Eliminating the Sexism in English
Abstract:
Language plays an important role in society, which can reflect all the sides of human society naturally. Linguistic sexism is a type of social phenomenon that reflects the certain traditional social value. One of the Sexism?s definitions is that “The discrimination based on gender, especially discrimination against women.” the Danish linguist points out that English is the most masculine language as far as he is concerned in his Growth and Structure of the English Language. As a language which has a long history and influencing the world extensively, English has experienced innumerable reformations, which updates the language constantly. The reason of the sexist phenomenon?s eliminating in the English language and then proposes ways to avoid sexist English.
Key Words: sexism; English; language; feminism; avoid
1. The phenomenon of Sexist English
Linguistic sexism is a social problem, which can reflect people?s discrimination against the female sex. T he women?s l iberation movement made people began to realize that the language reform and nonsexist becomes necessary. Sexist language should be changed and avoided, which is definitely positive for the developing of language. As the most widespread language in the world, English sexism should be avoided. Being given the same opportunities as men is the key point to eliminate linguistic sexism. The sexism in English Language has existed for a long time, and brings many bad feelings to women. This sexism comes from the deep cultural sexism on women in society, and has realistic factors. Though women?s position is higher, the sexism still exists.
2. Women and men truly have equal status means language equality
In the Holy Bible(The Books of The Old Testament): “So the L ord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed
up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, …This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.? ” [1] .The Holy Bible is actually a book for men, which helps to set and consolidate the inferiority of women. In the Holy Bible, woman is always related to troubles and evil things.
In the past, few women work outside the home because working out of the home was often considered inappropriate or presented poor living conditions. Therefore, their marriage completely determined the condition they would live. Marriage was so important to a woman. The feminism movement in 1960s promots women?s social position and then women has equal right with men. Most women today have taken all kinds of careers and have proven that they can do anything men can do; positions of a high rank are still rarely held by women.One of the many impacts feminism on society is its impact on language, which makes the sexism reduce a lot. This phenomenon shows that the main reason behind sexist language is not the language form itself, but our thought that comes from the social attitude to women. Only by changing the social structure till one day when women and men truly have equal status can language equality be really achieved. Therefore, linguistic action and social action should be taken simultaneously, aiming for eliminating sexism in language.
3. Avoiding the sexism in English
3.1Turning sexist words to non-sexist words
Making the most use of gender-free words can help people reduce sexism in the daily life and in English. A lot of new words have been coined along with the women?s liberation movement, which greatly enriched English. These new words fall into two categories. The first category does not distinguish between male and female, that is, they are neutral. Pn. is the abbreviation of person. It is used instead of Mr., Miss. The second category does not indicate marital status. Ms. is used instead of
Miss. and Mrs. as the counterpart to the men?s title Mr. [6]. For example, use those words house worker (instead of housewife), businessperson (instead of businessman), firefighter (instead of fireman), sailor (instead of seaman), flowerseller (instead of flower girl), chairperson (instead of chairman). When writing letters, if the sex of receiver is not known, it?s better not use the traditional way of addressing ,such as Dear Sir., Dear Gentleman and Dear Madam. [4] And the traditional expressions with prejudice such as ambitious men and aggressive women, cautious men and timid women should try to be avoided. Job titles can be used instead of such as Dear friends of the library, Dear Madams and Sir?s, Dear personnel officer, Dear Committee Member, Dear Agent, and Dear Director.
Try to avoid using gender-suffixes which can reflect women's lower rank and avoid using prepositional attributes like woman, lady, madam when there is no necessity to show their sex and use one form to designate a person in all three contexts. For example: actress actor.
3.2 Avoiding using the third person pronoun as a general reference
By means of changing he and it which refer nonsexist people into they. For example: When bathing a baby, never leave him unattended. Revised: When bathing a baby, never leave them unattended. [5]
Dropping the masculine pronoun can also be seen as a useful way to escapefrom gender bias[3].Anybody can attend the meeting if interested in it. Beingdiscriminatory, it is better written into “Anybody can attend the meeting if he is interested in it.”
By means of changing the sentences into passive voice which is nonsexist. Instead of saying “One should not lose heart when he is beaten in a match.”one would be able to say “One should not lose heart when beaten in a match.”
The generic masculine he, his, him should be replaced with he or she, his or her, him or her, and the like, which expressly indicate that women are included in the antecedent of the pronouns.
By means of using these words: some, one, the one, and no one instead of the third person pronouns. For example: He who can take advice is sometimes superior
to him who can give it. Revised: Someone who can take advice is sometimes superior to the one who can give it.
