MALE AND FEMALE ATTITUDES TOWARDS SLANG, VULGARISMS AND PROFESSIONAL VOCABULARY

Abstract

This study examines the gender effect on the attitudes towards slang expressions, two types of vulgarisms, and professional vocabulary. Participants (N = 663) evaluated the speakers as well as the appropriateness of four texts, each containing expressions belonging to one of these lexical phenomena. The speaker’s gender was manipulated. Participants’ gender had an effect on the evaluation of the text’s appropriateness and on the speaker’s evaluation with regard to slang expressions and both types of vulgarisms. Women disliked them more than men did. The speaker’s gender had an effect on the evaluation only when professional vocabulary was used: men were evaluated higher than women. Latent sexism in Bulgarian society is discussed.