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1、 2011屆畢業(yè)生 畢業(yè)論文 題 目:A Comparative Study of Words and Expressions Belittling the Female in English and Chinese 院系名稱： 外語學(xué)院 專業(yè)班級： 英語(經(jīng)貿(mào)方向)0706 學(xué)生姓名： 陳 培 學(xué) 號： 20074180718 指導(dǎo)教師： 岳國法 教師職稱： 副教授 201

2、1年5 月 26 日 A Comparative Study of Words and Expressions Belittling the Female in English and Chinese Chen Pei School of Foreign Languages Of Henan University of Technology Supervisor: Yue Guofa May 26, 2011 河南工業(yè)大學(xué)畢業(yè)論文 Acknowledgements In my writing a

3、nd completing of the thesis, I have benefited from a lot of people. This thesis would not be completed without their help. Taking this chance, I would like to express my sincere and profound gratitude and appreciation to all of them. My foremost thanks are particularly extended to my supervisor, Yu

4、e Guofa, whose enlightening suggestions and constructive criticism have contributed greatly to the completion of this paper. Without his help, this thesis could never have reached its presence. I am also grateful to the teachers and students in Foreign Languages College, Henan University of Te

5、chnology, who gave me a lot of help and encouragement during the process of my writing. Finally, my special thanks to my parents for their constant support and understanding in my four years study in university. Their love and encouragement helped me get over all the difficulties I met during this

6、process. Abstract There are many words and expressions that belittle the female in both English and Chinese. This phenomenon is called sexism in language. Sexism in language has been a heated topic among linguists since 1960s. There are common sexist practices in English

7、and Chinese because the Engish-speaking people and Chinese people all live in the patriarchal society. In this kind of society, male is the superior sex and language only reflects men’s point of view and interests. This paper is based on the achievements in language studies thus far made in China

8、and English-speaking countries to reveal sexism existing in language itself and behind language. A comparative approach is employed as a general method of the paper. It is based on Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis which has a great influence on the research of the relationship between language and culture. Fi

9、rstly, this paper takes the phenomenon of sexism in English and Chinese as starting point. Then, it intends to analyse sexism in English and Chinese systematically and to find out similarities and differences of sexism in English and Chinese. At last, this paper gives some applicable methods and str

10、ategies in minimizing and avoiding linguistic sexism. Key Words: sexism; English; Chinese 內(nèi)容摘要 英語和漢語中都存在大量歧視女性用語。這種現(xiàn)象被稱為語言性別歧視。語言性別歧視從上世紀(jì)六十年代至今都是語言學(xué)中的一個熱點問題。由于以英語為主要語言的國家和中國都曾是等級社會，英語和漢語中出現(xiàn)相同的語言性別歧視現(xiàn)象。在等級社會中，男性高于女性，語言只反映男性的觀念。 本論文在結(jié)合國內(nèi)外研究成果的基礎(chǔ)上，揭示英語和漢語中語言本身所存在的性別歧視和語言背后所

11、隱藏的人們的性別歧視意識。全篇論文將運用對比的研究方法。本文以薩丕爾-沃爾夫假說為理論基礎(chǔ)展開研究。首先，本論文以英語和漢語中的性別歧視現(xiàn)象為切入點，其次重點分析中英文中語言性別歧視的相同點和不同點，最后就如何弱化、減少語言歧視提出一些可行性建議。 關(guān)鍵詞：性別歧視；英語；漢語 iii Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………......... i Abstract (English)……………………………………………………………………...…………

12、… ii Abstract (Chinese)…………………………………………………………………..……………… iii 1. Introduction………………………………………….………………………………………… 1 2. Sexism in English and Chinese….…………………………………………..………...……….. 2 2.1 Sexism in English……………………………………….….……..……………………… 3 2.1.1 Sexism in word order…………………………….……..…….…

13、………………... 3 2.1.2 Sexism in naming and addressing………………………...………………………. 3 2.1.3 Sexism in proverbs...…………………………………………………………....... 4 2.2 Sexism in Chinese………………………………………………………………………… 5 2.2.1 Sexism in word order……..………………………………………….….……..…. 5 2.2.2 Sexism in naming a

14、nd addressing……………………………………… ………... 6 2.2.3 Sexism in proverbs..…………………………………………...…….……………. 6 3. Similarities and differences of sexism between English and Chinese…………….….…...…… 7 3.1 Similarities of sexism between English and Chinese………….….…………….………... 7 3.1.1 Marked woman an

