EXPRESSION OF GENDER-SPECIFIC SPEECH FEATURES IN LITERARY TEXTS IN ENGLISH

Аннотация

This study investigates the manifestation of gender-specific speech features in literary texts, highlighting how linguistic choices reflect and construct social gender identities. By analyzing a range of contemporary and classical English literary works, the research identifies patterns in vocabulary, syntax, pragmatics, and stylistic devices that correlate with male and female characterizations. The findings reveal that authors often employ distinct speech markers—such as politeness strategies, narrative tone, and conversational pacing—to convey gendered perspectives and social roles subtly. Moreover, the study demonstrates that these linguistic features do not merely represent biological sex but interact with cultural expectations and social norms. The research adopts a qualitative approach, combining discourse analysis with literary interpretation, to examine both explicit and implicit gendered expressions. The results underscore the intricate relationship between language and gender in literature and provide insights for further studies in sociolinguistics, stylistics, and gender studies. This work contributes to understanding how literature serves as a mirror of societal gender constructs and linguistic variation