CHAPTER I Introduction
In this paper, the writer examining styles and registers, the way language is used, and linguistic attitudes, the relationship between languages, thought and culture, the issue issue of “woman “woman’s ’s language language”” is one which illust illustrat rates es all these these concep concepts. ts. Is women’s women’s language language a distinct distinct style or register register of a language? language? Are women more polite than men? Are there any differences in the way women and men interact? How is language used to refer to women and men? hat message does the language used about women con!ey about their status s tatus in the community?
CHAPTER II
"
DISCUSSION
A. Women’s Language and Conidence
hile some social dialectologist suggested that women were status conscious, and that this was reflected in their use of standard speech forms, #obin $a%off, an American $inguist, suggested almost the opposite. &he argued that women were using language which reinforced their subordinate status' they were (colluding in their own subordination’ by the way they spo%e. #obin $a%off shifted the focus of research on gender differences to syntax, seman semanti tics cs and and style. style. &he &he sugg suggest ested ed that that wome women’ n’ss subo subord rdin inat atee soci social al statu statuss in American society is reflected in the language women use, as well as in the language used about them. &he identified a number of linguistic features which she claimed were used more often by women than by men, and which in her opinion expressed uncertainty and lac% of confidence.
!" #eature #eaturess o $W $Wome omen’s n’s Language Language’’
$a%off suggested that women’s speech was characteri)ed by linguistic features such as the following* a. $exi $exical cal hed hedge gess or fil fille lers, rs, e. e. g. you g. you know, know, sort of, well, you see. Hedging is an aspect of women’s insecurity. According to $a%off, one would expect (you %now’ to be randomly scattered throughout women’s speech since it usage is supposed to reflect the general insecurity of the spea%er. +he use of hedges hedges is also also the manifes manifestati tation on of women’ women’ss lac% of selfcon selfconfid fidenc ence. e. $a%off $a%off considered that “pause fillers” are also categori)ed as (hedges’, because of their function which is expressing lac% of confidence or uncertainty. b. +ag +ag -uestion, e. g. she g. she is very pretty, isn’t she? A tag uestion is used when is the spea%er is stating a claim, but the spea%er is not totally sure about the truth of that claim, for example* Juan is leaving, isn’t isn’t he? he? As $a%off says, (a tag uestion is midway between an outright statement and a yesno uestion* it is less asserti!e than the former, but more confident than the later’. /pp. "012 c. #ising #ising intona intonatio tion n on declara declarati! ti!es* es* e. e. g. it’s really good . 3
omen show nonasserti!e beha!ior by using uestion intonation in con4unction with declarati!e sentences. +hat is, rather than ma%ing direct statements, they suggest or reuest agreement for their addressee /s2. $a%off says that in answering a uestion li%e “when will lunch be ready?” women will respond not with a statement but with a uestion intonation response, such as “oh, about twelve o’clock?” d. “5mpty” ad4ecti!es* meaningless, can be omitted or changed into another word, e. g. divine, charming, cute. According to $a%off, certain words are used almost exclusi!ely by women. $a%off claims that women use “empty” ad4ecti!es such as divine and cute, these ad4ecti!es are said to be not only meaningless, but also lac%ed of connotation of power if contrasted with “men’s ad4ecti!es“such as great, terrific. e. 6recise color terms, e. g. magenta, aquamarine. $a%off suggested that there are some colors that are less common and used by women only, such as mauve and chartreuse. 7ecause women li%e details more than women do. +herefore, women ha!e more !ocabulary in colors than men ha!e. f. Intensifiers such as 4ust and so, e. g. like him so much. 8emale often use intensifiers as so, such, uite, and !astly. 5.g. hate her so much. $a%off claimed that if women use hedging to express uncertainty, on the other hand women use intensifying de!ices to persuade their addressee to ta%e them seriously and also to strengthen the meaning. g. “Hypercorrect” grammar, e. g. consistent use of standard verb forms. According to $a%offf, women tend to use more formal syntax than men, to use forms of pronunciation which are closer to the prestige norm, and in general to spea% more formally than men do in similar situations.
h. “&uper polite” forms, e. g. indirect request, euphemisms. 9
omen are said to frame reuest and other sorts of utterances with excessi!ely polite form such as “ould you please open the door, if you don’t mind”. +hese forms are often used by women than men. i.
