Discourse analysis

One man on his own can be quite good fun
But don't go drinking with two -
They'll probably have an argument
And take no notice of you.
What makes men so tedious
Is the need to show off and compete.
They'll bore you to death for hours and hours
Before they'll admit defeat.
It often happens at dinner-parties
Where brother disputes with brother
And we can't even talk among ourselves
Because we're not next to each other.
Some men like to argue with women -
Don't give them a chance to begin.
You won't be allowed to change the subject
Until you have given in.
A man with the bit between his teeth
Will keep you up half the night
And the only way to get some sleep
Is to say, 'I expect you're right.'
I expect you're right, my dearest love.
I expect you're right, my friend.
These boring arguments make no difference
To anything in the end. 

7. 
   The extract below is from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It describes what women really want from life. Before you read, predict what ‘female’ characteristics will be described.
   

8. 
   Read the extract quickly. Were your predictions correct? Is the poet’s tone serious, good-humored, critical or a combination of these?
   

From the Canterbury Tales
Some said that woman wonted wealth and treasure,
‘Honour’, said some, some ‘Jollity’ and pleasure,’
some gorgeous clouthes’ and others ‘Fun in bed’,
‘To be oft widowed and remarried’, said
⁵ Others again, and some that what most mattered
Was that we should be cosseted and flattered.
That’s very near the truth, it seems to me;
A man can win us best with flattery.
To dance attendence on us, make a fuss,
¹⁰ Ensnares us all, the best and worst of us.
Some say the things we most desire are these:
freedom to do exactly as we please,
With no one to reprove our faults and lies
Rather to have one call us good and wise.
¹⁵ Truly there’s not a woman in ten score
Who has a fault, and someone rubs the sore
But she will kick if what he says is true;
You try it out and you will find sore too.
However vicious we may be within
²⁰ We like to be thought wise and void of sin.
Others assert we women find it sweet
When we are thought dependable, descreet
And secret, firm of purpose and controlled,
Never betraying things that we are told.
But that’s not worth the handle of rake;
Women canceal a thing? For heaven’s sake!

9. 
   Find words and phrases in the poem which mean the following:
   
   1. 
      (old-fashioned) good fun
      
   2. 
      (old-fashioned) often; repeatedly
      
   3. 
      looked after and protected (like a parent with their child)
      
   4. 
      given lots of compliments so you feel pleased or special
      
   5. 
      give someone lots of attention and care to show you like them
      
   6. 
      deliberately force or trick someone into something
      
   7. 
      (formal) to criticize
      
   8. 
      (old-fashioned) two hundred
      
   9. 
      (poetic) refer to something (for example, a fault) someone doesn’t want mentioned
      
   10. 
       (poetic) object violently
       
   11. 
       violent and dangerous
       
   12. 
       be without something
       
   13. 
       able to keep a secret or behave in a careful way so as not to upset others
       
   14. 
       be disloyal about something or someone
       
   15. 
       hide something
       

10. 
    Which parts of the extract express the following ideas?
    

1. 
   No woman likes to be told what to do or to be criticized.
   
2. 
   Women like other people to think they can keep a secret.
   
3. 
   If a man takes care of a woman and complements her, she will be his.
   
4. 
   Women can never keep a secret.
   
5. 
   Women like other people to have a good opinion of them.
   
6. 
   If you criticize a woman’s faults, she will fight back.
   

11. 
    Read the extract again and answer the following questions
    

1. 
   When do you think the poem was written?
   
2. 
   Which of the points are critical and which are complimentary towards women?
   
3. 
   Why does the writer use the words ‘us’ and ‘we’ throughout the extract?
   
4. 
   Why does the writer say women want to be ‘Oft widowed and remarried’?
   
5. 
   When the writer says ‘But that’s not worth the handle of a rake’, (line 25), does he mean the line before (24) is true or untrue?
   
6. 
   If you had a fault and someone ‘rubbed the sore’, would you ‘kick’?
   

12. 
    Discuss the following questions
    

• Do you think 21^st century women in your country are like the women described in
the extract? Were they like this in the past?
• Do you think the same points could be made about men?
• What do you think men really want?

• 
  Discuss with your partner is it necessary to know how men and women speak or behave when you learn the language? How is it acquired in L1.
  
• 
  Why is it important to discuss the difference between men and women in their speech or behavior ( think from linguistic and didactic point of view)
  

Activity 2 A few jobs and positions have different words for men and women. Work in pairs and fill the table with the word missing. The first has been done for you.