15、d unmarked man………………………………….…….… ….. 7 3.1.2 Word order dominated by man………….…………………………..….…….…… 8 3.1.3 Negative interpretion of women’s words…………………………….….………... 8 3.2 Differences of sexism between English and Chinese……………………….……….…… 9 3.2.1 Different usage of pronouns………

16、………………………….………..………….. 9 3.2.2 Isolating language and inflecting language……………………………..….……... 10 3.2.3 Ideographic language and alphabetic language…………………………….……... 10 4. Methods and strategies of reducing sexism……………..…………………………….………... 11 4.1 Changing social discrimination ag

17、ainst women…………………….…………….……… 11 4.2 Neutralization of gender in English……………...………………………….….………… 12 4.3 Strategies of reducing sexism in Chinese………………………………………………. 12 5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………... Works Cited…………………………………………..…………………………………………….. 13 14 1

18、.Introduction There are many words and expressions that belittle the female in both English and Chinese. This phenomenon is called sexism in language. According to the New Oxford Dictionary of English, sexism refers to prejudice or discrimination based on sex, especially, discrimination against wom

19、en. Sexism in language has been a hot topic among linguists since 1960s. In recent years, sociolinguists have carried out many studies in this field. The results stemming from this research can help people understand the sexist phenomena in various cultures, which will improve the quality of communi

20、cation and promote the harmony of language. In fact, the language of sex discrimination is embodied in the language of asymmetry. Based on “Sapir-Wholf Hypothesis”, “l(fā)anguage is not only a product of society, it can in turn affect people’s thinking and the spirit of the building” (Hu Zhuanglin163).

21、Till today, many linguists and feminists are interested in studying the relationship of language and gender. Western countries have a much longer history of studying sexism in language than that in China. Feminist scholarship and investigations into the sexism in language began in the mid-1970s. Li

22、nguists rightly pointed out that it was the women’s liberation movement that pushed this field of study into prominence. Language was and is seen by many feminists a powerful instrument of patriarchy. For example, feminist Dale Spender spoke of “the English language as being man-made and as being an

23、 important contributor to women’s oppression”. (198) Language and gender research on the Chinese language is still in its infancy, and relies on a very small body of data. Serious and systematic studies in sexism in Chinese have only be found in the past two decades. The earliest work ever done on

24、the language and gender in the standard Chinese is probably Shi Yuhui’s “A Sociolinguistic Study of Gender Differences in the Chinese language”. In the article, Shi offered a comprehensive analysis of the various forms of sex differentiation in the Chinese language. At the end of the article, Shi co

25、ncluded that “sexism in the Chinese language ties closely with the patriarchal bias in the Chinese culture” (209). Sun Rujian approached the topic from sociolinguistic and psycho-linguistic perspectives. Their studies documented sexism in Chinese characters and vocabulary coupled with a brief explan

26、ation why sexism should occur. Chang Jingyu and Yang Defeng analyzed sexist linguistic practices from the perspective of lexicology. In spite of these researches on sexism in language, there is an area left unattended. That is: The detailed study of sexisms of English and Chinese from the perspecti

27、ve of similarities and differences is rare and not deep. And they have not proposed how to reduce or eliminate sexism systematically. This paper, using comparative methods, intends to study the similarities and differences systematically and objectively. There are five parts to discuss the issue. P

28、art one will introduce Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, give the definition of sexism，and introduce the studies of sexism in language at home and abroad. Part two serves as the basis for the comparison in the following part. In part two, sexism in English is analyzed from the following aspects: word order, n

29、aming and addressing, and proverbs. So does sexism in Chinese. A large number of examples are given, which prove that sexism not only exist, but also its occurrence is greater in number than it is expected and some of them are even beyond the consciousness of the people. Part three is the main part

30、of this paper. On the one hand, the author puts forward three similar sexist phenomena between English and Chinese. On the other hand, differences in sexism between English and Chinese, due to different language types, are also explained. English is a inflecting language while Chinese is an isolatin

31、g language. Part four will give some methods and strategies of reducing sexism in both English and Chinese. Part five is the conclusion of this paper. The conclusion is that gender discrimination is deeply rooted in people’s linguistic habits and we need to overcome it as soon as possible. Also, the

32、 author will highlight the meaning of this research and evaluate this paper objectively. 2. Sexism in English and Chinese Inspired by the word “racial discrimination”, feminists created the word sex discrimination”(sexism). According to the New Oxford Dictionary of English, sexism refers to prejud

33、ice or discrimination based on sex, especially discrimination against women. As the English-speaking people and Chinese people all live in the patriarchal society, and sexist penomenon occur in both English and Chinese. It is an obvious fact that in the human community, about half of its members are

