Double-Voicing at Work Power, Gender and Linguistic Expertise

'Double-voicing' means that when a person speaks, they have a heightened awareness of the concerns and agendas of others, which is reflected in the ways they adjust their language in response to interlocutors. The Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin famously applied the concept of 'double-voiced discourse' to the world of literature, but just touched upon its relevance to everyday language. This book reveals how 'double-voicing' is an inherent and routine part of spoken interactions within educational and professional contexts. Double-voicing is closely related to the ways in which power relations are constructed between speakers, as it is often used by less powerful speakers to negotiate perceived threats from more powerful others. The book explores how women leaders use double-voicing more than men as a means of gaining acceptance and approval in the workplace. While double-voicing at times indexes a speaker's linguistic insecurity, the book argues that it can be harnessed to demonstrate linguistic expertise.

Judith Baxter is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Aston University, UK. She has written and edited many publications on the themes of language and gender, language and education, and the language of leadership. The research represented in this book derives from a major UK Research Council grant on gender and the language of leadership, as well as a case study of Judith's work featured in the BBC2 TV series Hilary Devey's Women at the Top.

1.Double-voicing in our Everyday Lives
2.Bakhtin's Theories of Double-voiced Discourse
3.Case Study 1: Double-voicing and Group Interactions in the University Classroom
4.Case Study 2: Double-voicing and Leadership in Business Meetings
5.The Significance of Double-voicing