language&gender

Language&genderGenderdiscriminationGoal:Toraiseawarenessofhowourlanguageuseshapesourunderstandingofthesocialworld,ourrelationshipstoeachotherandoursocialidentities.Thatis,toraiseawarenessoftheconstitutivenatureofdiscourse.从结构主义的角度剖析女性语言的特点归纳描述女性的语言的特点，结合社会因素揭示语言中反映出的性别歧视现象从言语交际的角度研究不同性别的人所采用的谈话策略，探究性别因素对语言使用造成的具体影响系统研究时期----20世纪60年代中叶sex:biological--biologicallygivengender:sociocultural--socialacquisitionThedistinctionbetweensexandgender:Male-femaledifferencesExplanationsTheoriesongenderedspeechLanguage&gender:Biologicalfactors:Femaleshavemorefatandlessmuscle;arenotasstrong,andweighless;maturemorerapidlyandlivelonger...Thefemalevoicehasdifferentcharacteristics;Femalesandmalesexhibitdifferentrangesofverbalskills......Socialfactors:Thedifferentrolestheyplayinsociety;thedifferentjobstheytendtofill;Differencesinvoicequalitymaybeaccentuatedbybeliefsaboutwhatmenandwomenshouldsoundlike;Whentheytalk,andanydifferencesinverbalskillsareundoubtedlyexplainedingreatpartthroughdifferencesinupbringing......Male-femaledifferences:ExampleA:InBengali,menoftensubstitute[l]forinitial[n];women,childrenandtheuneducateddonotdothis.ExampleB:SchoolgirlsinScotlandapparentlypronouncethe[t]inwordslikewaterandgotmoreoftenthanschoolboyswhoprefertosubstituteaglottalstop.Intonationpatterns(ofmenandwomenvary):Womenusingcertainpatternsassociatedwithsurpriseandpolitenessmoreoftenthanmen.Womenmayansweraquestionwithastatementthatemploystherisingintonationpatternusuallyassociatedwithaquestionratherthanthefallingintonationpatternassociatedwithmakingafirmstatement.Womenoftenaddtagquestionstostatement.Phonologicaldifferences:A.InEnglish,womenusecolorwordslikemauve,lavenderandmagenta.B.Adjectivessuchasadorable,charming,divine,lovelyandsweetarealsocommonlyusedbywomen.C.Womenarealsosaidtohavetheirownvocabularyforemphasizingcertaineffectsonthem,wordsandexpressionssuchassogood,suchfun,exquisiteandfantastic.Furthermore,Englishissaidtomakecertaindistinctionsofasex-basedkind:actor--actress,waiter--waitress,andmaster--mistress.Distinctionsaremadeinthevocabularychoiceusedtodescribemenandwomen.Consequently,neutralwordscanbeusedasmuchaspossible,asindescribingoccupations:chairperson,lettercarrierandsalesclerk.Morphologyandvocabulary:Womenandmenmayhavedifferentparalinguisticsystemsandmoveandgesturedifferently.Womenarealsooftennamed,tidedandaddresseddifferentlyfrommen.Womenaremorelikelythanmentobeaddressedbytheirfirstnameswheneverythingelseisequal,or,ifnotbyfirstnames,bysuchtermsaslady,miss,dearandbaby.Womenalsodonotusuallyemploytheprofanitiesandobscenitiesmenuse,orusethemindifferentcircumstancesorarejudgeddifferentlyforusingthem.Womenarealsosometimesrequiredtobesilentinsituationsinwhichmenmayspeak.Othersex-linkeddifferences:Menspoketwiceasmuchaswomen.Menandwomenalsospokeondifferenttopics,withmenholdingforthonsuchtopicsasbusiness,politics,legalmatters,taxesandsports,andwomenonsociallife,books,foodanddrink,life’stroublesandlife-style.Womenspokelessforcefullythanmen,andmensworemuchmorethanwomen.Menwerealsomorebluntandtothepointintheirspeaking.----Incartoons.Explanations:Menspeakmorewomendo.Whenmentalkedtowomen,thecontentcategoriesofsuchtalkfocusedoncompetitionandteasing,sports,aggressionanddoingthings.Ontheotherhand,whenwomentalkedtowomen,theequivalentcategoriesweretheself,feelings,affiliationwithothers,homeandfamily.Whenthetwosexesinteracted,mentendedtotaketheinitiativeinconversation,butthemenspokelessofaggressionandcompetitionandthewomenreducedtheiramountoftalkabouthomeandfamily.Whenmenandwomeninteractinconversation,mentendtoexplainthingstowomen,andindoingsotopatronizethem,whereaswomentendtoapologizetomen.Incross-sexconversations,menfrequentlyinterruptwomenbutwomenveryinfrequentlyinterruptmen.Menaredominantandwomenaresubservient.----InconversationsExplanations:A.Boysandgirlsarebroughtupdifferently.Lakoffhascommented:womenaresystematicallydeniedaccesstopowerbecauseofinadequaciesintheirownintelligenceoreducationandwomenhavelearnedtheirearlylessonssowellthattheylatersuffersuchdiscrimination.----culturalcauseB.Menandwomenoftenfilldistinctlydifferentrolesinsociety(Womenaredefinitelyinferiortomeninthissociety.)Mostofthosedifferencescanbeexplainedbythedifferentpositonsmenandwomenfillinsociety.Menhavemorepowerandmaybemoreassertive;womentendtobekept“intheirplace”butaspirequiteoftentoadifferentand“better”place.Ontheotherhand,menhavepower,evenlower-classmen.Theyarelessinfluencedlinguisticallybyothers.C.Menandwomen“know”thisandreactindifferentways(seeking“prestige”differently:womenonthewholepreferring“overt”prestigeandmenthe“covert”variety.)Reasons:A.Men’svocaltractsarelonger;theirlarynxisbiggerandaccordinglytheirvoicesaredeeper;theirvocalcordsvibrateatalowerfrequencythanwomen’s.B.Vocalmusic:Speakingispartofculturaltraditionsandaccordinglyvariable.Thesamespeakers’pitchvarieswiththelanguagetheyspeak,itcanbeconcludedthatsocialnormsextendtopitch.Inequality:Womenandmenspeakdifferentlyisonlynatural----speechapparatusDifference:Itissuggestedth