34、 female, but all masculine language is used for both sexes. That is, language is centered about the male. This usage leads to a linguistic sexism. 2.1 Sexism in English 2.1.1 Sexism in word order The representation of sex discrimination in English can be found in word order. When women and men ar

35、e placed together, the men are usually placed before the women. Of course, everything has its exception as in ladies and gentlemen, but that only reveals the historical tradition and women are regarded weak and need men’s protection and help. Another example, in significant ceremonies such as weddin

36、gs, people call the newly married couple bridegroom and bride instead of bride and bridegroom. The expressions below have shown clearly the subordinate status of females in English. For example, Adam and Eve, husband and wife, male and female, men and women, boys and girls, host and hostess and so

37、on. People may find enough evidence showing this kind of relations between the two genders in English. According to Spender, “the interest in the different relations of the sexes to their language dates back to 1553 when Mr.Wilson insisted that it was more natural to place the man before the woman”

38、(147). Therefore, the male-female order seems so natural and appropriate that it is still widely used nowadays. So it is generally recognized that this word order reflects the social reality that men are superior to women. 2.1.2 Sexism in naming and adressing In every society, every time one perso

39、n speaks to another, there are a lot of options on whether and how persons will be addressed. Addressing can designate the social power, status and identity of the participants and typically manifest addresser’s attitude to the addressee. In English-speaking society “only men have real names”

40、in that male names are permanent and they have “accepted the permanency of their names as one of the rights of being male”(Miller and Swift 14). Practically it means that women’s family names do not count and it contributes to making women invisible. Fathers pass their names on to their sons and the

41、 existence of daughters soon be denied. Because of this, it becomes almost impossible to trace the ancestry of women. What is more, in many European languages, if a woman is married or considered of an age that she could be married, she will be addressed as Madam or Mrs. If she is not married, she w

42、ill be called Miss. But a man’s marital status will not be revealed by Mr. For example, when Susan Jones married Robert Smith, he is still limited to being Mr.Smith or Mr.Robert Smith. She, on the other hand, can choose among Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Susan Smith, Mrs. Robert Smith, Mrs. Susan Jones Smith, a

43、nd any of these with the title Mrs. instead of Ms. Thus in this way of addressing, any woman who gives her preferred title on a form is revealing far more information about herself than a male does. This discrimination practice reinforces the view that a woman is the property of a male (either

44、 her father or her husband). 2.1.3 Sexism in proverbs People know that language and culture are related: culture influences and shapes language and language reflects culture. English proverbs, as an essential part of vocabulary and the sinew of the language, they can more or less reflect people’s

45、views and behaviors or system of the society, and provide a little clues to the sexism in language in many proverbs and idioms, “women are defined as frail, talkative, trivial, paying much attention to appearance while having no sense”(Coates 243). Examples as followings: (1). Women are obsessed wi

46、th trivial things by nature. a. Words are women; deeds are men. b. Three women and a goose make a market. c. Husbands are in heaven whose wives scold not. d. A woman’s tongue is the last thing about her that dies. (2). Women are always troubles.

47、 a. No war without a woman. b. The house goes mad when women gad. c. Smoke, rain and a very crust wife make a man weary of house and life. (3). Women are regarded as weakers. a. Woman is made to weep. b. Nothing dries so fast as a woman’s tears.

48、 c. Woman is made of glass. d. Glasses and lasses are brittle ware. (4). Women are slow-witted. a. Long hair and short wit. b.When an ass climbs a ladder, we may find wisdom in women. c.A woman’s advice is never to sock. d.Women have no souls. Proverbs are

49、the ideological product in specific cultures. They are the succinct summary of people’s experiences in real life and the generalization of social phenomena. Linguists compare them to “the children of experience and the fruits of wisdom” (Gibbs and Beitel 133). Proverbs, as one important part of cult

50、ure, come from real life. A good many proverbs reflect the life of women and display various female images. Through these examples, we can see the discriminated female images through proverbs. These examples also demonstrate men’s extensive labeling of women as property, yenta and troublemakers, whi

51、ch help maintain greater hierarchy and control. 2.2 Sexism in Chinese 2.2.1 Sexism in word order In Chinese, there also exists discrimination against women. In our country, husband is the authority in a family and is usually put in the first place. The common male-female patterns like “nan

52、nv(男女), fufu(夫婦), fuqi(夫妻), fumu(父母), gongpo(公婆), dimei(弟妹), shushen(叔嬸), xiongsao(兄嫂), shaonanshaonv(少男少女), nanzuonvyou(男左女右), nannvlaoshao(男女老少), ernvqingchang(兒女情長), qingniannannv(青年男女), fuguiqirong(夫貴妻榮), fuchangfusui(夫唱婦隨), nangengnvzhi(男耕女織), shannanxinnv(善男信女), chinanyuannv(癡男怨女), nanhunnvjia

