Why do men and women speak differently?

Do men and women really speak differently? If so, why? Let's take a look! Men are from Mars and women are from Venus? Gender difference theory explained: Gender difference theory is modelled on the idea that men and women really do speak differently. For example, researcher Deborah Tannen would say that the difference begins in childhood, where parents use more verbs when they talk to boys and are more likely to discuss feelings with girls. She says that there are innate differences in male and female language, such as the fact that women speak symmetrically, talk more and are more likely to overlap. Meanwhile, men speak one at a time, get more air time, and negotiate status. We belong to different subcultures and are very literally speaking different languages!Gender dominance theory Gender dominance theory is that there isn't an innate difference in men and women's language. Indeed, the difference we see in the way men and women talk is actually just a result of the different situations they face (for instance, the respective environments . It's all about power: the traits we attribute to 'male' language are a result of men having power and control. Likewise, 'women's language' is just the language of powerlessness. KEY THINKERS: William O'Barr and Bowman AtkinsAn alternative theory? Robin Lakoff (1975) was a believer in this to some extent. She combined elements of dominance and difference theory and created a set of female characteristics:Women hedge.Women use super polite forms: "Would you please...?" "I'd really appreciate it if..."Women speak in italics (use more prosodic features): It's soooo nice...They use empty adjectives: divine, lovely, adorable...They use modal verbs: should, would...Overuse qualifiers. "I think that..."They use mitigated responses and hidden directives.They have special lexis for things like colours and cloth.They avoid coarse language and expletives.Women can't tell jokes.Troubleshooting!What's the difference between gender and sex? And now your turn...What do you think? How could you apply your knowledge of these theories and different researchers in an exam-style question?