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
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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……….
3.2.1 Sexism in Addressing Terms…..
3.2.1.1Female Social Titles upon Relationship with Mal e…
3.2.1.2 Derogation of Female Honorific Titles…………….
3.2.1.3 Abusive Addressing Patterns………………..
4.Sexism in Proverb and Slang……………………………..
4.1 Sexism in Proverb……………………………………………
4.2 Sexism in Slang………………………………………
5. Conclusion……………………………………………………..
6. Bibliography……………………………………………………
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Professor Hou Xiaohua,my supervisor,for her constant and inspiring guidance and encouragement.She has walked me through all the stages of writing of the thesis.Without her constant and illuminating instruction,this thesis could not have reached its present form.
Second,i would like to expree my heartfelt gratitude to all the teachers who taught me when i have striving for my Bachelor Degree for their excellent lectures and inspiring ideas.
Last, my thanks would go to my beloved family for their loving considerations and great confidence in me all through these years.I also owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and my fellow classmates who gave me their help and time in listening to me and helping me work out my problems during the difficult course of the thesis
摘要
英语不仅是一种语言工具，也是一种意识形态工具。性别歧视这一文化观念反映在语言的词汇学中。牛津高级字典是这样解释的：“不平等的对待人，尤其是对女性，因为她们的性别”。本篇论文将从英语词汇构词法、词义、称谓语及谚语和俚语分析英语词汇中的性别歧视。所以对性别歧视了解的越多，避免的困难也就越多。这是很有实际意义的。
关键词：语言；英语词汇；性别歧视
ABSTRACT
English is not only a language tool, but also an ideological tool. V ocabulary of the language can faithfully reflect the culture it serves such as sexism.The oxford advanced learner's dictionary explains it as below: the unfair treatment of people, especially women, because
of their sex.This article will discuss sexism that exists in English lexicon in terms of word formation ,word meaning ,naming and addressing terms ,as well as proverb and slang terms.So the more you know it, the better you will avoid trouble. Therefore, the present research has important practical significances.
Key words：language；English word;sexism;
1.Definition
Sexism，according to Oxford Advanced Learner?s English
-Chinese Dictionary is defined as prejudice or discrimination against people
(esp.woman)because of their sex ;and according to Longman Dictionary of Comtenporary English ,sexism is defined as ideas and believe that menbers of
one(usually man) sex are more able and clever than theode of the other sex .It is manifest in all forms of behavior from subtle gestures and especially language to exploitation and oppression，and in all human institutions from the family to the multinational corporation(Paula S．Rothenberg 1988：21)．It affirms the dominance of men over women，jnst as Rosemary Radford Ruether(1993：165)holds that“sexism is gender privilege of males over females．It is males primarily who have originated this form of oppression，benefited from it，and perpetuated it，legally and ideologically．”In this sense，it keeps women in second．classstatus，denies them their rights to control their own bodies，and denies personal，mental，and physical safety；it reinforces the false notion that any man who is gentle，flexible，compassionateor gay becomes“feminine”and thereby loses status and respect．
2.Sexism in word formation
Word formation is one of the elements in language from which we can find many examples of sexism.The most obvious one is the word “history”,which it combines words “his”and “story”.It claimed that the history belonged to man not the woman.In general,it is divided in to two categories,adding suffixes and compounding.
2.1 Adding suffixes
Adding -tress is common among words like ,actress,authoress,sculptress and waitress.Although it sometimes awarded some outlanding achievements of women,the importance of its role isn?t the same as man.For instance,we usually call a man of a general manager,rather than a general manageress.The highest rank of poet in British is Poet Laureate,which it award to every distinguished poet including both males and females.Howerever,rarly had it probably honored a poet of Poetess Laureate. Word like hostess is widely accepted by people in bar ,which its meaning had been degraded.The same as in the terms of Jewess\Negrss and Quakeress
The suffix of -ette includes three meanings .The first one aims at small size,such as “cigarette(香烟)” and “kitchenette(小厨房）”.The second level is artifical ,such as
“Leatherette(人造皮）”.The third level derives from the last two meanings which discloses the oweakness of woman and subordinates to man.As a result ,it discininates against woman obviously.Woman are unfairly treated.Duing the turn of 19 century and 20 century ,“Suffragette”was frequently used by women who wanted to strive rights for women.However,the public and media used it with derogation.