4. Conclusion
As Rosalie Maggio said that it is also necessary to acknowledgethat there can be no solution to the problem of sexism in society on the levelof language alone. Using the word secretary inclusively, for example, does notchange the fact that only 1.6% of American secretaries are men. Using directorinstead of directress does not mean a woman will necessarily enjoy the same opportunities today a man might [2]. Feminists should be more rational in creating or changing some usages, but not change some reasonable forms into ridiculer forms. The process of eliminating the sexism in language is long and difficult, and it needs the feminists? ha rd work and the whole society?s attention and devotion.Women and men truly have equal status, English even all languages must far away from sexism.
Reference:
[1] Holy Bible [M]. 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会和中国基督教协会, 2000年10月. P2-
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[2]Maggio, R. The nonsexist word finder: Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1989
[3] Sandra Lee McKay and Nancy H. Hornberger. Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching
[M]. 上海外语教育出版社, 2001年10月. P224
[4] 代新黎. 论英语中的性别歧视和规避策略[J]. 商丘师范学院学报, 2005年12月
(第21卷第6期). P157
[5] 廖学金.论英语语言的性别歧视[J].重庆大学学报,1997, 第一期:p84
[6] 赵靖岩. 英语中的性别歧视现象[J]. 长春师范学院学报, 2002年12月
(第21卷第4期). P81
[Abstract] Language plays an important role in society. As a phenomenon of society, language reflects all the sides of human society naturally. Sexism is a phenomenon that takes a male-as-norm attitude, trivializing, insulting or rendering women invisible. As a special social phenomenon, sexism is inevitably reflected through language. To start with, the thesis traces the reasons for the occurrence of sexism in the English language. In nature, sexism in language reflects sexism in society. The two are closely related. Social connotations of sexism in English tell the relationship between phenomenon of sexism in language and essence of sexism in society. Then the thesis analyses sexism in terms of the generic masculine, word order and semantic derogation of women in greater detail. Finally, a large part of the thesis is contributed to how to change sexism in English. The author of the thesis thinks the key to the problem is: (1) solve the problem of generic pronouns; (2) neutralize lexis; (3) strive for balanced naming and addressing system; (4) coin new corresponding words. The elimination of linguistic sexism lies in social change. Only by changing the social structure, that is, women and men own really equal status, can language equality be truly achieved. [Key Words] sexism; English language; lexical neutralization; feminism [摘要] 语言在社会中所处的地位尤为重要。作为一种社会现象的语言，必然会反映出人类社会的各种社会观念。性别歧视作为这其中的一种，是指把男性视作社会规范和中心，轻视，侮辱女性或使她们显得微不足道。而这一特定的社会现象必然会在语言中折射出来。 论文首先剖析了英语中性别歧视现象形成的根源。从本质来说，语言中的性别歧视是社会中性别歧视的体现。两者紧密相连。性别歧视的社会内涵反映的就是这种语言中的性别歧视现象与社会中的性别歧视的本质的关系。接着论文从阳性词泛指，词序，词义的贬降等方面对英语中的性别歧视现象进行了详细的分析。最后论文还着力探讨如何改变这种歧视。作者认为，改变性别歧视主要解决以下几个问题：(1) 避免阳性代词的泛指；(2) 词汇的中性化； (3)命名与称谓的对等；(4)创造新的对应词。语言中的性别歧视的最终消亡取决于社会变化。只有改变社会结构，即男女真正拥有平等的地位，语言中的平等才能真正实现。消除语言中的性别歧视的根本在于实现男女的平等的社会变革。 [关键词] 性别歧视；英语语言；词汇中性化；女权主义 1. Introduction As the peculiar result of the development of human society, language is a kind of social phenomenon and reflects all the sides of human society naturally. Its existence and development are closely linked with the social attitudes of human beings and to a great extent are affected by their social views and values. Historically and sociologically, our society is man-oriented and man-centered.
