regard, the following essay aims at observing the differences in
communication style of Pakistani men and women, which ultimately leads to gender-based variation in
their language.

Since communication style is gender dependent, men and women possess different style of
communication. In a typical Pakistani community, the gender stereotype of the present-day society says
that women tend to ramble than men and show interest in gossiping, chit-chatting, and spreading
rumors. Since women are a lot more talkative than men, they tend to spend more time in
communication than men do. In this regard, Pakistani women are well known on the telephone tattle,
gossiping, and continually attempting to speak with their companions, while men, in this case,
consistently remain calm and talk less.

In Pakistani females, there is also a tendency to use hedges in between a conversation. Hedges are
devices used to alter the intensity of sentence in a manner to make the discussion more respectful.
Generally, hedges are used by the listener in front of the speaker to soften the speaker’s statement.
Since Pakistani society is consistently a male-dominant society, it is obligatory upon the females,
particularly in front of their spouse and in workplace, to use hedges so as to signal agreement and sound
courteous. In this regard, a Pakistani woman may use words and phrases like: “Jee bilkul, haan jee, sahi
baat hai... “etc to show that she is considerately listening to the speaker. In some cases, men also use
hedges as a sign of respect, but this habit is frequently found in females.

In lower class families of Pakistan, there is a tendency in men to use abusive language and swearing
words which in the case of women, is not quite common since they use polite language than men.
Moreover, being a part of a male-dominant society, women are supposed to talk in a lower pitch and a
softer tone than men.

In a typical Pakistani society, there is a feeling of being status conscious in females, especially in upper-
and middle-class women and it is reflected in their speech. In order to sound like an elite, a Pakistani
female may brag about her belongings and property as well as her lavish lifestyle in front of others so
that she may gain respect on account of her high status. Pakistani men on the other hand generally do
not show any such aspect of status consciousness in their language and tend to have a direct and
straightforward conversation. In this regard, since women are a lot more emotionally intense than men,
they tend to diverge from a certain topic and talk about similar other topics to elaborate themselves. For
example, they may start off with a topic related to a recipe of a certain dish and then go on to discuss
about how their cooking style differs from a friend who lives nearby. Men on the contrary are less
expressive in their conversation and stick to the point.

In conclusion, language is a significant communicative tool and advances with the improvement of the
society. Since there is a complicated relationship between gender and language, gender variation is not
only a reflection of the difference in speech among male and females, rather it is a reflection of their
attitude.