The Research on Linguistic Sexism

Ⅰ. Gender discrimination / Sexism

1.1 Definition of gender discrimination

Sexism， also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination， is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to ones gender that indirectly affects ones abilities in unrelated areas. It is a form of discrimination or devaluation based on a persons sex， with such attitudes being based on beliefs in traditional stereotypes of gender roles. The term sexism is most often used in relation with discrimination against women， in the context of patriarchy.

1.2 Reasons for the linguistic sexism

There are some reasons， to analyze from the perspective of semantics， political discourse， power ideology， male chauvinism， cultural stereotype， sex role， social psychology， cognitive pattern.

Ⅱ. Explanations for the linguistic sexism phenomenon from the perspective of sociolinguistics

2.1 the cultural stereotype of patriarchal view.

2.2 the direct product of double standards in powerful discourse.

2.3 the concrete manifestation of sex role within the groups

2.4 the result of symbolic representation in social identity.

2.5 the portrait of the social psychology （the view that） men are superior to women

2.6 the derivative product of constructing social gender schema

Ⅲ.The research on linguistic sexism

1. Searching & identifying stage （in the late 1960s- in the 1970s），

It did research through introspective approach and folk linguistic approach.

2. Formal criticizing & matching stage （in the 1970s- in the 1980s）

It did research on word-formation by formal analysis and then proposed some ways to reform.

Structural reforming & semantic analysis stage （ in the 1980s- in the 1990s ）

It mainly did research on semantics.

Reforming reflecting & cognitive studying stage （ in the 1990s- till now）

It researches on the cognitive research and linguistic sexism.

Ⅳ. Analysis on the linguistic sexism from the perspective of etymology，anthropology， sociolinguistics

4.1 Analysis on the linguistic sexism from the perspective of etymology

— Taking Genesis as an example

Genesis 2：22 And the bone which the Lord had taken from the man he made into a woman， and took her to the man.

Gen 2：23 And the man said， This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh： let her name be Woman because she was taken out of Man.

From these two paragraphs， we can see that the sex roles in Bible were determined by the Lord， which simultaneously showed the subordinate position of woman， comparing with man. That is to say， male-orientated.

4.2 Analysis on the linguistic sexism from the perspective of anthropology

例如：不論是舊石器時代還是新石器時代，男人負責打獵，而女人負責采集，采集的產出較為穩(wěn)定。在原始社會，能夠生存下來的就是強者，這一點是很重要。在這方面，男人就顯得稍遜一籌，因此女性在生產中的地位就較男性突出。根據(jù)經濟基礎決定上層建筑原理，女性就成氏族的領導者。當人類社會從采集狩獵為主向定居農業(yè)以及畜牧業(yè)轉變時，男人的優(yōu)勢地位就得到極大地凸顯。戰(zhàn)爭也導致男人的地位突出。男人取得指揮權后，也就贏得了保護氏族安全的社會地位。女性就不得不讓位于男人。

From this example， we can see the linguistic sexism has existed since the primitive period， and until now， it is self-evident that it still exists as the above shown.

4.3 Analysis on the linguistic sexism from the perspective of sociolinguistics

Discrimination of sex-specific address forms

Mr. Mrs.

+ animate + animate

+ human + human

+/- adult + adult

+/- married + married

In Chinese， Tongzhi & Xiansheng/Xiaojie is a typical example to show the linguistic sexism in address forms.

Ⅴ. The instances of linguistic sexism in English & Chinese

1. For instance， the following words can embrace the linguistic sexism.

“man” “he” human， man ， he and they

it / she/ he they 他們

Human （ man ） 人類

2. Ronald Wardhaugh said that “one particular bit of sexism in languages that has aroused much comment is the gender systems that so many of them have， the he-she-it ‘natural gender system of English or the le-la or der-die-das ‘grammatical gender systems of French and German.”

在19 世紀規(guī)定語法產生以前，與he為通性代詞使用的同時，單數(shù)they和he-or-she的用法都是可行的，至今單數(shù)they的用法在口語中仍被接受。但是由于規(guī)定語法家們的竭力反對，后來在1850年美國的憲法條例中明確規(guī)定，“當先行詞為性別不明的不定代詞或名詞短語時，依照傳統(tǒng)慣例，由于在語法上陽性比陰性重要，因此只用he。Every one should raise his hand when he is ready”。單數(shù)they 和he-or- she的用法都被否定了。

3. Asymmetry form in language

A classification of asymmetric forms in English

Word of

Man Word of

Woman Word about

Man Word about Woman

chairman seminal

（=highly original）

Man of the year virile

shrew bitchy

virago wanton

The asymmetry can reflect at least three tendencies.

1） male oriented

2） the information communicative barrier

3） other effects

4. The linguistic sexism in English language

bachelor（unmarried man）：（ 快樂的） 單身漢；/ spinster （unmarried woman）：（冷漠、古怪、不近人情的）老處女；/governor：統(tǒng)治者、掌權者、總督；/ governess：（受雇于人的）家庭女教師；/ mister：先生，丈夫；/ mistress：受人供養(yǎng)的女人、情婦；/ warlock：巫師（不含貶義）；/ witch：（帶有“丑陋、行為古怪”等貶義的） 巫婆；/ sir：冠在姓名前為尊稱；/ madam：（常用來指妓院的） 老鴇；/ king：可引申為有成就的巨子，如鋼鐵大王：a steel king；/ queen：其貶義也指妓女。

5.漢語中的性別歧視：例如：雖然夫妻本是地位平等之人，但我們從男人對自己妻子的稱呼看得出，夫和妻的地位是垂直的，而不是平行的：賤內、賤人、拙荊、糟糠、內人、內子、內助、內主、賤妾等。這還算是文雅的，在農村，更多的是俗稱：老婆、婆娘、家里的、屋里的、做飯的、燒火的、孩子她娘等，這些稱呼無不反映出女人活動的空間以及卑下的地位。

在有關男女的詞語中，無論是兩個字的還是四個字的詞，男的總是排前面，女的總是排在后面：夫婦、夫妻、男女、父母、公婆、叔嬸、兄嫂、弟妹，夫貴妻榮、夫唱婦隨、男耕女織、善男信女、癡男怨女、男婚女嫁、男盜女娼、男尊女卑、男女有別、男婚女聘、男歡女愛、男媒女妁……（常敬宇，1995：19）

Ⅵ.Conclusion

1. The unequal society， though equal in law.

2. The gift when born and the growth gradually.

3. The traditional views that people have frequently influence the behaviors they have. e.g.“女大不中留”， “家窮草束發(fā)， 仍是男子漢”。

4. 周公制禮，“男尊女卑”。

5. The feminist movements are more and more nowadays， which play important roles in the society.

References：

[1]Benard Spolsky.Sociolinguisticsp[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社， 2010.

[2]Ronald Wardhaugh.An introduction to Sociolinguistics[M].北京：外語教學與研究出版社，2000.

[3]常敬宇.漢語詞匯與文化[M].北京：北京大學出版社，1995.

[4]吳靜.淺析通性代詞He 的語義模糊性及文化含義.山東外語教學[J].1998（2）.

[5]楊永林.社會語言學研究：功能· 稱謂· 性別篇[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，2005.

[6]http：//www.docin.com/p-195467935.html[OL].

[7]http：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexism[OL].

【作者簡介】李美玲（1987.02-），女，河南濮陽人，西南交通大學希望學院，研究生，助教，研究方向：外語教學法。