An Analysis of Sexism in English Vocabulary英语专业毕业论文.docx

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1、AcknowledgementsOn the completion of my thesis, I wish to thank all those who have given me consistent help and great advice that have made this thesis possible.I would like to extend my great thanks and deepest gratitude to my tutor Professor Lu Ling who gave valuable instructions. Without her pati

2、ence, shrewd comments, effective advice as well as quick corrections, many of the pitfalls of my thesis would have still remained and I even could not finish my thesis. It is her who encouraged and urged me to begin my research work as soon as possible. Her kindness and advice have kept the thesis i

3、n the right direction.I am greatly indebted to Professor Cao Lingjuan, Mr. Zeng Chuansheng, Mr. Chen chuanxian, Ms Bai Lifang, Professor Li Mengtao, Ms Li Fen and Mr. Lin Xu of School of Foreign Language of Hainan University. They have improved me in language skills and proficiency and have cultivat

4、ed my great interest in English literature and western culture. During these four years, their encouragement, friendship and kindness have great impact on my study and life.Last but not least, I should thank all the teachers and staffs who have helped me a lot during these wonderful four years of my

5、 university life.AbstractIn the process of human development, it is common in society that man is superior to woman, which is not only in power and wealth but also in use of vocabulary. Admittedly, English develops from the society in which males occupy the lead position, therefore it is inevitable

6、that its vocabulary tends to the discrimination against females. And what is more under the influence of Bible, quite a lot of English etymologists created words through the notion of physiology, female social role and man is superior to woman etc. which makes sex difference of vocabulary institutio

7、nalized. Since the movement for womens rights in 1960s, sexism in English vocabulary has always been an important issue which the feminists study on. Great effort has been done that feminists advocate to use neutral terms instead of sexism terms in order to remove the sexism in vocabulary gradually.

8、 This thesis attempts to make a study on sexism in English vocabulary through comparisons and examples, aiming at finding out those hidden differences between male and female in vocabulary, and tabling a proposal in casting aside sexism to arouse peoples awareness and give them a new understanding o

9、f language.Key words: sexism; English vocabulary; discrimination; comparison摘要在人类发展的进程里，男人高于女人一等是十分普遍的现象，这种现象不仅表现在权利方面，还表现在词汇的使用上。无可否认的，英语是从以男人占主导地位的社会中逐渐发展起来的，因此英语词汇必然带有歧视女性的倾向。尤其是在圣经的影响下，许多语源学家根据人们的普遍心理，女性的社会地位，以及男人高于女人等方面创造词汇， 从而使得不同性别的词汇使用成为惯例。自从1960年的女权运动以来，英语词汇中的性别歧视已成为女权主义者研究的重要课题。女权主义者提倡使用中性

10、词汇代替性别歧视词以达到逐渐消除词汇中性别歧视的目的已经取得巨大成就。本文将通过对比与举例对英语词汇中的性别歧视进行剖析，意在分析词汇中男性与女性之间隐含的不同，倡导消除性别歧视以唤醒人们的意识，使其对语言有一个全新的理解。关键词：性别歧视；英语词汇；歧视；对比ContentsAcknowledgements( i )Abstract (English)( ii )Abstract (Chinese) ( iii )Contents( iv )1.Introduction (1)2.Word-formation of Common Words (1)2.1 The Definitions of

11、 Man and Woman in Dictionary(2)2.2 Word-formation of Common Words Made by “Man” and “Woman”(3)2.3 Unmarked Words Referring to Male (5)2.4 Common Words Referring to Male(5)3.The Manifestation of Sexism in English Vocabulary (6 ) 3.1 Sexism in Neutral Terms(6) 3.1.1 Occupational Neutral Words are Sexu

12、alized (6) 3.1.2 Some Neutral Words in Derogatory Sense Referring to Female (7 )3.2 Meanings of Equivalents are not Peer to Peer (8 )3.2.1 Meanings of Twin Words are not Peer to Peer (8)3.2.2 The Meaning of Appellation Words are not Peer to Pee r(9)3.2.3 Sexism in Gender Terms(10 )3.2.4 Sexism in Ar

