性别因素对英语使用的影响

1、B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsGenderEffectsontheUseofEnglishbyUndertheSupervisionofSubmittedinPartialFulf川mentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofBachelorofArtsSchoolofForeignStudiesShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsMay2013B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsAckno

2、wledgementsItwouldnotbepossibleformetocompletethisthesiswithoutthegeneroushelpofmanypeople.Firstandforemost,IwouldliketotakethisopportunitytoconveymysinceregratitudeandappreciationtomysupervisorProf.MoZhenyin,underwhosesupervisionIhaveobtainedvaluableideasandprecioussuggestions.Heisveryintelligenton

3、thesisinstructionandalsoshowshisgreatpatienceandearnestnesstomeduringmywriting.MythanksarealsoextendedtootherbelovedteachersintheSchoolofForeignStudiesofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomics,fortheirvaluableandinformativecourseswhichhavebenefitedmealotduringmyfour-yearcollegelife.Inthelastplace,Io

4、wemydeepthankstomyroommateswhohavebeenencouragingmeallthetime.iiiB.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsABSTRACTGenderEffectsontheUseofEnglishLanguageplaysanimportantroleinoursociety.Asasocialphenomenon,languagereflectsalmostallaspectsofourhumansocietyinanaturalway,includingtheeffectsofg

5、enderdifferenceontheuseoflanguage.Thisthesisisdividedintothreechapters.ThefirstchapterintroducesanoverviewofGenderSchemaTheory.ChaptertwoisintendedtoanalyzetherepresentationsandfeaturesofgendereffectsontheuseofEnglishlanguagemainlyintermsofphoneticdifferences,intonationdifferences,vocabularydifferen

6、ces,grammaticaldifferencesandcommunicationaldifferencesbeforediscussingthereasonswhygenderinfluencestheuseoflanguageinchapterthree,mainlyinvolvinghistorical,socialandpsychologicalfactors.Keywords:genderfactor;theuseofEnglish;effect;genderdifferenceivB.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomic

7、s摘要性别因素对英语使用的影响语言在社会中的地位非常重要。语言作为一种社会现象，必然会反映出人类社会的各种社会观念，包括男女性别差异对语言使用的影响。本文共分三章。第一章介绍了性别图示理论的概述。第二章旨在分析性别因素在英语使用中的表现及特征，主要探讨语音差异、语调差异、词汇差异、语法差异和交际差异等几个方面的表现，同时还在第三章中探讨了造成性别因素影响语言使用的原因，其中包括历史、社会和心理等几个方面。关键词：性别因素；英语使用；影响；性别差异B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsCONTENTSAcknowledgements

8、iiiAbstract.ivAbstractinChinesevIntroduction1Chapter 1 eAnOverviewofGenderSchemaTheory3Chapter 2 oGenderEffectsontheUseofEnglishLanguage.5I. EffectsonPhonetics5II. EffectsonIntonation6III. EffectsonVocabulary6IV. EffectsonGrammar7V. EffectsonCommunicationalBehaviors8Chapter 3 reeReasonsforGenderEffe

9、ctsonEnglishLanguage.9I. HistoricalFactors.9II. SocialFactors.9III. PsychologicalFactors.11Conclusion12WorksCited.13viB.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsIntroductionLanguageisahumancapacityforacquiringandusingcomplexsystemsofcommunication,andlanguageisanyspecificexampleofsuchasystem.

10、Languageisasocialphenomenon,andithasacloserelationshipwithsociallife,languageisusedinaspecificsocialgroup.Itisnotonlythecarrieroftheideologicalcontent,butamirrorofsociallife.What令more,itrevealspeoplestraditionalthoughtssuchassexdiscriminationagainstwomeninthesociety,sogenderplaysagreatroleintheuseof

11、language.Metaphorically,languageisregardedasamirrorofsociety,throughwhichwecanunderstandsocialactivitiesofacertainsocietybetter.”(Hu157)Allofthelanguagesintheworldexpressdifferentusesbydifferentgenders.Fromthedevelopmentandthechangeoflanguage,peoplecanconcludethatmenandwomencoulduselanguageinadiffer

12、entway.TheEnglishcountrieswhichalwaysclaimthatallmenarebornequalalsohavealotofinequalities.Theinequalitybetweenmenandwomenistheone.Andthisinequalityisalsoreflectedintheuseoflanguages.Thedifferencesoflanguageusehaveexistedsincelanguagecameintobeing.Therefore,howdoesEnglishlanguagereflectsocialphenome