A!oidance of strong swears words, e. g. fudge, my goodness. +aboo language or nonstandard words, ha!e considered on strong swear words. In language taboo is a prohibition forces the substitution of another word for one. +hese words are rarely used and e!en a!oided by women.
4.
5mphatic stress, e. g. it was a brilliant performance. omen use modifiers so, such, and !ery to emphasi)e their utterances much more freuently than men do and they combined this usage with an intensity of intonation out proportion with the topic of the phrase. 5xpressions li%e “t’s so beautiful!” are seen as feminine.
8eatures which may ser!e as* Hedging de%ices $exical hedges
&oosting de%ices Intensifiers
+ag uestions
5mphatic stress
-uestion intonation &uper polite forms 5uphemisms +he hedging de!ices can be used to wea%en the strength of an assertion while the boosting de!ices can be used to strengthen it. 8or example, it’s a good film can be strengthened by adding the intensifier really /it’s really good film2 or wea%ened by adding the lexical hedge sort of /it’s sort of a good film2. Howe!er, some of these de!ices ser!e other functions too, as we will see below. $a%off claimed both %inds of modifiers were e!idence of an unconfident spea%er. Hedging de!ices explicitly signal lac% of confidence, while boosting de!ices reflect the spea%er’s anticipation that the addressee may remain uncon!inced and therefore supply extra reassurance. &o, she claimed, women use hedging de!ices to express uncertainty, and they use intensifying de!ices to persuade their addressee to ta%e them seriously. omen boost the force of their utterances because they thin% that otherwise they will not be heard or paid attention to. &o, according to $a%of, both hedges and boosters reflect women’s lac% of confidence. 1
'" La(o)s Linguistic #eatures as Po*iteness De%ices
+he tag uestion is syntactic de!ice listed by $a%off which my express some expression such as* ".
Expressing
uncertainty /rising intonation2
5xample* /7ella is a student. &he is telling her friends about the e!ent in her school2 6rom night was held in the last :uly, was it? 8rom the example abo!e, 7ella is uncertain about the time and she indicates with rising tag which signal doubt about what she is asserting. +his tag focuses on the referential meaning of 7ella;s assertion in gi!ing the accuracy of information that she is gi!ing. 3.
5xpressing affecti!e meaning /falling intonation2 +he tags uestion in this point may ha!e a function as facilitati!e or positi!e politeness de!ices, pro!iding and addressee with an easy entrrs. &hort * here;s pretty one what;s this one called &imon? &imon
* >m, erm /pause2
>rs. &hort * &ee its tail, loo% as its tail. It;s a fantail, isn’t it? &imon 9.
* >m.. a fantail. I see one of them
5xpressing criticism /falling intonation2 A tag may also soften a directi!e or a criticism. 5xample* /7ella has new shoes but her sister wears it without as%ing to her first2 7ella* It;s good shoes, wasn’t it?
1.
+ags may also be used as confrontational and coerci!e de!ices. +his tag is used to force feedbac% from an uncooperati!e addressee.
5xample* A* @ou;ll probably find yourself um before the chief constable, o%ay? 7* @es, sir yes understood. A* ow you er fully understand that, don’t you? 7* @es, sir, indeed, yeah. =istribution of tag uestions by function and sex spea%er 8unction of tag 5xpressing uncertainty
omen /B2 9
>en /B2 E"
8acilitati!e
D
3E
&oftening
E
"9
Confrontational
+otal
"00
"00
"
9D
+he table shows that the women used more tags than the men, as $a%off predicted. omen put more emphasis then men on the polite or affecti!e functions of tags, using them as facilitati!e positi!e politeness de!ices. Fn the other hand, men used more tags for the expression of uncertainty.
&. Interaction
+here are many futures of interaction which differentiate the tal% of women and men. >rs 8leming’s distinction reflection of them. In this section I will discuss two others* interrupting beha!ior and con!ersational feedbac%.
