No one would disagree with the claim that language and thought interact in many significant ways. There is great disagreement, however, about the proposition that each specific language has its own influence on the thought and action of its speakers.

It is widely acknowledged that knowing a language is more than just grammar and vocabulary.

Indisputably, sex differences constitute a fundamental fact of our lives and, as such, it stands to reason that they should be reflected in language.

Teaching as doing: the behavioural view

In their seminal book, “Language and Ideology,” Hodge and Kress (1979: vii) say that ‘[d]isciplines, unlike cows, yield least when most contented’—and theirs is a legitimate contention.