论英语中的性别歧视现象及其消除方法 ［Abstract］Language reflects a nation’s history, culture and all of its entertainments, believes and prejudice. Therefore, language inevitably has the traits of sexism. It is the use of language which devalues members of one sex, almost invariably women, and thus fosters gender inequality. It discriminates against women by rendering them invisible or trivializing them at the same time that it perpetuates notions of male supremacy. This thesis is to talk about the sexual discriminations in English, traits of female language, and solutions to eliminate sexual discriminations. ［Key words］English,sexual discrimination,female language,solution I. Sexual Discrimination in English 1.1 Take the men’s language as the standard language, and women as the ancilla of men In English, there are many words with sexual discrimination phenomenon, and in the order of words, we can find that men are usually in front of women. For instance, Mr. and Mrs., his and hers, boys and girls, men and women, brothers and sisters, etc.. Because of the long-term historical reason, women have been put in the position of appurtenant of men. In many countries there is the tradition that unmarried women are
一英语语言中的性别歧视现象 首先我们来了解一下什么是性别歧视（sexism）。根据Webster Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary，其定义是：prejudice or discrimination based on sex ; esp: discrimination against women , 基于性别的偏见或歧视，尤其是对妇女的歧视。?朗曼英语词典?对“性别歧视”的解释是：“以性别为基础的歧视，尤其是男性对女性的偏见。”?? Longman English Dictionary on "gender discrimination" explanation was: "based on gender discrimination, particularly male prejudice against women. ?牛津字典?给“性别歧视”所下的定义是：“性别偏见或歧视(尤其对女性).”?Oxford Dictionary?to the "gender discrimination" by the definition of is: "gender bias or discrimination (especially for women)."因此，在语言习惯上，“性别歧视”通常是指语言对女性的歧视，那么，英语语言是怎样歧视女性的呢？ 1.以男性语言为规,而女性语言只是一种附属或变体.Therefore, on the language, "sex discrimination" usually refers to the language of discrimination against women, then the English language is how to discriminate against a woman then 1.1在词汇上的表现a) “当中最明显的例子就是”man”一词，既有“男子“的意思，又表示”人类”.泛指所有的人，而woman仅是“女子”的意思。如：Man cannot live by bread alone.(人不能单靠面包生活)。The man in the street(普通人，一般人)。一个语言学家曾抱怨说：假如一个女人从船上掉入水中，呼叫的是：“MAN，OVERBROAD。”若她被闯了祸逃走的司机撞死控告词是MANSLAUGHTER。倘若在工作中受伤，她的医疗费称作WORKMAN’S COMPENSATION。但是如果她来到一个写着man only ！的地方。她立刻明白整个告戒不是针对动物或植物或无生命之物而写的，而是冲着她来的.”