Sylfest Lomheim believes that “pee” is a feminine word. These are the other “gender words”.

Do you say words like “horse cock” or “delicious”? Then the linguist Sylfest Lomheim can tell you a lot about yourself.

– Language reveals. Not just the words, but also the way it’s written, begins Sylfest Lomheim, former director of the Language Council, retired professor, and linguist.

“Horse cock” and “delicious” are typical gender words, according to him.

– It seems to me that he thinks, and does not mean the research, says the author and linguist Helene Uri.

– It is clear that there is a difference between the language of women and men. But referring to a word and saying that “this” is a feminine word, it is not possible.

However, Uri also has some concrete examples of gender words and emphasizes:

– They are based on research.

• What words are the typical feminine and masculine words? See the overview of “gender words” below in the case.

Case background

On October 16, Sylfest Lomheim enters Chamber 250 of the Oslo District Court. He has been summoned as an expert witness, as a linguist and former director of the Language Council.

A month earlier, he had been tasked with analyzing four threatening letters at Laila Bertheussen’s trial. The prosecution believes that she wrote the letters, but tried to make it appear that someone else did.

Lomheim evaluates the texts.

– The letters are written in a way that will make the reader believe that he was a foreigner, but I can say with almost one hundred percent certainty that he is not.

To know that, you need to know a lot about languages, according to Lomheim.

– Take the word “pee” along with some crude content, otherwise it points in the direction of a female sender, he explains.

This is how women express themselves

– «For a delicious wine». How many men would say that, do you think?

Lomheim does not point to the word wine, but to “delicious”.

– “Delicious” is a typical feminine word, says the language expert.

Women also describe more emotions than men.

– I love camembert. Camembert is gender neutral, but most women use “love,” she says, adding that love is also more urban.

– In Sogn og Fjordane, where I grew up, we never said “I love you”, but “I love you so much”.

In other words, geography also plays a role, he notes.

For the feminine word “gid”, for example, Lomheim believes that a country woman would not use it.

– Gid? Personally, I don’t know anyone, women or men under the age of eighty, who says that. But it needs to be investigated, says Uri.

In the book «Who Said What? Women, men and languages ​​»(2018) has compiled several examples of gender words.

It refers to a 2017 study, where women use the following words: “yourself”, “your”, “everything” and “actually”.

– The gender of the author can be determined by observing the frequency with which the words are used and with 80 percent certainty.

In a 2016 American study, research was conducted on Facebook statuses. Then the researchers found some words that almost only women use: “shopping” and “boyfriend.”

– It is not the case that women use shopping enormously, but men almost never use it, he says.

This is how men express themselves

Research shows that while girls write more sensitively and longer than boys in high school, boys use more neutral words and write shorter, he says.

– “Debate”, “problem” and “society” are used more by boys than by girls. Boys are more instrumental, he says.

But men also use emotional words.

– “Damned roast from hell” say the men. And then you are angry. It is a strong emotionally charged word.

And it continues with the word “manest” of all of them:

– Hestkuk.

– Why do men say this?

– You have to ask Northerners about it. He’s from Northern Norway, and mostly only men say so.

Uri can say that he “slightly agrees” with Lomheim on the use of “horse cock.”

– I closely follow the fact that more men say horse cock than women. But I have not investigated that, he says.

In a post-interview SMS, Uri states that he has consulted with some northern Norwegian ladies: “They say horse cock like this. Horse cock ladies exist! But this is not research, that is! ».

According to the previous US study, men are almost the only ones who use these words in Facebook statuses: “shave” and “flirt.”

Simply put, research shows that “up”, “the”, “to” and “this” are most commonly used by men.

– But you have to bear in mind that men are not only soccer boys over 40, but also ballet dancers. And that there is a difference in language based on location, geography, age, etc.

• Do you have an example of a woman’s or a man’s word? Feel free to write your proposal at the bottom of the box!

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