The Influence of Gender on Communication

Abstract

DOI: 10.19251/sej/2019.9(2)

Abstract

Today sex is no longer consid­ered only as a biological feature. Being a woman or a man does not just mean having particular anatomy. Femininity and masculinity in the modern discourse are more general concepts, considered biological, social and cultural sex. When it comes to communication, Nęcki [1996] states that among the types of conversation we distinguish the verbal and nonverbal communication. Verbal (linguistic) com­munication is the process of exchanging information between people through the system of audio or graphic signs called language. R. Jacobson [1960] singled out several elements of linguistic communi­cation, characteristic for all speech acts: sender - context - contact - the message. Oral communication is the most common way of transmission of meaning between people. Nonverbal communication is main­ly our language: of the body, time, space and appearance. The essential elements of nonverbal communication include ges­tures, facial expressions, posture, touch, communication distance zone, smell, eye contact, and even appearance. Nonverbal communication is a mirror image of our attitude, lived emotional states and mate­rial status.

The present study aims at examin­ing the influence of gender on verbal and nonverbal communication as well as the existing relationship between them.