13、non?ThefirstpersonwhodidresearchontherelationbetweengenderandlanguageistheDenmarklinguistOttoJespersen,heregardsEnglishasthemostmasculinelanguagethatisfamiliartohim,anditisaman-centeredlanguage.Thedomesticscholarsandexperts,suchasYangYonglin,BaiJiehongetal,havedonethoroughresearchaboutsexistelementi

14、ntheEnglishlanguage,andalsohaveintroducedsomefeasiblestrategiestoerasethesexismofEnglishuse.Thesestudiesareallconcernedwiththeroleofgenderinlanguageuse.Sexism,intheOxfordAdvancedLearner&English-Chinesedictionary,itmeansthatdisapprovingactionbasedontheideasorbeliefsthatthemembersofonesexarelessintell

15、igent,able,andskillful,etc,thanthemembersoftheothersex,especiallythatwomenarelessablethanmenandthoseparticularjobsandactionsaresuitableforB.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicswomenandothersaresuitableformen.Sexistattitudesmaystemfromtraditionalstereotypesofgenderroles.(Nakdimen499-503)

16、SexisminEnglishreferstoEnglishexpressessexistassumptionsaboutdifferencesbetweenmenandwomenasintheprejudicialuseoffemaleormalewords.SexisminEnglishprovidesanimportantaccesstothestudyofgenderdifferencesinEnglishlanguageuse.AccordingtotheinvestigationofsexisminEnglishlanguage,wecaneasilyknowmoreaboutth

17、edisparitiesbetweenthelanguageofdifferentgenders.Inthethesis,theauthordoesresearchesfromthecombinationofsocialreformsandlanguagereforms,andshowsthatitisessentialandimportanttounderstandthedifferentusesofEnglishlanguagebydifferentgenders,andtoerasethesexismfrompeopledminds.English,asoneofthemostwides

18、preadlanguages,andthesexistelementsofitshallnotbesuitabletotheinterculturalcommunications,butthereismassivediscriminationinit.Therefore,peopleshouldpaymuchmoreattentiontothesexequalityandtheimprovementofwomen&socialpositions.UnderstandingthesexistphenomenoninEnglishlanguagehelpspeoplestudylanguagecu

19、ltureandcorrectlytreatthechangesoflanguageinitshistoricaldevelopment.B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsChapterOneAnOverviewofGenderSchemaTheoryGenderschematheorywasformallyintroducedbySandraBemin1981asacognitivetheorytoexplainhowindividualsbecomegenderedinsociety,andhowsex-linkedcha

20、racteristicsaremaintainedandtransmittedtoothermembersofaculture.Gender-associatedinformationispredominantlytransmutedthroughsocietybywayofschemata,ornetworksofinformationthatallowforsomeinformationtobemoreeasilyassimilatedthanothers.Bemarguesthatthereareindividualdifferencesinthedegreetowhichpeopleh

21、oldthesegenderschemata.Thesedifferencesaremanifestedviathedegreetowhichindividualsaresex-typed.Someoftheearlytestsofgenderschematheorycameintheformofmemoryandothercognitivetasksdesignedtoassessfacilitatedprocessingofsex-typedinformation.Muchofthisearlyresearchfoundthatparticipantswhoweresex-typedrem

22、emberedmoretraitsassociatedwiththeirsex,aswellasprocessedsex-typecongruentinformationmoreefficiently,suggestingthatthegenderschematapossessedbysex-typeindividualshelptoassimilatesex-associatedinformationintoon?sself-concepf(Bem354-364)Coregenderidentityistiedupinthesextypingthatanindividualundergoes

23、.Thistypingcanbeheavilyinfluencedbychildrearing,media,school,andotherformsofculturaltransmission.Bemofferedfourcategoriesinwhichanindividualmayfall:sex-typed,cross-sex-typed,androgynous,andundifferentiated.Sex-typedindividualsprocessandintegrateinformationthatisinlinewiththeoppositegender.Androgynou

24、sindividualsprocessandintegratetraitsandinformationfrombothgenders.Finally,undifferentiatedindividualsdonotshowefficientprocessingofsex-typedinformation.Astrongsourceofsex-typingcomesfromtherearingpracticesofparents.Bemoffersstrongsuggestionsforpreventingthesex-typingofchildren,includingthepreventio