Words like aviatrix(女飞行员），executrix(女执行官）and dominatrix(母夜叉) added the suffix of -trix,which all present an insular prejudice towards women.Women are so weak and fragile that they need obey to men.
2.2 Sexism in compound words
In addition to sex discrimination in suffixes,compounding is a good example too.Take word-formationof common words made by “man” and “woman”for example .on one hand,there are a great many words with “man”,like human,policeman,chairman,businessman,sportsman,superman,mankind,postman,Engl ishman,airman,salesman,clergyman,kinsman,countryman,etc.Even the word “woman”is made up of “man. All these words should refer only to the male,while in fact,the meanings of these words also cover woman,which is obviously unfair to the female.Actually,this kind of words are regarded as masculine words in grammar.According to the point of view in English history,it inherits word-formation principle of Latin and old English in grammar gender.So such kinds of words empasize masculine in word structure.At the sametime,it also stresses that all things are done by the mmale, not the female in practical use.
That is quite unfair to the female.On the other hand,in social life,pepole always regard women with discrimination.If a woman is engaged in noble cases,she will face much more difficulties than men.And the following meaning of words also show that the words made up of”woman”mainly emphasize the characteristics of women who are engaged in some kind of profession or belong to a certain of sector.For example,
(1)Womankind: female human beings
(2)Chairwoman: a woman presiding officer of an assembly meeting,committee or board
(3)Womanpower:the power of woman physcial strength
(4)Policewoman: a woman who is in a member of a police force
(5)Womanhood:the state of being a woman;woman
(6)Horsewoman:a woman horseback rider
3.Sexim in Naming and Addressing
Spender(1985:24) notes: one of the features of English language practices which are inherently sexist is the use of naming and addressing terms.”Naming and addressing terms play an important role in interpersonal communication.They are continuously used in our daily life hence the social and cultualfactors encoded in them are very valuable for us to explore.
3.1 Sexism and Naming
Naming system usually includes first name,middle name and family nam,such as “William Jefferson Clinton”.First name such as”William”in the example,is otherwise known as Chtistian name,forename or given name.Middle name
like”Jefferson”in the example occurs betwwen the first name and family name as the second forename,and is usually represented by its capitalized initial letter and is often used in formal occassions.Family name is known as Surname,or last name,which is a name shared in common to identify the mumbers of a family,which is usuallyinheritedfrom the ascending generation on the paternal side,such as?Clinton”in the example.This part will discuss the sexist phenomena in the first and family name on the basis of the analysis of their semantic features.
3.1.1Sexism in the first names
Giving first name to the infant is one of the most important tasks.First name is truly a lifetime gift from parents;it helps define the children within the family,school and the outside word.Hence an analysis of sexism in first names is very significant. 3.1.1.1 Derivation of Female Names from Male Names
In English lots of female names derivate from male names by adding affixes for example,Stephen-Stephanie,Dana-Dana.Affixs play an important role in the formation of female names.After researching affixes used to refer to female in English,Mills(1995:93)claims that those affixes lead to a view of women as a derivation from a male universal norm and the female form is seen as the marked term and the male as the unmarked term.Therefore,it is not a surprise that female names would have some consistent marker bias.Many female names derive of male ones by addingthe suffixes “-a”(or “-ia” due to phonetic reason), “e” and “-line” to them.like Albert and Alberta 、、Alex and Alexa、Daniel and Danielle、Gabriel and Gabriell and Paul and Pauline etc.
First corresponding with the above, research has shown that male names differ fromfemale ones in two major aspects. Firstly, male names are shorter in spelling than female names according to the research, There are many male names are formed with one syllable such as Jim, Fred, John, Bob and Jack, while only few female names are one syllable. Furthermore, fewer female names have three or more than three syllables, such as Roberta, Victoria and Amand. Part of the explanation of this study lies in the fact that many female names are originated from male names by adding one or more syllables.
Secondly, male names are phonologically different from female ones. This thesis finds that majority of male names are ended with consonant phonetic symbol in which some male names end with the stops [d], [t], [k] such as Robert, Richard, Jack; while only two femalenames do, namely, Brooke and Jade. However, most of female names analyzed endedwith a vowel [i], [i:], [?], such as Mary and Anna, but only a few male names do so.Cutler argues (1990: 476), “Small vocal tracts such as [i], [i:], [?], which producehigh-pitched sounds, are typically possessed by smaller, weaker, less threateningbeings.” Therefore, the frequent use of [i] in such female names as Tracey, Mary andBonnie, and [?] in Rita, Selina and Lisa, reflects “smallness and lack of threat are heldto be desirable attributes of females”.