!" Interru+tions
5xample anda
* =id you see here that two sociologists ha!e 4ust pro!ed that men interrupt women all the time? +hey G
#alph anda
* ho says? * Candace west of 8lorida &tate and =on immerman of the ni!ersity of California at &anta 7arbara. +hey taped a bunch of pri!ate con!ersations, and guess what they found. hen two out three women are tal%ing, interruptions are about eual. 7ut when a man tal%s to a E
woman, he ma%es DE per cent of the interruptions. +hey thin% it’s a dominance tric% men aren’t e!ent a were of. 7ut G #alph
*
+hese people ha!e nothing better t o do than e a!esdrop on
interruptions? anda
* but woman ma%e (retrie!als’ about one third of the time. @ou %now, they pic% up where they left off after the man G
#alph
* &urely not all men are li%e that anda?
anda
* cuts in on what they were saying. =oesn’t that
#alph
* spea%ing as a staunch supporter of feminism, I deplore it anda.
anda
* /sign2 I %now, dear. #alph here illustrated a pattern for which there is a great deal of research
e!idence. +he most widely uoted study, and the one referred to by anda in example "", collected examples of students’ exchanges in coffee bars, shops and other public places on taperecorder carried by one of the researches. +he results were dramatic, as table "3.3 illustrates. In samegender interactions, interruptions were pretty e!enly distributed between spea%ers. In crossgender interactions almost all the interruptions were from males. +able "3.3 A!erage number of interruptions per interaction
Interrruption B &ame G sex interaction &pea%er "
19
&pea%er 3
J
Cross sex interaction oman
1
>an
DE
&ource* from immerman and west "DJ* ""E
+hese researches followed up this study with one which recorded interactions in soundproof booths in a laboratory. +he percentage of male interruptions decreased to J per cent in this less natural setting, but there was no doubt that men were still doing most of the interrupting. In other contexts too, it has been found that men interrupt others more than woman do. In department meetings and doctorpatient interaction, for instance, the pattern holds. oman gets interrupted more than man, regardless of whether they were the doctors or the patients. In exchanges between J
parents and children, father did most of the interrupting, and daughters were interrupted mostbooth by their mothers and their fathers. And study prescholars found that some boys start practicing this strategy for dominating the tal% at !ery early age. omen are e!idently sociali)ed from early childhood to expect to be interrupted. Conseuently, they generally gi!e up the floor with little or no protest, as example "3 illustrated.
'" #eed,ac(
5xample >arry
* I wor%ed in that hotel for ah ele!en years and I found the patrons
were really you %now good :ill >ary
* >m. * @ou had the odd one or two ruffian’d come in and cause a fight but
they were soon dealt with. :ill
* #ight, really 4ust ta%es one eh? +o start trouble.
>arry
* @eah, and and it was mostly the younger ones.
:ill
* >m.
>arry
* that would start you %now.
:ill
* @eah.
>arry
* the younger G younger ones couldn’t handle their boo)e.
:ill
* >m. Another aspect of the pictures of woman as cooperati!e con!ersationalists is
the e!idence that woman pro!ide more encouraging feedbac% to their con!ersational partners than men do. Fne ew ealand study which examined the distribution of positi!e feedbac% /noises such as mm and mhm2 in casual relaxed interaction between young people found that woman ga!e o!er four times as much on this type of supporting feedbac% as men. American studies of informal speech as well as tal% in classrooms and under laboratory condition ha!e also demonstrated that women pro!ide significantly more encouraging and positi!e feedbac% to their addressees than men do. Fne researches noted that women students were also more li%ely than men to enlarge on and de!elop the ideas of a pre!ious spea%er rather than challenge them.
K
In general then, research on con!ersational interaction re!eals women as cooperati!e con!ersationalists, whereas men tend to be more competiti!e and less supporti!e of others.
-" E+*anation
In an interesting range of this research, it is uite clearly gender rather than occupational status, social class, or some other social factor, which most adeuately accounts for the interactional patterns described. omen doctors were consistently interrupted by their patient, while male doctors most of the interrupting in their consultations. A study of women in business organi)ations showed that women bosses did not dominate the interactions. >ale dominated regardless of whether they were boss or subordinate. +he societally subordinate position of women reflected in these patterns has more to do whit gender that role or occupation. 8or this data at least, women’s subordinate position in maledominated society seems the most ob!ious explanatory factor. omen’s cooperati!e con!ersational strategies, howe!er, may be explained better by loo%ing at the influence of context and patterns of sociali)ation. +he norms for women’s tal% may be the norms for small group interaction in pri!ate context, where the goals of the interaction are solidarity stressingmaintaining good social relations. Agreement is sought and disagreement a!oided. 7y contrast, the norms for male interaction seem to be those of public referentially oriented interaction. +he public model is more li%ely than agreement and confirmation of the statement of others. &pea%ers compete for the floor and for attention, and wittiness, e!en at other’ expense is highly !alued. +hese patterns seem to characteri)e men’s tal% e!en in pri!ate contexts, as will be illustrated bellow. +he differences between women and men in ways of interacting may be the result of different sociali)ation and acculturation patterns. If we learn ways of tal%ing mainly in single sex peer groups, then the patterns we learn li%ely to be sexspecific. And the %ids of miscommunication which undoubtedly occurs between women and men may well attributable to the different expectations each sex has of the function of the interaction, and the ways it is appropriately conducted. &ome of these differences will be illustrated in the next section.
