A Comparative Study of the Lexical Differences in Speech of the Graduate Working and Non-Working Women in District Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

Previous studies delineate speeches of men and women on the basis of gender, ignoring factors like context and social roles, which the present study takes into consideration by exploring the lexical differences in speech of the graduate working and non-working women in District Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; stereotyped for following the patriarchal norms. The study evaluates differences in the use of lexical items based on context-based authority, not gender and challenges Lakoff’s (1975) theory of women’s language as powerless in the context of KP. Mixed method research and Fairclough’s Critical Discourse. Analysis technique (CDA) help to analyse five features from women’s language namely lexical hedges, adjectives, intensifiers, minimal responses and super polite orms. The research sample comprises fifteen female participants;six on- working graduate women and nine working graduate women selected randomly from the district Peshawar. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews.The study finds that non-working women use five lexical items 1,261 times i.e. 34.84 % whereas working women employed these 777 times i.e. 17.73 % illustrating a difference of 484. The study concludes that women’s speech changes as the roles change particularly as per the context-based authority, not gender. The present study is helpful in understanding the sociolinguistic perspective of women’s language in KP. In future, researchers may investigate women’s speech in English learning classrooms in KP.