Abstract

The author looks for the exponents of conversational styles: the feminine and the ma[1]sculine ones in the texts of contemporary Polish prose. She finds the examples in which the stereotype of distinction between speaking pattems is referred to. The article exposes the tendency to modify the traditional paradigms of the sexes by means of the interchange of certain "typical" features of masculinity and femininity. The writer also observes the crystallisation of a new style, which is defined as an[1]drogynous. The differentiation and mixture of the features characteristic for each of the sexes separately typify this style. The interlocutor who is equipped with androgynous styllistic competence makes choices according to the communicative needs and his own abi[1]lities. "Freedom" of the choi ce that is made regardless of the genre affinity guarantees a better understanding between the speakers.