C. /ossi+
D
A gossip is someone who re!eals personal information about others. Lossip means to tell secret information to another person. Lossip is idle tal% or rumors, especially about the personal or pri!ate affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and !iews, +he term can also imply that the idle chat or rumors is of personal or tri!ial nature, as opposed to normal con!ersation. Lossip describes the %ind of relaxed in grouptal% that goes on between people in informal contexts. In western society, gossip is defined as (idle tal%’ and considered particularly characteristic of women’s interaction. Its o!erall function for women is to affirm solidarity and maintain the social relationships between the women in!ol!ed. omen’s gossip focuses predominantly on personal experiences and personal relationship, on personal problems and feelings. Lossip is not a tri!ial pastime* it is essential to human social, psychological and e!en physical wellbeing. omen are more s%illed than men at ma%ing gossip entertaining G three factors are in!ol!ed* highly animated tone, plenty of detail and enthusiastic ;feedbac%;. &pecifically referring to a woman;s close female friends at the birth of a child /those she would choose to be godparents to her child, her ;godsisters;, if you li%e2. +he word later came to mean more generally a close /female2 friend or companion, and then the %ind of tal% characteristic of intimate friends, i.e. chatty tal% about the details of personal matters and relationships, the sharing of secrets G more or less what we currently mean by gossip. #egardless of whether it is 4ust an ad!anced form of grooming, gossip can play a lot of different roles in social interactions. hen gossiping, people* •
5ntertain each other
•
Influence one another;s opinions
•
5xchange important information
•
6oint out and enforce social rules
•
$earn from others; mista%es omen agreed that a particular tone of !oice G high and uic%, or sometimes a
stage whisper, but always highly animated G was important in generating a sense of excitement.
"0
MLossip;s got to start with something li%e Nuic%, highpitched, excitedO MFooh G Luess what? Luess what?M or Nuic%, urgent, stage whisperO MHey, listen, listen G you %now what I heard?MM
M@ou ha!e to ma%e it sound surprising or scandalous, e!en when it isn;t really. @ou;ll go Mwell, don;t tell anyone, but.M e!en when it;s not really that big of a secret.M
+hat the men in our groups found the lac% of bodylanguage signals in telephone communication a bigger problem than the women. 7oth sexes commented on this problem, and both tended to use ;emoticons;/symbols representing emotions G such as smiles, sad faces G normally expressed in body language2 in text messages, but the men seemed to find tal%ing to ;a disembodied !oice; more of a handicap. It may be that men are not only less !erbally s%illed than women, as noted earlier, but also less ;!ocally; s%illed G less adept at con!eying mood and emotion through !ariations in tone, pitch and !olume. ot surprisingly women’s gossip is characteri)ed by a number of the linguistic features of women’s language described abo!e. 6roposition which express feelings are often attenuate and ualified. omen complete each other’s utterances, agree freuently, and pro!ide supporti!e feedbac%. +he following example of shared from a gossip session between women who wor%ed together at a ba%ery illustrates the cooperati!e and positi!e nature of their tal%. 5xample "* :ill
* 6erhaps next time I see 7rian I’ll pump him for information. 7rian tells me
all. 8ran
* the gossip.
:ill
* I %now it’s about E years old but,
8ran
* /laugh2 it doesn’t matter.
:ill
* it doesn’t matter at all.