Theoretically, the practice of deriving female names from male ones forms the contrast in which men are dominant and women are subordinate in society and meanwhile it is in accordance with the belief in Bible that woman was created from a rib of man.
3.1.1.2 Sexism in Semantic Meaning of First Names
The names that people give their children show the hopes and dreams they have for them and also reflects their parents? hope and expectations for their children. So from their first names,we can know the different attitudes of parents to boys and girls. First names for girls and boys often reflect stereotyped features of feminity or. masculinity prevailing in a particular culture or society.
It is undeniable that first names contain various connotations and this thesis will make an effort on the sexism in name?s connotat ion In our society the vast majority of first names carry clear feminine or masculine connotations. People no matter in the East or West attach great importance to marking the child?s sex when choosing a name for him or her. And in baby naming book, there might be two lists: one for girls and another for boys. According to it, parents are recommended to choose a name that identifies the child?s sex. Besides marking the sex of the child, first names for girls and boys often reflect stereotyped features of femininity and masculinity prevailing in culture. More female names contain the connotation associated with appearance while more male names contain connotation associated with wealth, power, wisdom and intelligence. It reflects the sexist expectaton that male should improve internal quality and female should pay more attention to external beauty.
3.1.2 Sexism in Family Names
Family names are passed down from generation to generation, it symbolizes the blood relationship and development of a family. From the way of giving family names, it is not difficult to find the sexism.
3.1.2.1 Patrilineal System of Family Names
When women were born, they were given their fathers? name and adopted their husbands? names upon marriage. It?s only sons who carry on their fathers? name forever, whereas women lost this capacity when they got married. This stresses the portrayal of women as the prosperity of men, passed from father to husband. They just have no freedom to own their own names. US Senator Hilary Clinton. Either way she names herself after a man－her father or her husband, or both.
Children typically inherited their fathers? rather than their mothers? family names, which enables fathers but not mothers to achieve a direct continuity of naming from generation, provided they have sons. Even if there are only daughter, however the derivation of female forms from male names enables the transmission to continue. It?s very common for women in English-speaking countries to adapt their husbands?names upon they got married. Thus women are said to“marry into families and families are sad to …die out? if an all-female” generation occurs.
Thus, Spender comments:“Practically”, it means that women?s family names don?t count and there is one more device making women invisible.”
In the ceremony, the, the official asks,“ Who gives the bride away?”and the father answers. “I do”, or “Her mother and I do”, but that does not solve the problem inherent in the idea that a bride is something to be handed over from one man to another.
3.1.2.2 Change of Female Family Names upon Marriage
When a woman is referred with her husband?s name, as in “Mrs. John Smith”,
she is rendered both subordinate and invisible. For example, when a woman named Helen Keller marries to a man named John Fords, She is submerged by being called Mrs. John Fords. Even the woman is of high social status; it is the same with her. One of the candidates in 2008 Presidential Election of the United States of America, Hilary, the former president of Bill Clinton?s wife, kept her maiden name “Hilary Rodham” after marriage. But in order to help her husband in the election, she had to change her names. Though allegedly a feminist, she has shifted between naming herself Hilary Rodham, Hilary Rodham Clinton and Hilary Clinton.
Despite the fact that some countries no longer legally require for women to adopt their husband?s names upon marriage, women who do not conform to this practice still face many practical and attitudinal obstacles.
3.2 Sexism and Addressing
3.2.1 Sexism in Addressing Terms
Addressing term is a mark that indentifies the relationship of people in social activities, which can present our ideal and social ties. It is used frequently in the communication. According to different criteria, address forms can be divided into different classifications. They can be divided into: social titles, occupational titles, endearments, abusive terms,kinship terms etc.
