Gender-Related Features in the Use of the Hedge "You Know" - A Case Study of Conversations on the Radio Station, London’s Biggest Conversation 97.3FM

Abstract

Aims: To examine gender-related features in conversations with the focus on the use of the hedge you know and compare the findings with previous studies. Method: A quantitative study of the use of you know in conversations on the radio station. Material: The phone-in radio station London’s Biggest Conversation 97.3FM Main results: The main results are that women tend to use you know as a marker of politeness particularly with a female addressee; they also use it as a marker of optional element. By contrast, men tend to use it as a marker of obligatory constituents when the utterance is imprecise. These findings agree with previous studies, but there are also some findings which disagree with them, namely that women seem to use you know as a marker of camaraderie similar to men, and men use you know as false start in a way that women have been found to do in the data of previous research.