25、nofaccesstomediathatpromotessex-typing,alteringmediaandstoriestoB.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicseliminatesex-typinginformation,andmodelingequalrolesformothersandfathersinthehousehold.(Bem,S.L.)Forinstance,Bemeditedbooksthatherchildrencancreateamoreandrogynousviewafterreadingtheseb

26、ooks.Thisincludes,forexample,drawinglonghairandfemininebodycharacteristicsonmalefigures.Ultimately,however,thisissomewhatlimitedbecausechildrenwillbecomebeingexposedtosomeofthissex-typinginformation,particularlywhentheybeginattendingschool.Therefore,Bemsuggeststeachingalternativeschematatochildrenso

27、thattheyarelesslikelytobuildandmaintainagenderschema.Someexamplesincludeanindividualdifferencesschema,wherechildrenlearntoprocessinformationonaperson-by-personbasisratherthanmakewideassumptionsaboutgroupsbasedoninformationfromindividuals.Also,providingchildrenwithasexismschema,wherechildrenlearntopr

28、ocesssex-typedinformationthroughafilterthatpromotesmoraloutragewhensexistinformationisbeingpromoted,whichcanassistinprovidingchildrenwiththeresourcesnotonlytobekeptfrombecomingsex-typedbutalsopromotepositivesocialchange.B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsChapterTwoGenderEffectsontheU

29、seofEnglishLanguageBesidesthefactthatmaleandfemaleuselanguagedifferently,therearealsodifferencesintheprocessofspeechdevelopment.Speechactsaredifferentformenandwomenatdifferentages,andspeechactsinthesamementalagebetweenmenandwomenarealsovaried.InEnglish,thesedifferencesaremanifestedinthefollowingaspe

30、cts.RobinLakoffstudiedgenderdifferencesinAmericanEnglishintheearly1970s,andputforwardwomenregister.Lakoffgaveanelaborateandsystematicexplanationofwomen?slanguagefeatures.AsfarasIamconcerned,mentalkmoreconcise,straightforward,withoutanymodifiersanddonotaskthingsinaroundaboutway.Women&pronunciationsar

31、emorestandardthanmen?s.Womenalwayschoosetousesomeexaggeratedadjectivesandambiguouswords.I. EffectsonPhoneticsStudyshowsthatmenandwomenhavedifferencesinsoundquality,toneandpronunciation.Womenaaveragesoundqualityishigherthanmena.Theclarityofwomen?ssoundishigher,soundpenetratingfurtherandtimbrearemored

32、istinct.Whenpeopleuseasamelanguagevariety,menandwomenwouldbedifferentinphonetics,andthisisthecommonesttypeofgenderdifferencesinlanguageuse.Forinstance,intheUnitedStateswhereinthemanyvariationsofgeographicaldialectofEnglishexist,womenusevowelsoftenmoreextremethanmen.Inotherwords,thetonguepositionofth

33、eirhighvowelsishigherthanmen飞,butthelowvowelswhichtheyproducedarelowerthanmen?s.Togiveaconcreteexampleto川ustrateit:B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsoften/才t?n/library/laibr?ri/Intheabovetwowords,womenaremorelikelytopronounce/t/and/l/respectively.Consequently,ascanbeseenfromthisinst

34、anceabove,accurateandpurepronunciationhasbecomeasocialmarkerofwomen.II. EffectsonIntonationGenerallyspeaking,womenusuallyusearisingintonationwhentheyaretalking,andtheintonationchangesmuchandisfullofexpressiveforces,whilemenoftenuseafallingintonationintheirspeechandtheintonationhavelesschange.RobinLa

35、koffputforwardwomenregister，andheillustratessomefeaturesofit,oneofwhichhasrelationtointonation.WomenusemorestatementquestionslikeDinnerwillbereadyatsevenoclock?（Witharisingintonationattheend）”（Hu159）Forexample,Husband:Whenwilldinnerbeready?Housewife:Oh.aroundsixc?tlock?Generally,thehousewife?srespon

36、seOh.aroundsixo?slockisabasicsentenceandshouldcarryafallingintonation.Yet,whenthewomenusethiskindofwords,theyfrequentlyemployarisingintonationjustasaninterrogativesentenceinordertoshowpolitenessorconsultation.III. EffectsonVocabularyInEnglish,allegationsofsomecolorwordsareofwomenaproperty,suchasaqua