[1][P22-23]b)不知道所指之人的具体性别时，he ,his 和 him 经常用来泛指全人类，（这是英语中的一条规则）, 如 Every student has to make up his own mind. He who laughs last laughs best.男主女从，以逻辑性为中心，女性便居于从属地位。就词汇而言，如以—er, --or 结尾的名词实则是个中性词，但人们将之看作男性名词，所以如是女性则在前面加woman,如：a woman doctor. Man 一词不但可以指男人，成年男人，而且作为“人类的总称”,而woman 则不然。许多职业名词常以man 作为后缀，尽管干这工作的有许多女性。he 和she 的单数中性人称代词用he 表示，因而我们常见Nobody in the class can be proud of his English.这类说法，尽管教室中有男有女。 1．2 称谓上的表现a) “把女性当做男性的附属品，而这一观点充分体现在英语称谓词当中。Mr. 是对一位男士的尊称， Mrs.则是一位男子的太太的尊称，女性的称谓也就依附于男性了，如: 丈夫是John Smith 具有博士学衔，于是可以称这对夫妇为Dr. and Mrs. John Smith.假如丈夫没有学衔或职称，那只能称为Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. 假如妻子是博士，丈夫没有学衔或职称，妻子的名字叫Marry随夫姓后只能称呼为Marry Smith. Miss是用来称呼未婚女性的称呼。Mr.却既可以称呼未婚男性，也可以称呼已婚的男性。女性从称谓马上就可以识别出婚姻状况，而对于男性却无从知晓，而且女性结婚后改随夫姓，这样自己的姓就完全被遗忘了。b) 许多职业名称如doctor, professor, engineer,等对男女都适应，可是人们习惯于把他们跟男性联系在一起。而对于女性则成了一个标志项，往往要加上woman, lady, 或female 等词加以限定。如：female judge, lady doctor, woman lawyer. 这些从一个侧面反映出旧社会中地位较高的职业为男子所垄断，相反地，teacher, nurse , secretary, model 等人们一般认为是女性，如为男性时前面要加上male 或是man.如male nurse, man teacher. 这些除了历史现实情况有关，也可以说是一种社会偏见.” 2.女性语言语意贬低的表现 “英语中，与女性有关的词语的贬化大大多于与男性相关的词语。曾有人做过统计，与prostitute意思接近的词大约有500多个，而与whole-monger(嫖客)意思相近的词只有65个。此外这一点还表现在对于与女性相关的词语的含义的贬化上。在英语中，任何词只要与女性有关，其意思就要变质，这个词就会成为贬义词。同一个词用与男性和女性身上可以引起极为不同的联想，甚至是有完全不同的意思。用与男性常常带有褒扬或赞美之意，而用于女性常常带有贬低或轻蔑的意思。例如，professional一词，用在男性身上和女性身上可能会引起的联想却大相径庭。He is a professional.让人联想起体面的职业，如律师，医生等，而She is a professional很多英语国家的人会理解为She is a prostitute。
陈贺 （宿州学院外国语学院，安徽宿州 234000） 摘要：从英语语言出发，分析其中的性别歧视现象：视男性用语为主体，女性用语为变体或附属；两性词语在词义上不对称；词汇排序上遵循“男先女后”的原则。接着从劳动性别分工、宗教思想、性别角色社会化三个角度对之进行原因解读。这为当前的性别语言研究提供一定的参考和启示。 关键词：性别；劳动分工；宗教；角色社会化 中图分类号：H0-05 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1673-2596（2011）09-0209-03 性别歧视是以性别为基础而产生的一种歧视现象，它可以表现为男性对女性的歧视，也可以表现为女性对男性的歧视。《朗曼英语词典》定义性别歧视为：“以性别为基础的歧视，尤其是男性对女性的偏见。”《美国传统词典》关于“性别歧视”的解释是：“一类性别成员对另一类性别成员，尤其是男性对女性的歧视。”因此，“性别歧视”通常是对女性的歧视，是社会对女性的偏见[1]1。语言是人们交流的重要工具，是人类思想的重要载体，折射了社会的文化习俗与价值观念。通过语言，可以管窥到人们的性别观念。几千年来，英语国家人们一直生活在父权制体系的桎梏之下，对女性怀有深深的歧视。这一性别态度，在英语语言中有着深刻的印证。那么，本文将揭示英语语言中的性别歧视现象，并对之进行原因探讨。 一、英语语言中的性别歧视 （一）以男性为规范 以男性为规范是语言性别歧视的重要表现之一[1]1。表现在具体语言事实上，即语言视男性用语为主体，将女性用语当作变体或附属[2]。这一特征在英语语言中具有鲜明的体现。 （二）词义上的不对称 其次，与男性相比，英语中与女性相关的贬义词数量众多。据Dale Spencer统计，英语中表达“性生活放荡”的词语，至少有220个是与女性相关，而只有20个左右与男性有关。另据研究，英语中表示“在性生活上乱七八糟的女子”的词多达320个，几乎所有关于女性的词都有具有贬义，而一部分关于男性的词则含有“哪个男子不风流的”容忍之意。 再次，男女词义演变上不对称。在长期的语言交际过程中，男性词语向褒义方向演变，而女性词语则有恶化的趋势。King（国王）、lord（老爷）、master（主人）、father（父亲），在现代英语中，只要把他们的首字母大写，就可以分别用来指“上帝”、“基督”、“主或神”。