3.2.1.1 Female Social Titles upon Relationship with Male
Mr、Miss and Mrs are used frequently when we refers to address someone in social communication. All adult men are called Mr, however women have different addressing terms after they get married. As we know, marriage and age is private. The title of Mrs indicates that women are reluctant to disclose his marriage condition, which is unfair to women.In addition to this ,when adapting the Mrs, her family names do not belong to her own ,but her husbands?."Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher and Nobel Prize Lady Marie Curie did not change this condition. These two famous persons still surbodinated to men.
人们在社会交往中称呼某个男性或女性个体时，最常使
用的是Mr、Miss 和Mrs。对所有成年男性都统称为Mr，而对于
成年女性则有已婚和未婚的不同称谓。众所周知，婚姻和年龄
一直都是涉及到个人隐私的话题，而Mrs.这一称谓公开宣布
了女性不愿意表明的婚姻状况，让女人永远都得不到和男人
能够平起平坐的对待。更有甚者，当使用Mrs.的时候，女性使
用的不是自己的姓氏，取而代之的是丈夫的姓，表明自己已经
嫁给了某人，即使是一代名相“铁娘子”撒切尔夫人和诺贝尔
物理奖的居里夫人也没有改变这种现象，这两位女强人虽闻
名世界却仍旧摆脱不了被的问题。这一语言现象正
是由于人们认为男人是世界的主宰，而女人只是男人的附属
3.2.1.2 Derogation of Female Honorific Titles
In the male-orienated society, people honor high stature to men solely, for instance chairman、spokesman and policeman. However when woman gets achievements in her career, she will be regarded as an example. Such as words, doctor、lawyer can both designate the same state or condition as it did for men. However,it is a convention for people classifying them into male-dominated society.
for examp le, “master” and “mistress”. In an earlier society, master and mistress were simple male-female equivalents meaning “one who has control over or ownership of something or has control over another or others”. With the changing of society, “master” now gener ally refers to a man who has power over others or who has acquired skills in some field. But its feminine counterpart cannot be used in this way. It is practically restricted to its sense of “paramour”, a woman who a man has a sexual relationship with, but is not married to. For example, “He is a master of intricacies and academic politics”, and “Catherine declined to be his mistress, and returned to her husband”.
3.2.1.3 Abusive Addressing Terms for Female
Abusive terms of address are unfriendly and insulting terms to address others; convey quite unpleasant affections. There are two major types of words that are most likely to serve as abusive addressing terms which females are humiliated. Examples of the first type are: “wanton” is used to address a w oman who is immoral, lewd, and unchaste. The second type are associated with such words as ass, pig, rat, tigress, duckie, shrew, turkey, cow, goat which is closely connected with the figurative meanings of such foods, plants and animals.
A. Foods
The food terms have not escaped the
process of derogation, which often associated with women show women?s passive image and subordinate status. The following are some examples:
cheesecake—a picture of a naked lady;
dumpling—short and fat women;
mutton—indicating a n elderly lady dressed up as a young girl in “mutton dressed (up) as lamb”;
sweet-pie—a mistress;
tart—a prostitute or women behave frivolously or a woman considered to be sexually;
B. Plants
Plants names are involved in addressing male or female. But the semantic prototype of male is a gigantic tree while that of female is flowers. Plants names are used to address females, they often have insulting meaning as follows:
clinging vine—a woman who overly depends on a man emotionally;
shrinking violet—a shy woman;
wall flower—a woman who has no one to dance with.
C. Animals
When you use an animal name for a female, usually they are smaller animals like “kitten”, “bunny”, “chick” which are more likely to become pejorative; and others like “chicken”, which more likely to acquire sexual suggestions. Male, however, are referred to as being a tiger, moose, or even as a bear to show aggressive masculine attribute and dominance to female. When you use an animal name for a female, usually they are smaller animals
like “kitten”, “bunny”, “chick” which are more likely to become pejorative; and others
like “chicken”, which more likely to acquire sexual suggestions. Male, however, are referred to as being a tiger, moose, or even as a bear to show aggressive masculine attribute and dominance to female. The following are examples:
(a)For females
bitch—a woman considered to be spiteful or overbearing or a lewd woman; butterfly—a showy or frivolous person (esp. a female);
cat—a malicious or spiteful woman or an evil woman;
chicken—prostitutes;
(b)For males
goat—an old man who is sexually active or a lecherous man;
loin—a brave, strong, or fiercely cruel person (usu. of males);
tiger—a fierce, determined person (esp. males);
wolf—a man given to paying unwanted sexual attention to women or a satyr.
