Abstract

The study of language and gender has been greatly advanced by focusing on the local and the particular. Now is the time to explore what more we can learn by looking at gendered speakers’ use of typologically different languages. How do the resources provided by each language affect the ways in which women and men construct gendered identities in their cultures and communities? What resources do the languages provide at various linguistic levels? What frameworks account for gender-linked variation in specific local contexts? As we advance our understanding of locally constructed masculinities and femininities, these questions impel the studies brought together in this volume, which investigate Maori, Japanese, Hebrew, Tamil, Chinese, Korean, English, Arabic, Sinhala, and Ekegusii. Written for scholars of linguistics, this collection illustrates the current state of understanding of the interaction of language and social gender, and it suggests directions for future research.