THE ROLE OF GENDER IN LANGUAGE USE IN FOOD VLOGS: ASOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Keywords:
Gendered language, Food vlogs, Sociolinguistics, Engagement strategies, Hyland’s Metadiscourse Model, Report talk, Digital media communicationAbstract
This research investigates the use of gender in language in food vlogs, where it centers on adjective use
and strategies of engagement using a sociolinguistic framework. With Hyland's Metadiscourse Model and
Tannen's Report vs. Rapport Talk, the research examines ten food vlogs (five by male and five by female
uploaders). Findings identify male uploaders as using more descriptive adjectives and utilizing stronger
interactive metadiscourse markers that stress information delivery ("report talk"). Compared to female
vloggers, male vloggers employ more emotional adjectives and prefer interactional markers to promote
audience affiliation ("rapport talk"). Quantitative results indicate that male vloggers lead the use of transitions
and engagement markers, whereas females exhibit higher usage of hedges and self-mentions in relational
storytelling. The differences imply that gendered styles of communication have an impact on digital content
creation. The research has implications for sociolinguistic studies and digital media research, with an
understanding of the limitations of the sample size and cultural diversity. Future studies ought to extend to
cross-cultural settings and other linguistic features like metaphors and narrative structures.