From the example discussed above, we could conclude that names of foods, plants and animals used to address female are sexist, because most of them humiliate female from the perspectives of appearance, personality and identity and meanwhile imply that female is inferior to male or easy to be obtained by male.
4. Sexism in English proverbs
English proverbs reflect the social customs and cultural perceptions of the English-speaking countries. Since sexism is embodied in human culture, English proverbs unavoidably reflect sexist discrimination. This essay penetrates into sexism in English proverbs from three perspectives, namely status, personality flaws, and demands on women.
4.1 Sexism in English proverb
There are many proverbs t hat indicate women?s low condition in society and her vulnerability in family .The following examples are classified into three kinds a.Social status and family status
Man, woman and devil are three degrees of comparison.
(男人、女人和魔鬼，三个等级分贵贱。)
If the husband be not at home, there is nobody. (丈
夫不在家，等于说没人。)
A woman?s advice is never to seek. (女人的建议一文
不值。)
A woman of no birth may marry into the purple. (夫荣
妻贵。)
A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more you beat
them, the better they?ll be. (拳脚之下出好妻，棍棒之下
有义犬，胡桃敲打多结果。)
A man is a man though he have/has but a hose on his
head. (家贫袜当帽，仍是男子汉。)
A man of straw is worth of a woman of gold. (稻草男
儿抵得上金玉女子。)
A fair face is half a portion. (姿色颜，嫁妆半。)
Since the acient time ,women were suppressed under the low social status and suffered a lot. They subordinated to men and acted as an animal for men beating.
b. vulnerability characteristic
(1)Women are fragile
Frailty , thy name is woman. (脆弱啊，你的名字是女
人。)
Woman is made to weep. (女人生性爱流泪。)
A woman and a glass are ever in danger. (女人易毁，
玻璃易碎。)
A woman is the weaker vessel. (女人是易碎的器皿。)
It is no more pity to see a woman weep than to see a
goose go bare foot. (女人哭如鹅光脚走路，根本不值得可怜。)
(2)Women are changeable.
A woman is a weather cock. (女人是风向标。)
A winter weather and women’s thoughts change oft. (秋
天的云，女人的心—变化莫测。)
Women are wavering as the wind. (女人心思犹如风之多
变。)
There’s nothing sooner dry than women’s tears. (什
么也没有女人的眼泪干得快。)
(3)Women are noisy and troublesome.
A woman’s tongue is the last thing about her that
dies.
Where there are women and geese, there wants no
noise. (哪有鹅和女人，哪不缺喧闹声)
Foxes are all tail and women are all tongue.
Three women and a goose make a market. (三个女人一只
鹅，市场里面闹哄哄。)
A woman’s tongue wags like a lamb’s tail. (女人饶
舌如同羔羊摆尾。)
Words are women, deeds are men. （女人的嘴巴，男人的
行动。）
(4) Women are deceptive, pretentious and evil.
Every woman would rather be beautiful than good. (女
人爱美不重德。)
Tell a woman she is fair, and she will soon turn
fool. (跟女人讲她长得漂亮，很快她就会晕头转向。)
Bad woman are worse than bad men.
Trust not a woman, when she weeps.
Bad women can do more than the devil.
Women are the devil’s nets. (女人是万恶之源。)
There is no devil so bad as a she-devil. (魔鬼当中女
人最坏。)
3.Traditonal requirments
The smell of an onion from the mouth of the lovely
is sweeter than that of a rose in the hand of the ugly. (美女口中葱蒜臭，胜过丑女手中玫瑰香。)
Husbands are in heaven whose wives scold not. (老婆
不唠叨，丈夫就像生活在天堂里。)
A simple maiden in her flower is worth a hundred
coats of arms. (正值芳龄的纯洁少女值一百枚勋章。) Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent. (美而无德犹如花无香味。)
Silence is the best ornament of a woman. (女子文静，
不须治容。)
Maidens should be mild and meek, swift to hear, and slow to speak. (少女尚温柔，多听慢开口。)
Modesty is the ornament of women. (稳重为妇女增美。)
A good wife and health are a man’s best wealth. (贤
妻与健康是丈夫最佳财富。)
从古至今，女性都处在被观赏和被品位的地位，在男性占主
导的社会中，女性被要求既要上得厅堂，又要下得厨房，既要有貌，又要有德，既要纯洁，又要贤淑。
关于性别歧视About Gender Discrimination 大学英语作文 The date of March 8th reminds people of the importance of women, for they give birth to the children and the contribution they make to the family. Nowadays, more women have got the respect and certain rights. But gender discrimination still exists, for both men and women.3月8日这个日期提醒了人们女性的重要性,因为她们生孩子,对家庭做出了贡献。如今,越来越多的女性得到了尊重和某些权利。但是性别歧视仍然存在,对于男性和女性来说。For the discrimination on women, it is easy for people to notice this problem. In the last century, the word feminism was created and many women fought for the respect. Now most women have grown into the new generation, they are confident and independent. But in some aspects, women are still struggling for the equality with men. Such as the pay in job and the chances to work.人们很容易注意到对女性的歧视这个问题。在上个世纪,人们创造了女权主义这个词,许多女性争取得到尊重。现在大多数女性已经成长为新一代,她们自
[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.
