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Ph.D. candidate, Mr. Mohammed Abuzaifah, provided a thorough exploration of the topic "Language and Gender: A Bilingual Perspective" in a webinar hosted by the Language Research Center on November 24, 2021. The presentation primarily focused on exploring the distinctive ways in which different genders use the English and Arabic languages.

Abuzaifah began his presentation by explaining the interdisciplinary nature of discourse and gender studies, highlighting its shared roots across linguistics, anthropology, speech communication, and social psychology. He further discussed how prominent scholars, including Aristotle, Saussure, Bloomfield, and Chomsky, have differently defined language.

A significant part of the presentation emphasized the influential role of gender in language use. Abuzaifah drew a clear distinction between sex-related variability, linked to psychological, neurological, and biological factors, and gender-related variability, which pertains to societal constructs around gender roles.

Highlighting the historical development of gender and language studies, Abuzaifah referenced Robin Lakoff's seminal 1972 work, "Language and Woman's Place", which focused on feminist theory and the women's liberation movement. The book outlined the differences in language usage between men and women. Furthermore, he explored disparities in spoken language features like turn-taking, backchanneling, word choice, and intonation.

In his conclusion, Abuzaifah stated that, generally, women speak more than men, exhibit greater politeness, but tend to interrupt conversations more frequently. Men, contrastingly, swear more, express their dominance in conversations, yet interrupt less.

The webinar proved to be an engaging and informative event, enjoyed by all attendees.