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Research in this area can perhaps most usefully be divided into two main areas of study: first, there is a broad and sustained interest in the varieties of speech associated with a particular gender; also a related interest in the social norms and conventions that (re)produce gendered language use (a variety of speech, or sociolect associated with a particular gender which is sometimes called a genderlect). Second, there are studies that focus on ways language can produce and maintain sexism and gender bias ,and studies that focus on the contextually specific and locally situated ways in which gender is constructed and operationalized. In this sense, researchers try to understand how language affects the gender binary in society and how it helps to create and support the male-female division.

History
The early studies on the notion of language and gender are combined into the fields of linguistics, feminist theory, and political practice. The feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s started to research on the relationship between language and gender. These researches were related to the women's liberation movement, and their goal was to discover the linkage between language usage and gender asymmetries. Since, feminists have been working on the ways that language is maintaining the existing patriarchy and sexism. There are two significant questions in the studies of language and gender. One of them is about the presence of gender bias in languages, and the other one is about the differences between genders while using the language. These two questions, however, have divided the field into two separate areas.

One of the most outstanding sentiments in these studies is the concept of power. Researchers have been trying to understand the patterns of language to show how it can reflect the power imbalance in society. Some of them believe that men have social advantages which can be seen in the men's usage of language. Also, some of them think that there are women’s disadvantages in society which are reflected in language. Robin Lakoff, whose book "Language and Woman's Place" is the first official research in this field, once argued that: "the marginality and powerlessness of women is reflected in both the ways men and women are expected to speak and the ways in which women are spoken of." For example, some feminist language researchers have tried to find how the advantages of men had manifested in language. They argue how, in the past, philosophers, politicians, grammarians, linguists, and others were men who have had control over language, so they entered their sexist thoughts in it as a means to regulate their domination. Therefore, this field is looking for the ways a language can contribute to inequality and sexism in society.

Language and Power
In the past, many feminist language researchers used to believe that power is something separate from the language, which helps powerful groups, for example, men, to dominate the way language is being produced and used in society. Nowadays, some researchers consider that power is embedded in the language structures rather than being outside of it. For instance, the language of science helps to regulate the ideas of the dominant groups in it, which can never be completely neutral. Even in psychology, the interpretations of gender had always some benefits for the academics who were writing about it, so it was always important that who is using the language and how they are using it to explain something. The norms of appropriate ways of talking for different genders are an example of the concept of power in language. There are many social forces to determine the ways different genders are supposed to communicate with each other. As these norms are the results of the present hierarchy in society, doubting them leads to challenging the social orders which originate these patterns. Many studies in this field presume that there are gender differences in language use; therefore, they examine how different genders vary in their speech styles. However, This approach does not incorporate the debate that who, initially, decided to set these differences and norms, and why these norms are generally accepted. "Language is a complex and dynamic system that produces meaning about social categories such as gender". In this sense, power is not something outside this system, but it is a part of it.

The notion of gender is not static. Rather, this notion varies from culture to culture and time to time. "Feminine" and "Masculine" are socially constructed concepts that through a set of repeated acts, have become natural. Simone de Beauvoir's famous dictum manifests this idea: "one is not born, but rather becomes a woman." Accordingly, performing acts following social norms leads to the phenomenon of gendered speech. As femininity and masculinity are not fixed concepts, their style of talking can also be as a result of power relations in society regulating social standards.

In each society, the notion of gender is being learned from early childhood through conversation, humor, parenting, institutions, media, and other ways of imparting knowledge. Hence, gender seems a natural and even scientific concept to all the individuals of a society. Many scholars have been trying to not only find the truth behind this common sense but also understand why this concept is taking for granted. This kind of research requires to question some underlying assumptions about gender, and approach this concept from a different point of view. Gender is not something people born with, but people learn to perform and act based on the expected norms of it, which has nothing to do with physiology and hormones.

In the matter of linguistic competence- the ability to produce knowledge and understand it via language-, sociolinguistics and linguist anthropologists believe that only knowledge of structure and morphology cannot help a person to communicate with others. Instead, they think that one needs to know the social norms people use in different languages in order to interact with them. People gradually learn how to use language in specific social situations and develop communicative competence. Therefore, language and social norms are dynamic and interconnected. As people use language in respect to these norms, it plays a vital role in manifesting and sustaining social standards and can be a tool for reproducing power relations and gender oppression. One of the examples to show this interconnection would be the fact that there is no equivalent for "sir" to use in addressing a female authority. This fact cannot be related to the language itself, but it is correlated to the perception that authorities have always been male. The other example is the way women get addressed by Miss, Mrs., or Ms., while Men are only addressed by Mr., which is a term that shows their gender, not marital status. Unlike men, women's relationships can affect their social status, and they can be judged and qualified based on it.

Language variations
''added this paragraph to the first part of this section. changed the heading "studies" to "language variations" because "studies" was too general.''

Some researchers believe that the notion of gender is socially constructed. They argue that sex refers to the biological differences between people, while gender can refer to the role of a particular sex in society. Therefore, as language reflects the social relations between people, and has nothing to do with biology, the variations of speech between genders are not a scientific fact related to physiology or sex. They are only related to arbitrary social norms. There is a significant debate on the existence of differences between different gender's language usages at all. Many scholars believe that insisting on the presence of these differences produces stereotypical ideas about the dichotomy male-female and helps maintaining gender bias.

Politeness
The original text:

"Politeness in speech is described in terms of positive and negative face. Positive face refers to one's desire to be liked and admired, while negative face refers to one's wish to remain autonomous and not to suffer imposition. Both forms, according to Penelope Brown's study of the Tzeltal language, are used more frequently by women whether in mixed or single-sex pairs, suggesting for Brown a greater sensitivity in women than have men to face the needs of others. In short, women are to all intents and purposes largely more polite than men. However, negative face politeness can be potentially viewed as weak language because of its associated hedges and tag questions, a view propounded by O'Barr and Atkins (1980) in their work on courtroom interaction."

this paragraph has been deleted because it had outdated data and was reproducing gender stereotypes.

my paragraph:

Some of the scholars in this area have been focusing on the notion of politeness in female's usages of language. They believe that there is a generalization about conservativeness and politeness in women's speech. They argue that it is commonly believed that women are gentle, and men are rough and rude; while there is no evidence for the total accuracy of this perception. Researchers have tried to examine the reasons behind it. Statistics show a pattern that women tend to use more "standard" variable of the language. For example, in the case of negative concord, e.g., I didn't do anything vs. I didn't do nothing, women usually use the standard form. Pierre Bourdieu introduced the concept of the linguistic marketplace. According to this concept, different varieties of language have different values. When people want to be accepted in a diplomatic organization, they need to have a range of knowledge to show their competency. Possessing the right language is as important as the right style of dress. Both of these manners have social values. While Bourdieu focuses on the diplomatic corps, it would be true if people want to be accepted in other contexts such as an urban ghetto. The market that one wants to engage with has a profound effect on the value of the variation of language they may use. The relations of each gender to linguistic markets are different. A research on the pronunciation of English in Norwich has shown that women's usage is considerably more conservative regarding the standard variation of the language they speak. This research provides the pieces of evidence that women's exclusion from the workplace has led to this variation. As women in some cases have not had the same position as men and their opportunities to secure these positions have been fewer, they have tried to use more "valuable" variations of the language. It can be the standard one, or the polite version of it, or the so-called "right" one.