37、marine（蓝绿色）,ecru（淡褐色）,mauve（紫红色）.Ifamanwhoisnotaprofessionalandusethesewordswillreceiveridicule.ThereexistsawomenregisterinEnglishthattakesseveralfeaturesconcernedwithvocabularyuse:1. Womenusemorefancy?colortermssuchasmauve?and,beige?2. Womenuselesspowerfulcursewords.3. Womenusemoreintensifierssucha

38、aerrible?and,awful?”（Hu159）6B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsTherearesomeinterjectionsusedbymenandwomenseparatelyinEnglish.Forexample,Dame”alwaysusedbymen,whilewomenoftenuseOh,dear,goodness,andsomethinglikethat.Womenwillsay,Heisawonderfulfriend./WhatanadorablecurtairiButmenwillonly

39、usesuchwordslikegood/very/utterly“tostrengthensoundeffects.Thesetwoexamplesshowthatwomenandmenusequitedifferentvocabularytoexpresstheiridea.Whatamore,womenaregoodatusingeuphemism.Nomatterinwhatsituation,womenusemoreeuphemismthanmen.IV. EffectsonGrammarAnEnglish-speakingwomenusemoretagquestionsthanme

40、n.TheydonotsaydirectlyTomistenyearsold.ButtheywouldsayTomistenyearsold,isn?the?However,menaremorelikelytousedeclarativesentencesoromitspecialquestions.Asfortheuseofpassivevoice,womenandmenusebe“andget“withdifferentfrequency.AlmostallAmericanshavelearnedthesetwoforms:a. Itwaseatenbythechildren.b. Itg

41、oteatenbythechildren.Menusethelatteronemore,thatistosay,menus虐et”morethanwomen.Ingeneral,womenslanguageseemsmorepoliteandelegant.Womenoftenusethemostpolitenesssentencepatterncompoundrequest.Forexample,ifaspeakerwantsthelistenertoclosethewindow,heorshecanuseoneofthefollowingsentences:a. Closethewindo

42、w.”b. Pleaseclosethewindow.c. Wouldyouclosethewindow?d. Wouldyoupleaseclosethewindow?B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicse. WonZyouclosethewindow?Fromtheinvestigationandstatistics,wecanseethatwomenusecanddmorethanmen,especiallysentenceslikee.Thatistosay,women；languageperformanceismore

43、politethanmen?s.V.EffectsonCommunicationalBehaviorsInverbalcommunication,womenaremoreimplicitthanmen,andwithmoreclearemotionalcomponents.Womenareadeptinlisteningratherthanspeaking,inaskingquestionsandexpressingpositiveandaffirmativeattitudes.Inlanguagecommunicationbetweenmenandwomen,menaregenerallys

44、ituatedindominantposition.Mencancontrolconversationtopicseasily,andexpresstheiropinionsstraightforward.Theirthemesaremuchmorecreative.Forinstance,Boy:HowdoyouthinkofthisPEclass?Girl:Um.ItaOK.Duringaconversation,womenoftenuseinterjectionsasum,hmm,huh,yeahtoindicatethattheyarelisteningtotheoppositesid

45、epersonearnestly.Sowomenlayparticularstressonemotionalexchange.B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsChapterThreeReasonsforGenderEffectsonEnglishLanguageThereareseveralcasualfactorsthatcausethedifferencesinEnglishlanguageusebydifferentgenders.Thesereasonsmoreorlessinfluencedthewayofusin

46、glanguage.Somemainreasonsthataccountforthisphenomenoncanbelistedasfollows.I. HistoricalFactorsSince1960s,withthemovementofwesternwomen?sliberationandtheriseoffeminism,aswellasthebirthandflourishofsociolinguistics,languageandgenderbecameoneoftheresearchprojectstosomelinguisticsandtheygotmuchinteresti

47、nit.Fromperspectivesofwesternfeminists,thecurrentworldisaworldcentersaroundmen?svaluestoconstruct.Thenmenarealwaysinthecenterofhumansociety,theystandforpower,rightsandrationality,whilewomenareinasubordinatepositionofthesociety,receivingrepressionanddegeneration.Consequently,feministstrytoimprovethep