与男性褒化相对，女性词语往往增加了贬义。Tart一词原指一种小糕饼，后用作亲昵的称呼年轻女子，后来演变为“富于性感的女子”，随后又转化为“对道德不甚介意，作风随便的女子”，而现在又指“在街上拉客的女子”。 （三）语序上的歧视 二、英语中性别歧视产生的原因 语言依赖于社会，是人类社会的产物。不同的社会形态，会产生不同的语言体系。语言的形成与一定的社会文化、风俗习惯、价值观念等，有着密切的关系。因此，英语语言中的性别歧视现象，与英美国家男女不平等的社会现实不无关联。而这种不平等的社会现实，与以下三个层面紧密相关： （一）劳动性别分工 马克思主义女性主义认为男女不平等源自劳动性别分工[3]67。劳动性别分工是人类最主要的社会分工形式，以生理性和社会性别为基础，社教化将男性和女性分别规范在以性别特质界定的工作岗位[3]68。依照性别分配劳动是人类最早的劳动分工方式，它是人类寻找到的最有效的组织社会生活的方法[4]。在西方农业社会里，劳动性别分工模式主要与性别天然差异和当时的生产力发展水平有关： 首先，在某种程度来讲，劳动性别分工是自然秩序的结果[5]。根据达尔文理论，男性与女
论英语中的性别歧视及其发展变化 在人类的历史长河中,性别歧视是一种普遍的社会现象,它不仅反映在社会生活的各个方面,更反映在语言上。语言性别歧视是指人们在使用语言的过程中针对不同的性别产生的歧视和偏见,但它多数情况下是指针对女性而言。随着女性解放运动的发展,英语中的性别歧视语有所减少,但是基于语言的滞后性,性别歧视仍大量存在于英语语言中。本文多角度分析了英语语言中性别歧视的形成原因,揭示了词汇、语义和习语谚语等方面所存在的性别歧视,并探索了近几十年来英语中性别歧视的发展变化情况。 1英语中性别歧视存在的根源 首先,从文化角度看,《圣经》中上帝在创造了亚当之后,又取其一根肋骨造就了夏娃。受此神话中男女形象的影响,女性生来就被当作男性附属品的观念在西方人的思想中根深蒂固。英语中因此常常表现出“以男性为本体,以女性为变体”。其次,从社会角度看,随着社会生产力的发展,男子逐渐占据了社会主导地位,而女性却处于被支配地位,造成了以“男主外,女主内”为原则的两性不同分工。因此,在英语中一些表示职业、地位较高的名词大都指男性。而从心理角度看,在西方文化中,女性多以反面形象出现,神话中堕落、善变的女性形象导致后人在思想意识上的偏见,甚至形成女性邪恶的思维定势。
2性别歧视在英语中的表现 2.1 从词形的标记角度看性别歧视 英语词汇往往以男性为中心,表示男性的词汇一般是“无标记的”,可表示男女两性。但是,女性的词汇通常是有标记的,只表示女性或女性的某一特征。 (1)基于男女不同的社会分工影响,英语中一些表示职业、地位较高的名词如mayor,doctor,president,governor等,人们在使用这些词的时候,大多数场合指的是男性,若要表明是女性,往往会在词前加上female/woman/lady标记出来。 (2)许多女性名词通常是在男性词汇后加上后缀,如:waiter / waitress,comedienne/ comedian,salesman/saleswoman等。这些后缀-man,-ess,-tee等都是女性的标记,这些标记显示了女性是男性的附庸和例外。 (3)在称谓语中,对于女性的标记现象十分明显,如男人无论是否结婚都可以称之为“Mr.”而称呼女人时则需要明确区分其婚姻状况,如:Miss,Mrs. (4)在姓氏命名上,女性婚后随夫姓体现了女性在婚姻上的附属地位,如:Helen Smith 与 Jack Williams结婚后,她的名字随夫姓就变成了Helen Williams。 2.2 从语义角度看性别歧视 (1)英语中阳性词汇通常被赋予“大”的含义,而与之对应的阴性词汇则往往带有“小”的含义,这主要表现在表示职业和
景德镇陶瓷学院科技 艺术学院 本科生毕业论文（设计） 题目：Sexism in English Vocabulary 学号： 姓名： 院（系）： 专业： 完成时间： 指导老师： CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………….. Abstract in Chinese……………………………………. Abstract in English……………………………………. 1.Definition……………………………………………… 2.Sexism in word-formation methods……………….. 2.1 Suffixes………………………………………… . 2.2 Sexism in compound words…………………….. 3.Sxism in Naming and Addressing………………….. 3.1 Sexism and Naming………………………………. 3.1.1 Sexism in the first names……………….. 3.1.1.1 Derivation of Female Names from Male Names…….. 3.1.1.2 Sexism in Semantic Naming of First Names………. 3.1.2 Sexism in the family names…………… 3.1.2.1 Patrilineal System of Family Names 3.1.2.2 Change of Female Family Names upon marriage 3.2 Sexism and Addressing……….
