The Sexism in English Language 英语中的性别歧视Abstract Sexism in English language has launched along with the vigorous development of women‘s liberation movement since the end of 1960s. As a mirror reflecting the society language images the social views and values. Sexism 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 exists. 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 in the social economy in t he politics as well as in the people‘s traditional 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 shown and discussed in four aspects: English proverbs English expressions English vocabulary and the meanings of English words. Lastly the thesis introduces two feasible strategies to erase sexism in English language and they are: language reform and social reform. The most important one is to erase the sexist conceptions and improve women‘s status respect and support them. The language transformation can be 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略从语言策略和社会策略两方面入手要消除性别歧视关键在于根除社会上存在的性别歧视观念进一步提高妇女的社会地位语言的变革只能在社会变革的基础上才能实现。关键词性别歧视女性词男性词策略Introduction Language is a social phenomenon and it has a close relationship with the social life the language is used in a specific social group and it is not only the carrier of the ideological content but a mirror of social life it reveals people‘s traditional thoughts that sex discrimination against women in the society. From the development and changes of the language people can conclude that sex discrimination does not only exist in China but in all the countries. Therefore how does English language reflect the social phenomenon The first person who did research on the gender and language is the Denmark linguist Otto.Jespersen he regards English as the most masculine language that is familiar to him and it is a man centered language. The domestic scholars and experts Yang Yonglin Bai Jiehong and so on have done thorough research about sexist element in the English language they also have introduced some feasible strategies to erase the sexism but they just have done thorough research from the language strategy aspect. In the thesis the author does the research from the combination of the social reforms and language refo rms and it is essential to erase the sexism from people‘s minds. English as one of the most widespread languages its sexist element shall not be suitable to the intercultural communications but there is massive discrimination in it people should pay much more attention to the sex equality and the improvement of women‘s social positions. Understanding the sexist phenomenon in English language helps people study the language culture and correctly treat the changes of the language in the historical development. The thesis emphatically introduces and
analyzes the specific phenomena of sexism and also provides corresponding strategies that can be used to eliminate sexism in English language. Ⅰ. A Definition to Sexism in English Language Sexism in the Oxford Advan ced Learner‘s English-Chinese dictionary it means that disapproving action based on the ideas or belief that the members of one sex are less intelligent able and skillful etc than the members of the other sex especially that women are less able than men and those particular jobs and actions are suitable for women and others are suitable for men. Sexism in English refers to English expresses sexist assumptions about differences between men and women as in the prejudicial use of female or male words Sexist language expresses unfair assumptions and differences and it can be either explicit as in the prejudicial use of male or female pronouns or implicit. Using universal evidence the thesis here reveals how often English expresses sexist assumptions about differ ences between men and women. Just as a proverb goes in England: ―If you see an old man sit down and take a lesson if you see an old woman throw a stone.‖what expresses English version of the sexism prescribed for women is particularly confining. English jokes and folklore are blatantly sexist. Nilsen Alleen Pace 1990. In fact woman in the world no matter in which country she lives the roles designated to them is unfair in the society. Ⅱ. Sexism in English Language The paper presents the sexist phenomenon which is very universal in English language. And it is shown and discussed in four aspects: English proverbs English expressions English vocabulary and the meanings of English words. A. Sexism in English Proverbs Proverb is crystallization of human wisdom and incarnation of the concise language. The linguists consider the proverbs as a mirror of the ethnic the live fossil of the language. In recent years with the further study of the language the linguists have found what refers to both genders most proverbs in every kind of language unavoidably express the affection of the male chauvinism and feudal consciousness of the treatment of females are inferior to males and followings are some usual phenomena of the sexist language in English proverbs. 1. Role category The women are considered as delicious food in the society the roles of women in the society and culture in every country are very passive but men are active for example: ―A fair woman without virtue is like palled wine‖―all women may be won‖―words ar e women and deeds are men‖. The sentence ―long hair and short wit‖expresses women is lack of wisdom but men are clever another example goes like this: ―when an ass climbs a ladder we may find wisdom in women‖庄和诚are lack of wisdom and they are capricious.
2. Manner Category In modern society most people hold such mind that men are successful but women are sexy. In American culture a woman is valued for the attractiveness and sexiness of her body while man is valued for his physical strength and accomplishments. A persuasive piece of evidence supporting this view is that female eponyms relate closely to a woman‘s physical anatomy while the masculine eponyms have nothing to do with the namesake‘s body but instead honor the man for his achievement and accomplishment.