48、oliticalstatusofwomenbysocialmovementsinpracticeandtoachievethepurposeofsocialimprovement,andtooptimizethesurvivalstatusofwomen.Inconsequence,wecaneasilydrawtheconclusionthathistoricalmattersareoneofthereasonsthatcausedthedifferencesofEnglishlanguageusesbydifferentgenders.II. SocialFactorsGendereffe

49、ctsontheuseofEnglishhaveexistedforalongtime,whichisareflectionofthetraditionalethicsthatmenaresuperiortowomen,anditinfluencedtheirwayofusingEnglish.Languageisusedinsocialcontexts;usedtoconstructandmaintainsocialrelationshipsbetweenandamongwomenandmen.Soourinquiriesneedtobeextended,toincludeexplicitd

50、iscussionofsocialstructureandthesocialB.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsorganizationofgender:(Kramaraevii)Genderdifferenceinlanguageuseistoalargeextentconstrainedbysocialenvironment.Thegrowthenvironmentinfluencedlanguageusebydifferentgenderslargely.“Educationthatchildrenreceivedsinc

51、etheirbirthandmassmediamakeagreatdifferencetothestereotypednotiontowardsmaleandfemale.Socializationbeginsatbirth,shapingpersonstobehaveinappropriateandprescriptivewayswhichsetupastabledefinitionofgenderidentity/(Wang39Atthebeginningphase,childrenstayedmoretimewithwomen,sotheirlanguagemayhavesomethin

52、ginsimilaritywithfemale.Lateron,boyslearnfromthemansidewhilegirlslearnfromthewomanside,thentheirlanguagebecomelessalike.Childrendonotseemtofavoranyparticularkindoflanguage.Childrenacquiringlanguageacquiregendermakingquicklyandmakefewerrors.(Hu121)TheGenderSchemaTheoryputforwardbyBemarguedhowindividu

53、alsbecomegenderedinsociety,andhowsex-linkedcharacteristicsaremaintainedandtransmittedtoothermembersofaculture.Althoughmenaresuperiortowomen,however,womenarekeenerthanmenonsocialstatus.BritishlinguistPetersaid:femaleRsocialstatusisnolessfirmasmalesandusuallylowerthanthatofmaleRinoursociety.Therefore,

54、towomen,itmaybemorenecessarytoshoworsafeguardtheirsocialstatusinlanguageandinotheraspects.ThelowstatusandlimitedpowerofwomeninsociallifecausedgenderdifferencesinEnglishuse.Shakespearehasalogionfrailty,thynameiswomen”(Shakespeare46)Eversincehumanbeingsbytheoriginaldevelopmentofmatriarchalsocietytothe

55、patriarchy,womendependonmeneconomicallyanddonothaveindependent,equalsocialstatusjustaswhatmenhave.Sowomenareforcedtoattachgreatimportancetootherpeoplesattitudestowardsthem.Asforeducationlevel,ingeneral,women&statusislowerthanmen&andtheproportionofwomenengagedincomplexmentalworksarelessthanmen.Ontheo

56、nehand,socialcommunityrestrictsthescopeofwomensactivity,renderingitimpossiblefortheirindividualabilitytoplay;ontheotherhand,requirewomenaspeechwitha10B.A.ThesisofShandongUniversityofFinanceandEconomicsseriesofmoredemandingrequirementsthanmen.Preciselybecauseofthesereasons,womencannotbemeasuredbythei

57、rjobsandtheirachievementsonenterprises,therefore,othersignsofsocialstatusincludinglanguagebecomerelativelymoreimportant.Forwomen,theyneedtoindicateandsafeguardtheirsocialstatusinspeechactsandotherways.Owingtotheseabovereasons,whenacertainlanguageformdrawclosetoanotherformwithhighersocialprestige,wom

58、enalwaysgetahead;iflanguagechangedoesnothavethepropertytomoveclosertostandardform,evenmoredeviationfromthestandardlanguage,thenwomentendtobemoreconservative.Thesedifferencesinlanguageusearebroughtaboutbynothinglessthanwomen?spositioninsociety.Womenpaymuchattentiontolanguageusethanmen,andtheyactdifferentlyinverbalexpressions.III. PsychologicalFactorsDifferentsocialpsychologybetweenmenandwomenareabletoaffecttheirattitudestowardslanguageandthegenderdifferencesinlanguageuseemergedaccordingly.Womenaresupposedtolookouttheirwordsandbehavior,useelegantandnormativelanguage.Otherwise,itwillbe