Eliminating the Sexism in English Abstract: Language plays an important role in society, which can reflect all the sides of human society naturally. Linguistic sexism is a type of social phenomenon that reflects the certain traditional social value. One of the Sexism?s definitions is that “The discrimination based on gender, especially discrimination against women.” the Danish linguist points out that English is the most masculine language as far as he is concerned in his Growth and Structure of the English Language. As a language which has a long history and influencing the world extensively, English has experienced innumerable reformations, which updates the language constantly. The reason of the sexist phenomenon?s eliminating in the English language and then proposes ways to avoid sexist English. Key Words: sexism; English; language; feminism; avoid 1. The phenomenon of Sexist English Linguistic sexism is a social problem, which can reflect people?s discrimination against the female sex. T he women?s l iberation movement made people began to realize that the language reform and nonsexist becomes necessary. Sexist language should be changed and avoided, which is definitely positive for the developing of language. As the most widespread language in the world, English sexism should be avoided. Being given the same opportunities as men is the key point to eliminate linguistic sexism. The sexism in English Language has existed for a long time, and brings many bad feelings to women. This sexism comes from the deep cultural sexism on women in society, and has realistic factors. Though women?s position is higher, the sexism still exists. 2. Women and men truly have equal status means language equality In the Holy Bible(The Books of The Old Testament): “So the L ord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed
浅谈英语语言中性别歧视 中文摘要 性别歧视在不同的社会制度和国家中都不同程度地存在。而作为一种普遍的社会现象，自然会在语言中得到折射。本文介绍了英语中的性别歧视语的种种表现形式，分析了这种现象产生的社会原因和文化根源，并总结了在英语语言运用过程中消除性别歧视的方法。 关键词: 英语语言；性别歧视;产生原因；消除方法 Abstract Sex discrimination exists in all the social systems and countries, and as a common social phenomenon, it is surly reflected in language. This paper lists out different forms of sex discrimination in English, analyses the social and cultural causes of such phenomenon and summarizes the corresponding methods of eliminating sex discrimination in English speaking. Key words: English; sex discrimination; causes; methods of eliminating 引言 在社会生活中，语言对男女一视同仁，但语言是文化的载体，并在人们不断使用的过程中逐渐得到丰富和发展。作为一个地区，一个民族约定俗成的一种表达方式，语言必然会反映出一定的社会价值观念和民族思维方式。性别歧视是以性别为基础而产生的一种社会歧视现象，?朗曼英语词典?对“性别歧视”的解释是：“以性别为基础的歧视，尤其是男性对女性的偏见。《美国传统字典》的定义是“一种性别成员对另一性别成员，尤其是男性对女性的歧视”。虽然它可以表现为男性对女性的歧视，也可以表现为女性对男性的歧视。但是“性别歧视”通常是对女性的歧视，是人们对女性的偏见和男女社会地位不平等的反映。“女性长期以来被看作是the weaker sex/the second sex，是男性的陪衬和附属品。即使在标榜人权，平等的西方发达国家中也是如此。而现代女权运动轰轰烈烈的发展形势正是对这一不平等现象的反抗和反映。”[1](P80)从而在语言中，出现了多种多样的性别歧视语，英语也不例外。 一、性别歧视语言现象 （一）人际称谓 亲昵称谓 在西方，男性上司称呼他们的女性下属时可以用一些表示亲密关系的昵称，如sugar, darling, sweetie, girlie; 反过来，女性下属却不能用这些昵称来称呼她们的上司，而且女性上司也不能如此来称呼她们的男性职员，可是，陌生男子或非亲密关系的男子却可用昵称来称呼女子，这说明在英美社会女性比男性社会地位