8ran
* true, true, it’s the thought that counts. +he male eui!alent of women’s gossip is difficult to identify. In parallel
situations the topics men discuss tend to focus on things and acti!ities, rather than personal experiences and feelings. +opics li%e sport, cars and possessions turn up regularly. +he focus is on information and facts rather than on feelings and reaction. ""
In study of a parallel group of men wor%ing at ba%ery, the linguistic features of the interaction were also uite different. $ong pauses were tolerated and were apparently not interpreted as discouraging following a contribution, e!en one which seemed to in!ite a response. +he men pro!ided conflicting accounts of the same e!ent, argued about a range of topics. +heir strategies for amusing each other were often to cap the pre!ious spea%er’s utterance or to put them down. In other words, their tal% constructed completely with the cooperation, agreeing, and supporti!e, topically coherent tal% of the women in exactly the same contextwor%ing in the ba%eryon a different night. +he following excerpt illustrates the competiti!e !erbal abuse which was typical of the male interaction in the ba%ery. 5xample 3* Lreg
* createP
:im
* caseP
Lreg
* what?
:im
* they come in cases Lreg not creates.
Lreg
* oh same thing if you must be pic%y o!er e!ery one thing.
:im
* 4ust shut your fuc%ing head LregP
Lreg
* don’t tell me to fuc% off fuc% /Q2
:im
* I’ll come o!er and shut you.
Allan * /laughingly using a thick"sounding voice 2 yeah I’ll ha!e a create of apple than%s. Lreg
* no fuc% off Allan.
Allan * a do)en. Con
* /amused tone2 shitpic%erP 5!idence of this %ind ma%es it easier to understand why some researchers ha!e
suggested that women and men belong to different cultural groups. It also helps explain why women and men sometimes miscommunication. Lossip can* •
#einforce G or punish the lac% of G morality and accountability'
•
#e!eal passi!e aggression, isolating and harming others'
•
&er!e as a process of social grooming, building a sense of community with shared interests, information, and !alues' "3
•
7egin a courtship that helps one find their desired mate, by counseling others' or,
•
6ro!ide a peertopeer mechanism for disseminating information in organi)ation
!" T0e C0aracteristics o /ossi+1 •
+he con!ersation ta%es place in pri!ate.
•
+he people tal%ing are transmitting information as though it were fact, but they ha!e not confirmed the information as factual.
•
+he people gossiping and the person being gossiped about %now eac h other in real life. 7y this definition, celebrity gossip is not really gossip unless the spea%er and the listener are friends with the celebrity in uestion.
•
&omething in the spea%er;s body language or tone of !oice suggests a moral 4udgment about the information being relayed. 8or example, the sentence MClara got a puppyM sounds pretty neutral. 7ut if Clara li!es in a college dorm that doesn;t allow pets and the person spea%ing sounds scandali)ed, the sentence becomes gossip.
•
+he people gossiping compare themsel!es in some way to the person being gossiped about, usually considering them to be superior to the sub4ect.
'" /ossi+’s &eneits1 • •
Lossiping is en4oyable. >any people gossip 4ust for fun or to blow off steam. hen you gossip with someone, you and the person you;re tal%ing to are displaying reciprocal trust. +he people you chose to gossip with are people you
•
trust not to use the information that you;re sharing against you. Lossip encourages social bonding. +he people you gossip with become part of a group e!eryone else is outside of your group.
-" Some Negati%e Conse2uences o /ossi+1 • • •
• •
$ost producti!ity and wasted time, 5rosion of trust and morale, Increased anxiety among employees as rumors circulate without any clear information as to what is fact and what isn’t, Lrowing di!isi!eness among employees as people “ta%e sides,M Hurt feelings and reputations,
"9
•
:eopardi)ed chances for the gossipers; ad!ancement as they are percei!ed as
•
unprofessional, and Attrition as good employees lea!e the company due to the unhealthy wor% atmosphere.
D. T0e Construction o /ender
In generally gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. 7ut, howe!er, these assumptions are challenged and we ha!e to rethin%. $oo% at the example*
5d* he’s I mean he’s li%e a real artsy farsty fag he’s li%e /indecipherable2 he’s so gay he’s got this li%e really high !oice and wire rim glasses
In this example, 5d criticises a man who fail to fit the established masculine norms, but ironically, 5d’s criticism uses features associated wit more (feminine’ speech styles, such as freguent use of the practile li%e, hedges such as I mean, and intesifiers, such as real, so, and really. @et 5d is tal%ing in a maleonly context. +his example clearly challanges some of the generalisations in aerlier sections, and encourages a more dynamic analysis. Approaching gender identity as a construction, rather than as a fixed category, is also useful in accounting for examples where women adapt to (masculine’ contexts, and men adapt to (feminine’ contexts. omen in the police force, for instance, are sometimes ad!ised to portray a masculine image to wear bul%y sweaters suggesting upperbody strength, and wellworn boots to suggest they are used to hard wor%. +hey also adopt a cool distant style' they don’t smile much, and they tal% (tough’. >en who wor% in clothing shops and hairdressing salons, on the other hand, often construct a more (feminine’ identity in these contexts than when they are in the pub or the sports club changing room. +hey use features of the more cooperati!e discourse style associated with (gossip’, a!oiding swear words, using respectful or sometimes affectionate terms of address, and encouraging the addressee to tal%.
