Discourse control and leadership in Spanish conflict talk

Abstract

The influence of gender on the dynamics of Chilean argumentative discourse was examined for three different gender ratio groups.

Males did have a small advantage in terms of discourse control, as they tended to dominate in balanced gender ratios and were favoured by both males and females in terms of utterance abortion. Under these circumstances, the female discourse style may appear to be in disadvantage on the surface but it could be interpreted as a beneficial strategy to maintain healthy dy-namics in the group.

Discourse control is a complex issue that not only needs to consider how strategies are used, but the reasons why they are employed, and the role particular participants play.