SPA 598 - Gender/Oral Discourse: La Dichosa Palabra

I have finished the longest thing I have ever written: "La Dichosa Palabra: Una búsqueda por la fuente del poder" (the search for the source of power) View here (Spanish). Discourse analysis is very intense because of its subjectivity and the ridiculous amount of factors that can (or cannot) be applied to each context. I've read how the two genders differ in general, but it is hard to come to any conclusions about how girls talk and how guys talk. But, I will say this: Women seem to be able to adopt themselves much better to new, strange and/or (possibly) uncomfortable situations. This could be due to years of oppression they've received and can possibly have a greater capability in discourse style, or it could be due to the fact that most women, more so than man, actually listen and take to heart what people say. When they shake their heads while you talk, they listen. When men do it, they're just putting on a show, in one ear and out the other.

Anyways, this paper is about a TV show in Mexico called La Dichosa Palabra, and I analyze the hour long conversation from three perspectives: turn-taking, politeness and power/prestige. It was fun, but the material required to even have a slight background in the subject is super dense. It digs well into sociology and anthropology, along with plenty of linguistic theories. Hope to have it in English sometime soon... enjoy :-)