英语专业毕业论文-A Comparative Study of Words and Expressions Belittling the Female in English and Chinese.doc

2011届毕业生毕业论文题 目:A Comparative Study of Words and Expressions Belittling the Female in English and Chinese 院系名称： 外语学院 专业班级： 英语(经贸方向)0706 学生姓名： 学 号： 20074180718 指导教师： 教师职称： 副教授 2011年5 月 26 日A Comparative Study of Words andExpressions Belittling the Femalein English and ChineseChen PeiSchool of Foreign LanguagesOfHenan University of TechnologySupervisor: Yue GuofaMay 26, 2011河南工业大学毕业论文AcknowledgementsIn my writing and 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, Yue 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 Technology, 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 process.AbstractThere 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 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 mens point of view and interests. This paper is based on the achievements in language studies thus far made in China 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. Firstly, 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 strategies in minimizing and avoiding linguistic sexism. Key Words: sexism; English; Chinese内容摘要英语和汉语中都存在大量歧视女性用语。这种现象被称为语言性别歧视。语言性别歧视从上世纪六十年代至今都是语言学中的一个热点问题。由于以英语为主要语言的国家和中国都曾是等级社会，英语和汉语中出现相同的语言性别歧视现象。在等级社会中，男性高于女性，语言只反映男性的观念。本论文在结合国内外研究成果的基础上，揭示英语和汉语中语言本身所存在的性别歧视和语言背后所隐藏的人们的性别歧视意识。全篇论文将运用对比的研究方法。本文以萨丕尔-沃尔夫假说为理论基础展开研究。首先，本论文以英语和汉语中的性别歧视现象为切入点，其次重点分析中英文中语言性别歧视的相同点和不同点，最后就如何弱化、减少语言歧视提出一些可行性建议。关键词：性别歧视；英语；汉语iiiContents Acknowledgements.iAbstract (English).iiAbstract (Chinese).iii1.Introduction. 12.Sexism in English and Chinese.22.1Sexism in English.32.1.1Sexism in word order.32.1.2Sexism in naming and addressing.32.1.3 Sexism in proverbs.42.2Sexism in Chinese52.2.1Sexism in word order.52.2.2Sexism in naming and addressing .62.2.3Sexism in proverbs.63.Similarities and differences of sexism between English and Chinese.73.1Similarities of sexism between English and Chinese.73.1.1Marked woman and unmarked man. .73.1.2Word order dominated by man.83.1.3Negative interpretion of womens words.83.2Differences of sexism between English and Chinese.93.2.1Different usage of pronouns.93.2.2Isolating language and inflecting language.103.2.3Ideographic language and alphabetic language.104.Methods and strategies of reducing sexism.114.1Changing social discrimination against women.114.2Neutralization of gender in English.124.3 Strategies of reducing sexism in Chinese.125. Conclusion.Works Cited.13141.IntroductionThere 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 women. 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 communication 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”, “language is not only a product of society, it can in turn affect peoples thinking and the spirit of the building” (Hu Zhuanglin163). 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. Linguists rightly pointed out that it was the womens 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 important contributor to womens 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 the language and gender in the standard Chinese is probably Shi Yuhuis “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 concluded 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 explanation 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 perspective 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. Part 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, naming 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 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 isolating 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 peoples linguistic habits and we need to overcome it as soon as possible. Also, the author will highlight the meaning of this research and evaluate this paper objectively.2. Sexism in English and ChineseInspired by the word “racial discrimination”, feminists created the word sex discrimination”(sexism). According to the New Oxford Dictionary of English, sexism refers to prejudice 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 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 English2.1.1 Sexism in word orderThe representation of sex discrimination in English can be found in word order. When women and men are 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 mens protection and help. Another example, in significant ceremonies such as weddings, 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 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” (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 adressingIn every society, every time one person 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 addressers attitude to the addressee. In English-speaking society “only men have real names” 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 womens family names do not count and it contributes to making women invisible. Fathers pass their names on to their sons and the 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 will be called Miss. But a mans 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, and 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 her father or her husband).2.1.3 Sexism in proverbsPeople 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 peoples 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 with 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 womans tongue is the last thing about her that dies.(2). Women are always troubles. 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 andlife. (3). Women are regarded as weakers. a. Woman is made to weep. b. Nothing dries so fast as a womans tears. 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 womans advice is never to sock.d.Women have no souls.Proverbs are the ideological product in specific cultures. They are the succinct summary of peoples 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 culture, 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 mens extensive labeling of women as property, yenta and troublemakers, which help maintain greater hierarchy and control. 2.2 Sexism in Chinese2.2.1 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 “nannv(男女), fufu(夫妇), fuqi(夫妻), fumu(父母), gongpo(公婆), dimei(弟妹), shushen(叔婶), xiongsao(兄嫂), shaonanshaonv(少男少女), nanzuonvyou(男左女右), nannvlaoshao(男女老少), ernvqingchang(儿女情长), qingniannannv(青年男女), fuguiqirong(夫贵妻荣), fuchangfusui(夫唱妇随), nangengnvzhi(男耕女织), shannanxinnv(善男信女), chinanyuannv(痴男怨女), nanhunnvjia(男婚女嫁), nannvyoubie(男女有别), nanhuannvai(男欢女爱), nancainvmao(男才女貌), nannvyoubie(男女有别), hongnanlvnv(红男绿女), 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 ethics 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 womens dependence on men. There are few Chinese pairs in which feminine character precedes masculine character.2.2.2 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 was generally known by her husbands 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”(张李氏), “wangdama”(王大妈)”, “laosunjiade”(老孙家的), “liersao”(李二嫂), “gouerma”(狗儿妈). 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 mens private property. The husbands usually put their wives in inner rooms and kept them from the outside world. This can easily be seen from the terms addressed to wives by their husbands, for exemple, “jiannei(贱内), jianren(贱人), zaokang(糟糠), neiren(内人), neizhu(内助), neizhu(内主), jianqie(贱妾)” and in countryside, “ laopo(老婆), poniang(婆娘), jialide(家里的), wulide(屋里的), zuofande(做饭的), haizitaniang(孩子他娘)”. At the same time, “nujia”(奴家), “jianjie”(贱妾), “beiqie”(卑妾) were all used as the first personal pronouns of woman in ancient China. Till today, “neiren”(内人) is still a formal term used by some men when they introduce their wife to guests.Through these exemples, we can see that traditional ideas maintained in the modern language. “The terms used for a married woman in Chinese often reflect the womens subordinate status” (Yang Defeng 501).The expressions “xiaonvzi”(小女子), “xiaoxifu”(小媳妇) and “niangmen”(娘们) in Chinese remind people of the sexual discrimination against women.2.2.3 Sexism in proverbs China is a country that has the oldest and richest collections of proverbs in the world. Proverbs, generally speaking,