Well we've been told to read it over the holidays. Basically, you can see how the different styles of language (male and female, as described by Tannen) work to acheive different purposes.
Viola speaks very directly using imperatives and questions merely to gain information when talking with other males, not creating a rapport with them, but asserting power and dominance. Whereas, when talking to other females, she speaks figuratively, working more on a 'metamessage' level. The whole unit relates back to power and dominance.
I take it you've spent this last term studying Tannen and drawing conclusions about what she says about "Gendered Language"? We're only just starting Twelfth Night. Just get Tannen in your head, and link all the rest of the texts to what she says.
Our teacher said that we don't actually analyse Tannen in terms of her language, but we draw on the ideas that she presents about the way males and females use language to communicate.
We just did a report on Tannen where we decided on what we thought were the five most important points that Tannen made, and it's helped a heap.