3. Marriage Category In relation to marriage there is much linguistic evidence showing that weddings are more important to women than to men. Many proverbs reflect such feudal consciousness that girls are not important in a family. For example: ―it is a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock‖―Marry your son when you will your daughter when you can‖―there are many good women it is true but they are in their graves‖. 庄和诚 revealed women are inferior and subordinate to them. B. Sexism in English Expressions English has gradually formed the tendency that the expressions referred to the male generalize the ones pointed to the two genders during its development. Although people do not mind to discriminate against women during their
communications the phenomena that people discriminate against women reflect the gender bias of society and sometimes women feel insult from other people. Moreover some expressions structure that elaborate the meanings of discriminating against woman have emerged and therefore people call English a sexist language. 1. The Summary of Masculine Expressions on Two Genders Masculine English expressions summarize two genders. People often meet such sentences during our study and daily life: ―any patient is free to bring his complaint to me if he feels aggrieved‖―we hope the reader will use his own judgment‖―everyone should hand his homework tomorrow‖. From the above examples it is clear that the words ―his‖or ―he ―in the sentences refer to two genders not the single gender that is to say ―he‖contains ―she‖―his‖contains ―her‖. Besides to begin a letter words referred to males contain two genders in salutations of a letter people often use the words referred to man summarize man and woman when they do not know the receiver‘s specific sex of the people for example in formal letters people often use ―Dear sir or Dear gentlemen‖but do not care for the receiver‘s sex. The sexism exists in every field so peopl e should pay much attention to the sexist phenomenon in the language. 2. Sex Orders in Expressions and Words Female words are behind male words in some English expressions when referring to men and women the two genders are not equal female words are behind male words for instance: brother and sister father and mother boys and girls husband and wife man and woman. Those do not elaborate the sexist meanings in form but with sexism in sense. The jobs teacher nurse secretary model and etc these neutral words are designated to female but professor lawyer doctor etc. are recognized as masculine words and designated to males. All these customaries are a social bias just look at another example: ―professional‖when a man is called a professional he is thought to be a doctor or a lawyer but when people hear a woman referred to as a professional and they are likely to think of a prostitute. But it is not true today because so many women have become doctors and lawyers that it is no longer incongruous to think of women in those professional roles. People should change their traditional conceptions that females are inferior to males. 3. The Changes of Female Words‘ Meanings During the development of English many female words‘ meanings have taken place during the history. For example ―governor‖in old English it referred to the person in charge of a particular unit and now it keeps the same meaning. However the relative word ―governess‖means another thing it has changed its former meaning from family tutor into prostitute and another example ―master‖and ―mistress‖referred to the male and female school teacher but now the word ―mistress‖refers to a woman who is having a sexual relationship with a married man and so do many other words lord and lory sir and Madame temper and temptress. The female words have changed their former meanings and they have been endowed with a belittled meaning which is the sexist reflection in English language. C. Sexism in English V ocabulary Sexism exists in English language it shows that masculine vocabulary refer to both genders that is to say the generalization of the masculine words. 1. Sex Discrimination and Job Titles Inferior job titles refer to both genders but higher ones only refer to male. In English there are both feminine words and masculine words referred to the inferior jobs in social status. For instance waiter and waitress steward and stewardess. But when referring to the higher post titles there are only masculine words such as doctor professor engineer etc. are suitable for both genders. However these words are usually associated with masculine if they are used to designate female they would always be added on a word ―woman‖or ―lady‖. Such as these words a lady-doctor a business woman-lawyer. In English the words used to describe woman are pejorative
and belittled but the words used to describe man are positive and praised although the man and woman do the same work in a company people used to describe them with different words due to the social bias for example a businessman is aggressive and a businesswoman is pushy. In addition one often meets these phenomena during our daily lives 2. Man and Woman Male are superior to females. Woman is subordinate to man. In vocabulary the nouns ending with –er –or are neutral words but people think they are masculine such as doctor professor engineer etc. If they are designated to females they always add woman or lady before them and many professional nouns take ―man‖as their suffix such as chairman mailman etc. Although there are many women working in the field the word he always indicate the both genders just as English teachers often say that nobody in the class can be proud of his English here ―his‖stands for girls and boys no matter that there are many boys and girls in the class. The g eneralization of the word ―he‖reveals men are superior to women and men are the center of the society. D. Sexism in the Meanings of English Words A word when it is used in different genders it is endowed with different meanings. For example ―prudent man‖refers to a man who is careful and cautious to the uncertainties and he acts care and foresight but ―prudent woman‖is the woman who behaves in an extremely manner. And another example: ―imposing man‖refers to the man who looks important or causes admirat ion but ―imposing woman‖refers to the woman who is indifferent ruthless and horrible. Furthermore another word ―tramp‖which is used to refer to the man without family job or money who travels around and asks for money from others but when ―tramp‖refers to a woman it is a mistress obviously it is a semantic choice of social bias. Sometimes two words point to the same thing the linguistic senses are different for example bachelor refers to the single man but the word spinster refers to the unmarried old woman the two words are unequal in the linguistic sense. Just because of the social bias the society treats the single man and woman differently. For English itself there is no sex discrimination even no gender difference in it masculine meanings are endowed with gender inequality by people purposely. From the above evidences people can find factors about the gender discrimination in English language . Ⅲ. The Causes of Sexism in English Language English language as a social phenomenon it surely reflects the society and it has the features which are changeable and profound. As a mirror reflecting the society language images the social views and values. Sexism in society is thus inevitably reflected in the use of language it reveals the gender bias of the society.
A. The Causes of Social Position and Power The sexist language reveals discrimination against women in social life. In ancient times man was the center of the society and more important than woman no matter in which field such as in the social economics politics culture fields and traditional conceptions woman was inferior to man and was subordinated and dominated by man they have been looked down upon gradually. As a result the idea that woman is inferior to man has been revealed in the language. Sexism exists in people‘s minds. Sexism does not only exist independently in the languages but also exists in people‘s minds. Language is like an X-ray in providing visible evidence of invisible thoughts. The most important thing people are interested in is to discuss sexist language as they make conscious decisions about what pronouns they will use no matter what jokes they will tell or laugh at how they will write their names or how they will begin their letters they are forced to think about the underlyin.
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