53、(男婚女嫁), nannvyoubie(男女有別), nanhuannvai(男歡女愛), nancainvmao(男才女貌), nannvyoubie(男女有別), hongnanlvnv(紅男綠女), xiongdizimei(兄弟姊妹)” and etc. “All these phrases put men in the first place and reflect one traditional Chinese idea: males are superior to females” (Chang Jingyu 411). The deep-rooted traditional e

54、thics exert a great influence, which includes that the husband guides wife. Also, in feudal government, women are taken as the private property of men. The above pairs of words imply women’s dependence on men. There are few Chinese pairs in which feminine character precedes masculine character. 2.2

55、.2 Sexism in naming and adressing In western society children take the surname of their father, not of their mother. China has the same convention. Traditionally, a girl had no proliferation of names for that her milk name sufficed. When she married, she tended to lose even that, for that she

56、was generally known by her husband’s surname, or more formally by her own surename prefixed by her husband, or by a kinship term which placed her firmly in a family-determined area. Her one claim to individuality might be a nickname. Then we get the names of “zhanglishi”(張李氏), “wangdama”(王大媽)”, “l(fā)ao

57、sunjiade”(老孫家的), “l(fā)iersao”(李二嫂), “gouerma”(狗兒媽). A man is rarely addressed in relation to his wife. Surname is passed on down the male line just as in western society. In ancient China, women were in fact men’s private property. The husbands usually put their wives in inner rooms and kept them

58、 from the outside world. This can easily be seen from the terms addressed to wives by their husbands, for exemple, “jiannei(賤內(nèi)), jianren(賤人), zaokang(糟糠), neiren(內(nèi)人), neizhu(內(nèi)助), neizhu(內(nèi)主), jianqie(賤妾)” and in countryside, “ laopo(老婆), poniang(婆娘), jialide(家里的), wulide(屋里的), zuofande(做飯的), haizitan

59、iang(孩子他娘)”. At the same time, “nujia”(奴家), “jianjie”(賤妾), “beiqie”(卑妾) were all used as the first personal pronouns of woman in ancient China. Till today, “neiren”(內(nèi)人) is still a formal term used by some men when they introduce their wife to guests. Through these exemples, we can see that traditio

60、nal ideas maintained in the modern language. “The terms used for a married woman in Chinese often reflect the women’s subordinate status” (Yang Defeng 501).The expressions “xiaonvzi”(小女子), “xiaoxifu”(小媳婦) and “niangmen”(娘們) in Chinese remind people of the sexual discrimination against women. 2.2.3

61、Sexism in proverbs China is a country that has the oldest and richest collections of proverbs in the world. Proverbs, generally speaking, are some sayings in which profound truths are cloaked. Sometimes, many proverbs related to women mislead people. We analyze some proverbs and show you how t

62、he Chinese women were treated in ancient society. In ancient China, girls leant their first lessons about the second-class status of her sex from a very early age. If there was a beautiful and talented daughter, the father of this family would feel sad because it was a pity that she was a girl. For

63、 even if a girl was learned, it would be of no use to be a woman in the society of that time. Because there are proverbs, for example, “女子總歸是女子”(A woman will always be a woman) and “女子無才便是德” (Virtuous is the woman that is without talent). Parents always believed that what a woman should do was to sp

64、end more time perfecting the sewing skills to prepare for her future marriage. When a girl got married, she should be completely subordinate to and dependent upon her husband because of this proverb “嫁漢嫁漢,穿衣吃飯” which means that to marry a man means to have food to eat and clothes to wear. In m

65、arriage, proverbs like “fuweiqigang”(夫為妻綱) and “fuchangfusui”(夫唱婦隨), told us that husband was the regulator of his wife. The remarriage of widows was abhorrent according to Confucian ethics. If a widow remarried, she would be considered “youshangfenghua”(有傷風(fēng)化), and there were several pieces of since

66、re advice given to her: “好馬不備二鞍, 好女不嫁二夫” which meant a good lady would not marry again as a good horse does not have two saddles; “貨無二買, 女無二嫁” which warned people not sell the same thing to two people, nor marry one daughter to two men. In a word, a woman had no place in conventional Chinese society. 3. Similarities and differences of sexism between English and Chinese To compare two different languages, one cannot forget those similarities between them. Both the English-speaking people and Ch