hedge 防范措施，防备手段Key: Among American English speakers, girls have been proved to speak more “standard” language than boys. Women are more likely than men to express uncertainty such as using hedges, tag questions, or rising their intonation on declaratives, which shows they are less confident in what they say. Men have been found to more interrupt than women, and to use more expletives, while women use more polite language. Males tend to place more emphasis on status and report talk in conversations. Females value interpersonal communication and harmony in conversation, so they are more likely to act as “cooperative and facilitative conversationalists, concerned for their partners’ positive face needs.”