英语中对女性性别歧视语言的词汇特征 减小字体增大字体作者：张娜来源：考试周刊发布 时间：2007-11-03 关键字:英语女性性别歧视语言词汇 摘要：本文从熟语和人名两个方面，运用举例、对比等方法，探讨了英语中对女性性别歧视语言的词汇特征。 关键词：性别歧视熟语人名词汇特征 1 引言 性别歧视是以性别为基础而产生的一种歧视现象，是一个性别成员对另一个性别成员的歧视，既包括对女性的歧视，也包括对男性的歧视，实际上常指对女性的歧视。性别歧视反映在语言中就形成了语言性别歧视。语言中的性别歧视观点是在揭示了语言的不对称现象以后提出来的。语言学家们相信，受宗教法规、等级制度等制约的文化环境中的语言，反映的是男性世界图景的本质内容—男性属于中心地位，而女性的形象却是残缺不全。文化伴随意义，语言国情学研究的一个重要方面是受民族文化制约（即形式上来表现）的附属义，主要包括潜在的感情色彩和评价色彩，两者相互联系，其总和概括地体现了人们对事物现象的褒贬态度
（顾亦谨，1991：23-4）。词汇与社会发展的关系最密切，透过词汇的文化伴随意义，可以看到文化里渗透的性别歧视。本文将从熟语、人名两个方面谈谈英语中对女性性别歧视语言的词汇特征。 2 女性性别歧视语言的词汇特征 2.1熟语 熟语按其性质可分成谚语、俗语等六类（王德春，1997：144）。本文仅讨论前两类。 2.1.1 谚语 谚语是人类智慧的结晶，语言简洁的化身。语言学家把它形象地比喻为“民族之明镜”，“语言活化石”（杨永林，1987：37）。谚语作为观念文化的产物和语言的组成部分，无疑会折射出性别歧视的思想意识。 汉语里的“三个女人一台戏”说的就是女人多嘴多舌，英语里也有类似的说法：Three women and a goose make a market.在英语谚语里，描写女人多言的谚语似乎跟鹅结下了不解之缘。比如：Many women, many words; many geese, many turds（鹅的粪多，女人的话多）；Where there are women and geese, there wants no noise（有女人有鹅，把耳朵都能吵破）。（徐超墀，1983）
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英语语言中的性别歧视现象分析研究 摘要：语言是文化的一部分，是文化的载体，并对文化起着重要作用，而男性和女性的种种差异也必须通过语言传达出来。英语作为一个为世界上许多国家所讲的语种，在很大程度上存在着语言上的性别歧视。本文通过称谓、词法、语法、语义四个方面对性别歧视现象做一详细讨论，最后对这种现象形成的原因进行阐释，进而从语言释义的角度寻求女权维护的渠道。 关键词：性别歧视；称谓；词法；语法；语义 一．语言中体现的“男尊女卑”观念概述 语言是社会发展的产物，也是社会生活的一面镜子，从中国父系氏族时期，就孕育了“男尊女卑”的观念，然而“男尊女卑”并非中国独有，在标榜人权、平等的西方国家也广泛存在。现代女权运动轰轰烈烈的发展形势正是对这一男女不平等现象的反抗和反映。近几年来，世界各地关于男女平等的呼声越来越高，可以说社会生活的各个领域都感受到了这一时代趋势。语言当然也要顺应历史的发展而向前发展，但英语语言中的性别歧视又是颇具意义的语言障碍。假设能够列举英语语言中性别歧视现象的诸多表现形式，分析其产生的原因，并就如何解决这一问题提出中肯建议，将对女权运动的深入开展以及社会的和谐发展产生深远影响。 二．语言中性别歧视的表现形式 1.称谓及构词法中的性别歧视 在英美社会中，性别歧视现象根深蒂固。对妇女的歧视，首先表现在社会以男性为出发点，男性的意志常常就是整个社会的意志。例如男女取名方面就有很大差异：女性名字常取之于弱小的动物。如：fawn(幼鹿)，jeminni(鸽子)，Vanessa(蝴蝶)等；而男性的名字则多取之于与上帝、武器、搏斗有关，或与学问、权威、名誉有关。如Jerome(神圣生活)，Michael(似上帝)，Edgar(华美的矛)，Giles（盾），Abraham(圣母)等；再比如：男英文符号为He，再看女，英文符号为She,从称谓的表现形式来看，明显可以看出，She是在He的基础上添加附属符号“s”而生成的，这足以证明女性是依附于男性而存在的；在社会习俗上，对未婚的女子称Miss(小姐)，婚后改称Mrs(太太)，而对男子不论婚否一概称之为Mr(先生)。Mrs和Mr的构词方式与上述例子完全一致。这些都是对女性的偏见和歧视。再看一例，男性英文符号为Male,而女性则是“Female”,很明显女性是在男性基础上加上符号“Fe”而衍生的，这又一次验证了英文在构词法上的“男尊女卑”现象。
英语中的性别歧视 Abstract Sexism in English language has launched along with the vigorous development of w omen’s liberation movement since the end of 1960s. As a mirror reflecting the socie ty, language images the social views and values. Sex ism in society is thus inevitably reflected in the use of language. The paper based on the analysis of sex discrimination in English explores that it is by no means an extinction of sexist language so long as the sexism in society exist s. The causes of sexism in this thesis are the inequality between male and female. In ancient time, the thoughts that males host females and the treatment of women as inferiors to men are in vogue. Men are always at superior positions to women i n the social economy, in the politics, as well as in the people’s tradi tional ideas, so the idea of sex discrimination has reflected in the language. The thesis summarizes the phenomena of sexism in English by