摘要

本研究旨在由臺灣電視談話性節目中探討男女性別言談之間的差異。為了比較男女間言談差異，本研究總共分析了『說話量、規避詞、附加問句、加強詞、閩南語、幽默語、禮貌用語及無意義的形容詞』共八項。此外，本研究亦以『調節理論』來解釋為何男女在身處不同性質節目裡與面對不同說話對象時，言談行為會有所改變。在資料收集上，本研究語料取自於十二個收視率最高的談話性節目，並將之錄影下來。
研究結果顯示，男女言語之間確實存在許多差異性。首先，在平均上，男性在公眾場合裡說話的量比女性還多，即使傳統上女性一直被認為是較多話的。此外，男性也較女性用了更多幽默語及閩南語。相較之下，女性說話時較喜歡用規避詞 (hedges)。以上所述幾點和前人研究結果相符。然而，本研究結果卻發現，平均而言，男性比女性用了較多Lakoff (1975) 所提出的『女性用語』，例如『附加問句、加強詞、與禮貌用語』，Lakoff認為這幾點是女性較偏愛使用的言詞。這樣的研究差異是可理解的，因為Lakoff和本研究探討的語言不同，時空背景也不一樣。
本研究結果亦發現，不管男性或女性，他們的言談會隨著說話場景與對話者的不同，而有所差異。他們調節自己的言談方式，旨在尋求聆聽者的認可與認同，及獲得正面的形象。

ABSTRACT

The present study investigates gender differences in language in TV talk shows in Taiwan. In the study, amount of talk, hedges/fillers, tag questions, intensifiers, Southern Min, humorous expressions, polite forms and empty adjectives are analyzed to compare the linguistic patterns of males and females. In addition, accommodation theory is also examined to account for the variation in males’ and females’ linguistic behavior in different types of programs.
The data of the present study consists of 12 clips of conversational programs from different TV stations, collected from TV programs videotaped in three months.
The result of the study indicates that males’ and females’ linguistic patterns are distinct in many ways. As previous research has observed, on the average, males speak more than women in public contexts. Besides, they use more humorous expressions. Moreover, they also speak more Southern Min. By contrast, females use more hedges. However, some findings of the present study contradict those of the previous research. On the average males use more tag questions, polite forms and intensifiers, which are categorized as women’s linguistic features by Lakoff (1975). Such differences may be due to the different contexts and languages between the present study and the previous research.
Furthermore, the finding of the present study shows that people vary their linguistic patterns as the speech contexts and interlocutors change. The accommodation of speech reflects the speakers’ wish for approval and identity from their interlocutors.
In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggest that linguistic difference does exist between males and females. It shows different patterns of speech style between men and women in the public sphere in Taiwan.

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