13、ticles (11)4.The Cause of Formation in Sexism (11)4.1 The Improper Location of Men and Women in Bible (11)4.2 Political and Economic Reasons (12)4.2.1 Females Relying on Their Husbands in Economy (12)4.2.2 Females Depending on Males in Policy (13)5. The Impact of Movement for Womens Right in United

14、States on Sexism in English Vocabulary(13)5.1 The Background of the Movemnet for Womens Right (14 )5.2 The Great Impact of Movement for Womens Right on Vocabulary(14)5.3 How to Take Full Advantage of the Impact (15)6. Conclusion (16)7.Reference(18)1 IntroductionSexism, broadly speaking, is bias of a

15、 certain gender, while such bias usually refers to the discrimination against females. According to Webster Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary , the definition of sexism is “prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially: discrimination against woman”(Merriam,1961:1593). In Langman English Dictio

16、nary, sexism is defined as “discrimination based on gender, especially males discriminate against females”(Longman Group Ltd.,1978:1572). The American Heritage Dictionary defines sexism as “one gender member discriminate against another member, especially man against woman”.Therefore sexism usually

17、refers to the discrimination against women. Admittedly, sexism exsits in various aspects of our life especially the vocabulary. Under the impact of Bible, sexism can be found everywhere in word-formation and expression. Women in the United States first studied on this subject. They found the vocabul

18、ary had a great impact on peoples attitude towards female. While English centers on male, but belittles female. Therefore, sexism exsists in the culture of Britain and America, especially in vocabulary. In recent years, the issue of relationship between words and gender has already aroused the atten

19、tion of people. This is a consequence of equality between male and female. While, the sexism in vocabulary is an unreasonable phenomenon widespread in society. 2 Word-formation of Common WordsIn English vocabulary, especially in the word-formation of common words, lots of words should have belonged

20、to neutral terms, which emphasize masculine connotation. Such words are usually made up by man or just refer to male. The meaning and social actions expressed by this kind of words often refer to masculine or responsibilities and obligations of male. However, the synthesis of the words made up by wo

21、man, to a large extent focuses on the characteristics of women. Compared with men, women not only have no value in vocabulary, but also are in a subordinate position in social relations.2.1 The Definitions of Man and Woman in DictionaryMan:1) a human being, especially an adult male human2) a man bel

22、onging to a particular category ( as by birth, residence, membership or occupation)3) husband4) the human race5) a bipedal primate mammal6) one possessing in high degree the qualities considered distinctive the manhood7) the quality or state of being manly8) a feudal tenant9)an adult male servant10)

23、the working force as distinguished from the employer and usually the management 11) individual person12) Christian Science: the compound idea of infinite Spirit, the spiritual image and likeness of God; the full representation of Mind13) police( often write in capital letters)14) the White establish

24、ment, the white society (Merriam, 1976:1053)From these detailed definitions, it is self-evident that the whole meaning involves both man and woman, while emphasizing on man. The definition of 1), 3), 7), 8), 9), 12) and 13) can illustrate that from social culture. Definition 3) and 9) indicate the c

25、oncept of common males, while definition 6), 7), 12), 13) and 14) show the meaning of special males. Definition 6) and 7) stress mens social value. Definition 12) emphasizes the special relationship between man and God, that is man is the same as or represents God. Definition 13) focuses on the attr

26、ibute of social power. As we know, white people are in the lead in western world, using majuscule Man to stand for the white society best interpret the importance of man. According to the definition 13), police are the arm force to preserve the law and order of the society. Using majuscule Man to st

27、ate police shows the importance of man. Woman: 1) an adult female person2) a women belonging to a particular category ( as by birth, residence, membership or occupation)3) Womankind4)distinctively feminine nature5) a female servant or personal attendant6) wife7) mistress8) girl friendThrough these d

28、efinitions, it can be seen that to a great degree, woman stands for the characteristic of female, whose social status and role is inferior to man. Definition 8) contains disparaging attitude, besides the meaning of female friend, girl friend also expresses mistress in describing adult women.Accordin

29、g to the comparison of the definition of man and woman in dictionary, it is observed that “man ”in its definition and social meaning mainly refers to the concept of human, therefore the compound words made by man usually stand for human. Nevertheless, woman only states the characteristic of feminine