using universal evidence, and they are sho wn and discussed in four aspects: English proverbs, English expressions, English voc abulary and the meanings of English words. Lastly, the thesis introduces two feasibl e strategies to erase sexism in English language, and they are: language reform an d social reform. The most important one is to erase the sex ist conceptions and im p rove women’s status, respect and support them. The language transformation can b e realistic on the basis of the social reform. Key Words Sexism; female words; masculine words; strategies 摘要 自20世纪60年代起，语言性别歧视已随着女性解放运动的展开而得到蓬勃发展。语言是社会现实的一种反映，因此由于历史发展、文化、社会价值及男女两性之间在生理等方面的差异而引起的性别歧视，尤其是社会对女性的性别歧视一览无余的体现在语言上，英语语言中也存在性别歧视。本篇论文阐述了性别歧视产生的原因是男女地位的不平等，在人类早期，男尊女卑的思想盛行，男子在社会经济、政治、文化领域以及人们的传统观念中，总是处于比女性优越的地位,人们在观念上形成的对妇女特有的歧视观念慢慢形成并反映在语言中。本文分析了性别歧视在英语中的四个方面的表现：在谚语中；在词汇中；在词语中和在词义中，通过大量的举例和分类来系统阐述。最后着重讨论了消除性别歧视语所应采取的一些策
英语语言中的性别歧视及其变化 引言 语言是现实世界的一面镜子，现实世界的种种现象，美丑好坏，尽现其中。在一向声称人生而平等的英语国家里，其实也有诸多的不平等。男女不平等即是其中之一，而这种不平等也被反映在语言这面镜子里。然而，妇女的社会地位感比男子敏锐，英国语言学家彼得.特鲁杰说：“在我们的社会中，妇女的地位不如男子那样牢靠，而且通常比男子低一些。因此，对她们来说，可能更加需要在语言上和别的方面来表明和保障她们的社会地位。”上世纪70年代初，女权运动在西方兴起，受其影响，英语世界掀起了一场旨在消除性别歧视的文字改革运动，这方面尤以美国为甚。本文拟谈谈反映在英语语言中的性别歧视现象、出现原因及其发展变化． 一英语语言中的性别歧视现象 首先我们来了解一下什么是性别歧视（sexism）。根据Webster Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary，其定义是：prejudice or discrimination based on sex ; esp: discrimination against women , 基于性别的偏见或歧 视，尤其是对妇女的歧视。?朗曼英语词典?对“性别歧视”的解释是：“以性别为基础的歧视，尤其是男性 对女性的偏见。”?牛津字典?给“性别歧视”所下的定义是：“性别偏见或歧视(尤其对女性).”因此，在语言 习惯上，“性别歧视”通常是指语言对女性的歧视，那么，英语语言是怎样歧视女性的呢？ 1.以男性语言为规范,而女性语言只是一种附属或变体. 1.1在词汇上的表现a) “当中最明显的例子就是”man”一词，既有“男子“的意思，又表示”人类”.泛指所 有的人，而woman仅是“女子”的意思。如：Man cannot live by bread alone.(人不能单靠面包生活)。The man in the street(普通人，一般人)。一个语言学家曾抱怨说：假如一个女人从船上掉入水中，呼叫的是：“MAN，OVERBROAD。”若她被闯了祸逃走的司机撞死控告词是MANSLAUGHTER。倘若在工作中受伤，她的 医疗费称作WORKMAN’S COMPENSATION。但是如果她来到一个写着man only ！的地方。她立刻明 白整个告戒不是针对动物或植物或无生命之物而写的，而是冲着她来的.”[1][P22-23]b)不知道所指之人的 具体性别时，he ,his 和him 经常用来泛指全人类，（这是英语中的一条规则）, 如Every student has to make up his own mind. He who laughs last laughs best.男主女从，以逻辑性为中心，女性便居于从属地位。就词汇而言，如以—er, --or 结尾的名词实则是个中性词，但人们将之看作男性名词，所以如是女性则在 前面加woman,如：a woman doctor. Man 一词不但可以指男人，成年男人，而且作为“人类的总称”,而woman 则不然。许多职业名词常以man 作为后缀，尽管干这工作的有许多女性。he 和she 的单数中性 人称代词用he 表示，因而我们常见Nobody in the class can be proud of his English.这类说法，尽管教室 中有男有女。 1．2 称谓上的表现a) “把女性当做男性的附属品，而这一观点充分体现在英语称谓词当中。Mr. 是对一 位男士的尊称，Mrs.则是一位男子的太太的尊称，女性的称谓也就依附于男性了，如: 丈夫是John Smith 具有博士学衔，于是可以称这对夫妇为Dr. and Mrs. John Smith.假如丈夫没有学衔或职称，那只能称为Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. 假如妻子是博士，丈夫没有学衔或职称，妻子的名字叫Marry随夫姓后只能称 呼为Marry Smith. Miss是用来称呼未婚女性的称呼。Mr.却既可以称呼未婚男性，也可以称呼已婚的男性。女性从称谓马上就可以识别出婚姻状况，而对于男性却无从知晓，而且女性结婚后改随夫姓，这样自己的 姓就完全被遗忘了。b) 许多职业名称如doctor,professor,engineer,等对男女都适应，可是人们习惯于把他 们跟男性联系在一起。而对于女性则成了一个标志项，往往要加上woman,lady,或female等词加以限定。如：female judge, lady doctor, woman lawyer. 这些从一个侧面反映出旧社会中地位较高的职业为男子所垄断，相反地，teacher, nurse , secretary, model 等人们一般认为是女性，如为男性时前面要加上male 或是man.如male nurse, man teacher.这些除了历史现实情况有关，也可以说是一种社会偏见.”[2][P85-86]