Language and Gender Essay - 975 Words

Language and Gender The idea that language can be used as an instrument of oppression is one that is held by many critics of varying focus who stress the fact that language is both an instrument of social constraint and a means of resisting that constraint. It is an issue deeply embedded in the literary theory of gender and sexuality, race and nationality, and even social class. The idea of feminist criticism, where language is identified as one of the means through which patriarchal values are both maintained and resisted. Feminists are concerned with two main ways in which they claim women are oppressed by language, the first of which is the idea of male dominated language. The issues can†¦show more content†¦Brooks (1983), Dayhoff (1983), Hyde (1984) all researched the reaction to the idea of the generic he, where the default assumption is that someone is male or masculine. Their research suggests that men feel included and women feel excluded, in some cases alienated. The generic he is the theory that he has gained common usage through history. However, the common usage of this term can cause women to feel excluded by the term, men to feel subject to prejudicial treatment by language (i.e. when talking about criminals, drug-users etc), men to be seen as the standard by which we must assess everything (default assumption). Furthermore, gender stereotypes will carry on existing unless the generic he and default assumption are changed to reach a more neutral standpoint. This is why one has to specify when not following the default assumption, such as in the cases of male nurses and lady doctors. Many books, which deal with human beings in gen eral, use male nouns such as men, man, and mankind, these all exclude women. Many believe that the best option should be too avoid offence by not using single sex terms where necessary and try to be politically correct towards language representation. However, although political correctness is intended to be polite and respectful itShow MoreRelated Gender-Neutral English Language Essay2943 Words   |  12 PagesGender-Neutral English Language The English language has evolved through history in a male-centered, patriarchal society. The male orientation of English carries two complementary implications: being male is normative and natural; and therefore, not being male is abnormal and unnatural. The shifting of our language from masculine to gender-neutral may be awkward at first, and our children may wonder what all the fuss was about. The English language is always changing and the futureRead MoreLanguage, Language And Gender1477 Words   |  6 PagesAs we all know, language is a very important role in our daily life and everyone on the planet uses a language. Language is used in so many ways. It is assigned to every country, and usually every country has its own language which is very unique. Whether one speaks or not, a language is still used, either verbal or sign language is used. Now to note here, language is not used in the same form by gender. Gender takes a huge role on language. Pronunciation and grammar are tended to be used very differentlyRead MoreGender and Language3703 Words   |  15 PagesLexical Analysis of Gender and Language Theories Muna Mohammed Abbas College of Engineering/ Babylon University 1. Introduction The major thing that distinguishes human beings from animals is basically our way to communicate with each other by using language. We have words for specific things, emotions, expressions and it appears as though we have words for everything when thinking about it. In each language; words are constructed in a certain way. When working with language, it is quite possibleRead MoreLanguage And Gender Of The Workplace842 Words   |  4 PagesLanguage and Gender in the Workplace The most common form of verbal communication is language. 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While a vast part of the general public still adheres to the notion that there is a natural dichotomy between two completely distinct genders—male and female—it is now widely established in academic circles that this isRead MoreLanguage Gender and Culture Essay879 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿ Language, Gender, and Culture Essay In our world there are so people that are being overrated, from their skin color, to how they talk or to where they came from or the way they walk, everything from what people wear to where people come from and their ethnic background. These people are looked down on  from the rest of society for just being themselves and doing only what they know to do.   For some, it’s wrong if others do not act just like them and they put them down for it.  Stereotypes canRead MoreGender Inequality Within The Language882 Words   |  4 PagesGender inequality in language In 2013 there was a change in Sweden language that dragged people’s attention on gender inequality. Sweden has added a gender neutral pronoun â€Å"hen† into the language system. â€Å"Hen† this words represents both male and female. This events reminded people about gender inequality happened in language. Every language people speak tend to have gender inequality in them. However does it really work to just change the pronoun in the language? I think probably not. There is indeedRead MoreThe Relationship Between Gender and Language1984 Words   |  8 Pagesrange of language issues. In chapter 13, Wardhaugh provides a good insight to the relationship between language and gender. He explains gender differences of language-in-use with concise examples. Wardhaugh riases questions about sexist language and guides readers to look closer at how people use language differently because of their own gender in daily life. According to the Whorfian hypothesis, which indicates that the way people use language reflects their thoughts, different genders adapt differentRead MoreGender Differerences in Language Learning1830 Words   |  8 PagesGenders Differ in Language Use The purpose of the study, including the specific research question studied: Language Learning Strategies (LLS) are the activities or actions that learners take in order to effectively receive, store, retrieve and use information that they gain. Learners take such actions in order to facilitate faster and easier learning as well as make learning more enjoyable and effective (Mahamod et al., 2009). According to Mahamod et al. (2009), gender results into differences