E. Seist Language
"1
&exist language is language that expresses bias in fa!or of one sex and thus treats the other sex in a discriminatory manner. In most cases, the bias is in fa!or of men and against women. In the past, women are supposed to stay at home, remaining powerless and generally subordinate to man, whereas men are considered as the center both in the family and society. In a word, for a long time women ha!e been loo%ed on as “the wea%er sex” in society. 5!en in 5nglishspea%ing countries, which hold the claim that “e!ery one is created eual”, discrimination against women exists. $anguage simply reflects this social fact. Howe!er, because of their greater status consciousness, the mo!ement amongst feminists to reduce sexual discrimination and sexrole stereotyping has led to a number of conscious attempts to influence and change languages and linguistic beha!ior.
!" Seism in Eng*is0
In society, men are considered the norm for the human species* their characteristics, thoughts, beliefs and actions are !iewed as fully representing those of all humans, male and female. +his practice can ma%e women in!isible in language or altogether excludes them. It can also lead to their portrayal as de!iations from this ;male R human; norm. omen;s linguistic status is often dependent on or deri!es from that of men, which is represented as autonomous. 7y relegating women to a dependent, subordinate position, sexist language pre!ents the portrayal of women and men as different but eual human beings. ". Common forms of sexism in 5nglish include the use of ;man; and ;he S him S his; as genericsTthat is, nouns and pronouns referring to both men and womenTthe use of suffixes man, ette, ess, trix in occupational nouns and 4ob titles, asymmetrical naming practices, and stereotyped images of women and men as well as descriptions of /mainly2 women which tri!ialise or denigrate them and their status. a2 5nglish does not possess a third person singular pronoun which is genderneutral. Instead the ;masculine; pronouns ;he;, ;him; and ;his; are generally used to refer to both men and women. +his is confusing and inaccurate and, as well, ma%es women in!isible. Consider the following examples* All men are mortal, :ulia is a man "
+herefore, :ulia is mortal. $i%e other animals, man nourishes his baby with mil%. e want to hire the best men we can get for the 4ob. In example "2, the underlined sentence sounds absurd, since e!erybody %nows :ulia is a girl’s name. In example 32, the underlined part sounds more ridiculous and it’s ob!iously contradictory to the common sense. In example 92, the problem is that we can’t %now the exact sex of the persons they want to hire. +hey may want only girls, or both sexes, but they simply use “man” here. b2 In 5nglish language, there are many words, which are clearly maleorientated in that they contain the element “Tman” while they can in fact apply to both sexes, 8or example* Chairman congressman councilman newsman foreman freshman 6oliceman salesman mailman c2 &exism in language is also showed in that the noun of feminine gender can only be obtained by adding a certain bound morpheme to the noun. 8or example* >A$5
85>A$5
>A$5
85>A$5
>an
oman
>anager
>anageress
6rince
6rincess
Lod
Loddess
Author
Authoress
>ayor
>ayoress
ount
Countess
&hepherd
&hepherdess
host
Hostess
&teward
&tewardess
poet
6oetess
sher
sherette
heir
Heiress
&ailor
&ailorette
hero
Heroine
Conduct
Conductette
3. &ome 5nglish words, especially the name of some professions, are basically of common gender, namely, they can be applied to both sexes. Howe!er, people usually will habitually associate them only with male. Conseuently, we ha!e to add “woman” before those names if we want to refer to female of those professions. 8or example* CF>>F
L5=5# 85>A$5
=octor
oman doctor
6rofessor
oman professor "E
5ngineer
oman engineer
$awyer
$ady lawyer
#eporter
Lirl reporter
