For some, the issue was to put Lakoff's linguistic claims to the empirical test. This publication brought about a flurry of research and debate. In this way, language itself is a tool of oppression - it is learned as part of learning to be a woman, imposed on women by societal norms, and in turn it keeps women in their place. This language, she went on to argue, renders women's speech tentative, powerless, and trivial and as such, it disqualifies them from positions of power and authority. Women's language, according to Lakoff, is rife with such devices as mitigators ( sort of, I think) and inessential qualifiers ( really happy, so beautiful). Lakoff's article argued that women have a different way of speaking from men - a way of speaking that both reflects and produces a subordinate position in society. Thus was launched the study of language and gender. There were those who found the entire topic trivial - yet another ridiculous manifestation of feminist “paranoia.” And there were those - mostly women - who jumped in to engage with the arguments and issues that Lakoff had put forth. In 1972, Robin Lakoff published an article entitled “Language and woman's place,” which created a huge fuss.
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