Language and Gender in Dari Persian

Abstract

Language is not used in a uniform and identical way within society, as class, social status, age, and gender play a significant role in creating linguistic variations. In sociolinguistics, the issue of gender and its influence on linguistic diversity is a fundamental topic. Women and men in a speech community employ different linguistic styles. These differences are often noticeable at the level of vocabulary and sentence structures. Women usually tend to use softer and more indirect language with an emphasis on emotions, whereas men employ stronger and more direct language to demonstrate power and independence. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of gender on linguistic structures and the linguistic differences between women and men in both every day and formal conversations. This research investigates the relationship between language and gender in Afghanistan and explores linguistic differences and patterns of social interaction between the two genders through a field-based approach. Relying on sociolinguistic and sociological theories, the study analyzes various aspects of language and gender in Dari Persian. The findings reveal that linguistic differences between Afghan men and women—at the levels of vocabulary, grammatical structures (morphology and syntax), idioms, expressions, proverbs, and linguistic usage—are rooted in social and cultural roles and beliefs.