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This volume aims to demonstrate that the centre/periphery tension allows for a theory of gender understood as a power relationship with implications for a political analysis of language structures, language uses and linguistic resistances. All of the 12 chapters included in this volume work on understudied languages such as Moldovan, Lakota, Cantonese, Bajjika, Croatian, Hebrew, Arabic, Ciluba, Cantonese, Cypriot Greek, Korean, Malaysian, Basque and Belarusian and they all explore from the margins different dimensions of social gender in grammar. The diversity of languages is reflected in the range of theoretical frameworks (linguistic anthropology, systemic functional linguistics, contrastive syntactical analysis to name a few) used by the authors in order to apprehend the fluidity of gender(-ed) language and identity, to highlight the social constraints on daily discourse and to identify discourses that resist gender norms. This book will be highly relevant for students and researchers working on the interface of gender with morpho-syntax, semantics, pragmatics and discourse analysis.

Gender Matters presents a feminist linguistic analysis of texts – literature, media and lyrics – and conversation. It explores how gender relates to and shapes our understanding of sexism, reading and writing, politeness and public speaking. The essays in the book examine a range of questions: why is it necessary for feminists to analyse or comment on sexism when sexism is widely regarded as an anachronistic concern? How can feminists describe the effect of gender on the experience of literature? Why are women considered more capable of private rather than public speech? What is the relation between gender and politeness and are women more polite than men? In analysing these themes, Gender Matters highlights the insights and strengths of both second and third wave feminist analysis for linguistics.

Language, Gender and Feminism presents students and researchers with key contemporary theoretical perspectives, methodologies and analytical frameworks in the field of feminist linguistic analysis.Mills and Mullany cover a wide range of contemporary feminist theories and emphasise the importance of an interdisciplinary approach. Topics covered include: power, language and sexuality, sexism and an exploration of the difference between second and third wave feminist analysis. Each chapter presents examples from research conducted in different cultural and linguistic contexts which allows students to observe practical applications of all current theories and approaches. Throughout oral and written language data, from a wealth of different contexts, settings and sources, is thoroughly analysed. The book concludes with a discussion of how the field could advance and a overview of the various research methods, pertinent for future work in language and gender study.Language, Gender and Feminism is an invaluable text for students new to the discipline of Language and Gender studies within English Language, Linguistics, Communication Studies and Women's Studies, as well as being an up-to-date resource for more established researchers and scholars.