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……….
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。
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
Female inferiors Decades ago, Chairman Mao succinctly settled the age-old debate about gender equality when he stated that "woman holds up half of the sky". Male superiority so out of place in this age, when women are said to be equal to men in many aspects. However, we very grieved discovery already said goodbye to feudalism several hundred years China to be still unable get rid of the treatment of woman as inferiors thought the fetter. In this advanced society, phenomenon of female inferiors not only existing stably but also taking control of our minds and indicates in many fields. To begin with, take employment for example, women are excluded from the major department of productions. Many significant occupations such as executive or professional jobs prefer hiring male rather than woman. Moreover, man still holds perception that women should do more household routine, nurture their offspring and take care of pets. Last but not the least, people living in remote areas believed that men are superior to women, until this status does not also get thorough improvement now. When a woman got pregnant, they were begging for a son instead of a daughter. To prevent these troublesome already mentioned from happen again, we should create feministic atmosphere, promote gender equality and ask man to do household chores, because in a family where roles of men and women are not sharply separated and where many household tasks are
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
Gender Inequality in Employment of College Graduates Though people's concept of gender has changed a lot, gender inequality in some cases still exists. I will mainly express my opinions on gender inequality in employment of college graduates in this passage. It is generally acknowledged that college graduates are confronted with heavy pressure of seeking jobs in China. However it is more difficult for female graduates to seek a good job because of the social discrimination.There is no denying that female job-seekers are treated unequally when they apply for most of the jobs such as computer programmers, drivers, factory workers and so on. There are numerous reasons accounting for this phenomenon. Above all, compared with male graduates, female graduates are concerned to have inevitable physical weaknesses. In addition, women have to give birth to babies one day they get married, consequently they need a maternity leave for several months which certainly makes less profit for the company. As far as I am concerned, women can do as good as men even better than men, therefore women shouldn't be treated unequally. The government can take measures to improve this situation, in the meanwhile, the society and companies should also give equal opportunities to female graduates and male graduates. If this discrimination can be eliminated, our society will be bound to be better.
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
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
高中英语作文：关于性别歧视 The date of March 8th reminds people of the importance of women, for they give birth to the children and the contribution they make to the family. Nowadays, more women have got the respect and certain rights. But gender discrimination still exists, for both men and women. 3月8日这个日期提醒了人们女性的重要性,因为她们生孩子,对家庭做出了贡献。如今,越来越多的女性得到了尊重和某些权利。但是性 别歧视仍然存有,对于男性和女性来说。 For the discrimination on women, it is easy for people to notice this problem. In the last century, the word feminism was created and many women fought for the respect. Now most women have grown into the new generation, they are confident and independent. But in some aspects, women are still struggling for the equality with men. Such as the pay in job and the chances to work. 人们很容易注意到对女性的歧视这个问题。在上个世纪,人们创造 了女权主义这个词,很多女性争取得到尊重。现在绝大部分女性已经成 长为新一代,她们自信并且独立。但在某些方面,女性仍在争取与男性 平等。比如工作酬劳和工作的机会。 For the discrimination on men, which is easily to be ingored. When people see a man who dresses the colorful clothes, or polishes his nails, they will laugh at him,for this is a girl thing and a man should not do it. Men are considered to be different from women in their acts. Actually, men have the right to do what they want, but the public opinion limits them.
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