+he abo!e examples ob!iously reflect people’s deeprooted discrimination against women, that is, women ha!e to be dependent on men and are e!en 4ust some appendages of man. &exist language encourages discrimination and can discourage people from pursuing their dreams. If engineers are always spo%en of as male, a girl who aspires to be an engineer may feel that she has no hope, since MallM engineers are men. &exist language also offends people when they find themsel!es excluded. +his is not an issue that !iolates your right to free speech' you are free to use offensi!e language, and also free to decide that you do not agree with the aforementioned definition of what constitutes sexist language. Howe!er, if you are using language that is offensi!e to half of your audience, you will not get your message across. 6eople will not be recepti!e to your arguments if they are aggrie!ed by your use of exclusi!ely masculine pronouns. +here are some reasons why we should a!oid sexism in language* a. &ome people feel insulted by sexist language. b. &exist language creates an image of a society where women ha!e lower social and economic status than men. c. sing nonsexist language may change the way that users of 5nglish thin% about gender roles +herefore, there are some ways to a!oid the sexism in language, such as* "2 A!oid unnecessary male pronouns by using plural pronouns MtheyM, MthemM, etc. M&omeone has left their briefcase behind.M MIf anyone phones, tell them I am in a meeting.M 32 #eplace male pronouns with combinations such as Mshe or heM, Mhim or herM, Mher or hisM. UMA fashion model is usually obsessi!e about her or his diet.M M+he 4ournalist must be accurate when she or he reports inter!iews.M /U these combinations can sound rather aw%ward. +hey should not be repeated often in a piece of writing or con!ersation. +he written form sShe, heSshe, herShim is acceptable.2 92 se other words when referring to both men and women. M6eople are ...M "J
MHuman beings must protect ...M Mho;s staffing the office?M 12 se expressions or pronouns that do not support sexist assumptions about 4obs. M+eachers must not be late for their classes.M MA chairperson should be fair to all her or his colleagues.M 2 se 4ob names that apply eually to men and women. M+he chairperson handed out notes of the last meeting.M M>ary is a !ery experienced camera operator.M M:ames is a nurse and 7arbara is a doctor.M Me offer language courses for business people.M All in all, sexism in language is a social problem, since it is the reflection of human beings’ thoughts. As we %now, language is a comparati!ely stable system. >uch of its reduction in sexist language appears to be ta%ing place as an unconscious reflection of social and attitudinal changes. +herefore, to eliminate the sexist language, we should abo!e all eliminate the concept of pre4udice in human beings thoughts. Fnly by this way can we be free of sexism both in language and the society fore!er.
CHAPTER III Conc*usion
According to $a%off, most women use reinforced language in their subordinate status by the way they spo%e. 8urthermore, he says that the use of hedges and boosters reflect women’s lac% of confidence. &tudies showed that men, and e!en boys interrupt more, due to women;s gender rather than to their role or occupation. 7esides, the studies also show that "K
women are more cooperati!e and gi!e more feedbac% than men do. +herefore, women tend to become more cooperati!e con!ersationalists than men. $inguistically, it is claimed that women are more polite than men. omen use more standard forms than men, because children and women are subordinate groups and they must a!oid offending men, therefore they must spea% carefully and politely. Lossip is a social not a referential function to affirm solidarity, and relie!e feelings. +he equivalent activity for gossip to men is moc%insults and abuse, with the function of expressing solidarity V maintaining social relationships. Approaching gender identity as a construction is useful in accounting rather than as a fixed category. Fne of the more ob!ious ways in which people construct particular %inds of social identity is trough their narrati!es of personal experience. &exist language encodes stereotyped attitudes to women and men. &exist language is language that expresses bias in fa!or of one sex and thus treats the other sex in a discriminatory manner. +herefore, to eliminate the sexist language, we should abo!e all eliminate the concept of pre4udice in human beings thoughts.
RE#ERENCES
Adm. #e$ist %anguage. A!ailable at* http*SSgrammar.yourdictionary.comSstyleand usageSsexistlanguage.html. Accessed on 3D April 30"9 Arif.
30"".
#e$,
&oliteness,
and
#tereotypes.
A!ailable
http*SSnurarifs.blogspot.comS30""S0DSsexpolitenessandstereotypes.html. Accessed on 3D April 30"9
"D
at*
Holmes, :. 300". 'n ntroduction to #ociolinguistics ()nd *dition+. >alaysia* 6earson education
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