Γλωσσική ανισότητα στη χρήση των διαλέκτων: Η περίπτωση της κρητικής διαλέκτου

From the early years of our lives, gender has a great effect on shaping our individual and social identity and determines our (socio)linguistic behavior (Τσοκαλίδου, 2001). At the same time, it is a significant factor of linguistic differentiation and inequality (Κανάκης, 2022). This paper examines whether language attitudes towards the dialect spoken in Crete, the biggest island in Greece, and its use in everyday life and professional areas are affected and/or are determined by the gender of the speakers of the dialect. For the qualitative approach of our research, we conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with dialectal speakers of Cretan origin. The findings of the research indicate that gender is a determining factor for the shape of linguistic attitudes and linguistic behaviors since most male speakers display negative attitudes towards women’s dialectophony, although they are the ones who use the dialect more. Inevitably, linguistic inequality regarding the use of dialect extends to professional domains.