usage query

[Janet Holmes]

Alice Freed gave an excellent paper with empirical data on just this issue at the 3rd IGALA Conference at Cornell in June this year

Janet


 



-----Original Message-----
From: Marilyn Frye [mailto:mfrye at WATARTS.UWATERLOO.CA]
Sent: Thursday, 22 July 2004 4:04 a.m.
To: FLING at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
Subject: usage query


I've come across the speculation that north american English speakers
use the words 'sex' and 'gender' interchangeably, and also the words
'male' and 'masculine',   and the words  'female' and 'feminine'.   My
linguistic intuition is that these terms may be used interchangeably in
some contexts, but that the patterns of usage overall are, in the case
of each pair, distinct.  My intuitions are not, however, coming forth
with the rules governing the usages.

Have there been any empirical studies of the non-specialist,
not-academic usage of these terms, in say the current and preceding
decade?

Thanks.

Marilyn