英语中性别歧视现象探究.docx

1、英语中性别歧视现象探究 本科生毕业论文(设计)题 目： 英语中性别歧视现象探究学 院： XXX学院 专 业： 英语（国贸）班级序号： XXX 学 号： XXXX学生姓名： XXX 指导教师： XX2011年5月On Research of the Sexism in English Language A Thesis Submitted In Partial fulfilment for the Requirements of the Degree of BACHELOR OF ARTS Department of English LIAONING NORMAL UNIVERSIT May,

2、2011Abstract In our society, women are often regarded as the weaker sex and are looked down upon. This gender bias can also be found in the English language. Such language is called sexist language. This paper is devoted to the study of sexism in the English language and on how to avoid sexism. To s

3、tart with, the thesis analyses 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. Then the thesis traces the reasons for the occurrence of sexis

4、m 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. Lastly, the thesis introduces two feasible strat

5、egies 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 womens status, respect and support them. The language transformation can be realistic on the basis of the social reform.Keywords: sexism;

6、phenomenon; factors; masculine words; strategies 摘要 在我们的社会中，妇女通常被认为是弱势群体而被轻视。这种性别歧视现象同样体现在英语语言中，这种语言被称为性别歧视语言。本文着重分析了英语语言中的性别歧视现象以及如何避免这种现象。首先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。接着论文剖析了英语中性别歧视现象形成的根源。从本质来说，英语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。最后着

7、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；现象； 原因； 男性用语; 策略 Table of Contents.Introduction.1.A Definition to Sexism in English Language.2. Phenomena of Sexism in English Language.3 3.1 Sexism in English Proverbs and Idioms.4 3.1.1 Role

8、 Category.5 3.1.2 Marriage Category.6 3.1.3 Manner Category.7.3.2 Sexism in Names.3.3 Sexism in English Vocabulary.8 3.2.1 Generic Masculine Words.9 3.2.2 The Derogation of Female Words.10 3.2.3 Sex Discrimination and Job Titles.11 3.2.4 Word Order.12 3.3 Sexism in the Meanings of English Words. .14

9、. The Causes of Sexism in the English.15 4.1 Cultural Factor.16 4.2 Physiological Factor.17 4.3 Social Factor.17 4.4 Psychological Factor.19. The Strategies of Eliminating or Avoiding Sexism in English.20 5.1 Language Strategies.20 5.1.1 Population of Neutral Words and Expressions.22 5.1.2 Avoiding

10、of the Generalization of Masculine Word “He”.235.1.3 Ms. as an Alternative to Both Mrs. And Miss.23 5.2 Social Strategy.24.Conclusion.25Works Cited.26Acknowledgements.27.Introduction Language is a mirror of the world. Everything is reflected in the mirror. In English countries, though people advocat

11、e equal rights for everyone, there are a lot of inequities, such as unequal rights between men and women, which are also reflected in the mirror of language. This phenomenon is called sexism in the English language. It can be either explicit, as in the prejudicial use of male or female pronouns, or

12、implicit. 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 Denm

13、ark linguist Otto. Jespersen, he regards English as the most masculine language which 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

14、 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 reforms, and it is essential to erase the sexism from peoples minds. English, as one of th

15、e 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 womens social positions. Understanding the sexist phenomenon in Engli

16、sh 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 Engl

17、ish language. . A Definition to Sexism in English LanguageSexism, in the Oxford Advanced Learners 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, e

18、specially that women are less able than men and those particular jobs and actions are suitable for women and others are suitable for men. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines sexism as discrimination based on gender, especially discrimination against women; attitudes, con

19、ditions, or behaviors that promote stereotyping of social roles based on gender. From these definitions, we can find that sexism is the practice of discriminating against people because of their gender. Sexist language expresses unfair assumptions and differences, and it can be either explicit, as i

20、n the prejudicial use of male or female pronouns, or implicit. Using universal evidence, the thesis here reveals how often English expresses sexist assumptions about differences 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 a

21、n old woman, throw a stone.” what expresses English version of the sexism prescribed for women, is particularly confining. 6. In fact, woman in the world no matter in which country she lives, the roles designated to them is unfair in the society. Phenomena of sexism in English Language The paper pre

22、sents the sexist phenomenon, which is very universal in English language. And it is shown and discussed in four aspects: English proverbs, English names, English vocabulary and the meanings of English words.3.1. Sexism in English Proverbs and Idioms Proverbs are the broad masses of the social practi

23、ce undertakes the experience and understanding of things the highly generalization and refining, and they are the treasure house of folk literature. English proverb as an important component of the English language, can reflect a nations geography, history, social system, social viewpoints and attit

24、udes, will also belittle women. And followings are some usual phenomena of the sexist language in English proverbs.3.1.1 Role category 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 examp

25、le: “A man of straw is worth of a woman of gold”(稻草男儿抵得上金玉女子), “If husband be not at home, there is nobody”(丈夫不在家，等于说没人) .The sentence “long hair and short wit”（头发长见识短）expresses women is lack of wisdom, but men are clever, another example goes like this: “when an ass climbs a ladder, we may find wis

26、dom in women” (倘若驴会爬梯子，女人也会变聪明) 12, the sexist language expresses women are lack of wisdom and they are capricious.3.1.2 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