A Sociolinguistic Study of Sex Differences in Kurdish in Dohuk/ Kurdistan-IRAQ

Abstract

This paper examines language sex differences (henceforth SDs)
in Kurdish Language (henceforth KL) in Dohuk at lexical, syntactic
and semantic levels and attempts to explore the influence of
sociolinguistic incentives (i.e., topic, setting, and participants
including their age, sex and literacy). It is hypothesized that females
and males (henceforth Fs and Ms) speak differently. This study aims
at proving that Iraqi speech community is not a homogeneous one
with shared linguistic norms as Chomsky claims (i.e., „the ideal
speaker/ listener theory‟). It is based on data collected from Bahdinani
informants in Dohuk.
This study is also expected to shed light on this phenomenon
with reference to its nature, causes, how and where they occur. This
paper also tackles SDs in expressing apology, compliments,
complaints, condolence, congratulations, greetings, leave-takings,
refusal, swearing, thanks giving, and threatening. It ends with some
findings and recommendations, which call for future empirical studies
of SDs to give a comprehensive picture of them in Iraq and the World
with reference to sex-mixed interaction, gossip and verbosity,
interruption, joke-telling, language acquisition, language change,
communicative competence, self-disclosure, social stereotypes, taboo
expressions, use of proverbs, tag questions and stylistic SDs.