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1、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： 陈 培 学 号： 20074180718 指导教师： 岳国法 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
2、 Foreign LanguagesOfHenan University of TechnologySupervisor: Yue GuofaMay 26, 2011AcknowledgementsIn 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 prof
3、ound 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 pres
4、ence. 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 stud
5、y 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
6、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 i
7、s 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 influen
8、ce 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
9、 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
10、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Contents Acknowledgements.iAbstract (English).iiAbstract (Chinese).iii1.Introduction. 12.Sexism in English and Chinese.22.1
11、Sexism 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.73.1Simil
12、arities 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.1
13、03.2.3Ideographic 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 word
14、s 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
15、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
16、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 femi
17、nists 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 w
18、as 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 oppre
19、ssion”. (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 C
20、hinese 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 langua
21、ge 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 Jingy
22、u 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 a
23、nd 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,
24、 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 se
25、xism 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 put
26、s 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 a
27、nd 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 rese
28、arch 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 disc
29、rimination 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 bot
30、h 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
31、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 br
32、ide 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 rel
33、ations 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
34、 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 h
35、ow 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
36、 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 almo
37、st 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
38、. 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 ad
39、dressing, 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 a
40、nd 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 sexi
41、sm 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 g
42、oose 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).
43、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
44、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 B
45、eitel 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 grea