30、, as a result, the compound words made by woman often indicate females who engage in some profession or belong to some business. Sexism in vocabulary is so obvious.2.2 Word-formation of Common Words Made by “Man” and “Woman”Take Word-formation of common words made by “man” and “woman” for example. O

31、n the one hand, there are a great many words with “man”, such as human, policeman, chairman, businessman, sportsman, superman, mankind, postman, Englishman, airman, salesman, clergyman, kinsman, countryman, Englishman, Frenchman, Dutchman, statesman, etc. Even the word “woman” is made up of “man”. A

32、ll these words should refer only to the male, while in fact, the meanings of these words also cover women, 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 p

33、rinciple of Latin and old English in grammar gender, basing on the gender of suffix to distinguish the gender identity of nouns. The gender of nouns in old English is grammar gender, differing from natural gender. So, such kind of words emphasize masculine in word structure .At the same time, it als

34、o stresses that all things are done by the male, not the female in practical use. That is quite unfair to the female. On the other hand, in social life, people always regard women with discrimination. If a woman is engaged in noble causes, she will face much more difficulties than men, therefore the

35、 synthesis of the words made up by “woman” usually stress on the characteristics of women such as, chairwoman, policewoman, horsewoman, womankind, womanpower, forewoman, stateswoman, councilwoman. And the following meanings of words also show that the words made up of “woman” mainly emphasize the ch

36、aracteristics 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)Forewoman: a woman who serves as a leader of a work crew, as in a fac

37、tory(4)Womanpower:the power of woman physical strength(5)Policewoman: a woman who is in a member of a police force(6)Womanhood: the state of being a woman; woman(7)Horsewoman: a woman horseback riderThe followings meanings illustrate that words made up of man refer to both men and women(1)Mankind: t

38、he human race(2)Chairman: The presiding officer of an assembly, meeting, committee or board(3)Foreman: a person who serves as a leader of a work crew, as in a factory(4)Manpower: the power of human physical strength(5)Policeman: a person who is in a member of police force(6)Manhood: the condition of

39、 being a human being(7)Horseman: a rider on horsebackThese seven comparisons illustrate that the former just emphasizes characteristics of women who are subject to men in social significance, while the later refers to both men and women, which is unfair to the female.2.3 Unmarked Words Referring to

40、MaleSome words which indicate womans social status, identity, occupation etc. are not independently formed. They are formed by their corresponding masculine words with affix, which are also called the word formation of derivative. For example,1) with affix ess actor- actress prince- princess mayor-

41、mayoress author- authoress poet- poetess citizen- citizeness god- goddess host- hostess count- countess waiter- waitress manager- manageress shepherd- shepherdess 2) with affix ette usher- usherette farmer- farmerette3) with some other affixhero- heroine male- female fiance- fiancee 2.4 Common Words

42、 Referring to MaleSome common words ended with or or er which express occupations are neutral words. But such kind of words only refer to male, because people often consider the occupations with grand social status such as lawyer, doctor etc. “Interestingly, when we hear other people say “ My cousin

43、 is a lawyer.”, most people always conclude that my cousin is a male. Most of the time, whenever we refer to a woman, we have to elaborately add woman, female or lady before many professionals should be males.”(Christie , Christina, 2000:45). Therefore, it should add “woman” or “female” before such

44、kind of words when referring to the female. For example, the professor usually refers to the male, so if you want to emphasize the professor is a female, you should add “woman” or “female” before the word professor, that is woman/female professor, so does the teacher, the driver, the doctor, the wor

45、ker etc.3 The Manifestation of Sexism in English VocabularyVocabulary is the mirror of the society, it reflects and restricts the ideology, mores as well as relationship of human. Admittedly, sexism in English vocabulary manifests in various aspects of life. 3.1Sexism in Neutral Terms Those words wh

46、ich should be neutral are not neutral, while those which should not be neutral are. 3.1.1 Occupational Neutral Words are SexualityOccupational words are neutral originally, and should apply to both the male and the female without the additional gender mark. Latter, because the words are sexualized, they only refer to one gender in habits and concept. As a result, such kind of occupational neutral words like doctor, teacher, professor, judge is masculinized. All these words mean that the people who engage in these professions are the male not the female. So, a wom