On Sexism in English Personal Names 从英语人名中看性别歧视.doc

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1、从英语人名中看性别歧视On Sexism in English Personal Names内 容 摘 要 语言是社会的反映。作为历史久远的一个社会问题，性别歧视现象几乎存在于每个语言中，并反映了在男性统治下的社会中，女性对男性的依赖性，以及女性所受的歧视。随着现代化的到来和妇女解放运动的兴起，如何消除对女性的性别歧视受到了广大关注，并取得了一定进展。性别歧视在英语人名中的姓氏及个体名字上明显地表现出来，这一性别歧视有着历史，社会，宗教和文化等方面的原因。为消除英语人名中的性别歧视现象，以求在语言中真正实现男女平等，提出合适的策略将起着重要作用。英语社会在分配任务，活动，权利和义务时，在不同程

2、度上都会因性别不同而有所区别。因此，英语人名中的性别歧视现象都是社会状况的再现，人们的大多数行为都是社会化的结果。因而，消除英语人名中的性别歧视现象的第一种策略是让两性在人名中得到平衡的体现。英语人名本质上是对社会的反映，单从语言学方面实现真正的平等只是空中楼阁。因此，消除英语人名中的性别歧视的第二种策略在于女性社会地位的提高。关键词：性别歧视；英语；人名；女性AbstractLanguage always reflects society. As a social problem with a long history, sexism exists in almost every langu

3、age, reflecting the dependence and discrimination from which women suffer in a society dominated by men. With the advent of modernization and the rise of feminism, the issue of how to eliminate sexism against women has attracted more and more attention and made some achievements.Sex discrimination a

4、re shown clearly on Englisn surname and the individual name . This kind of sex discrimination has its historical, social, religious and cultural reasons. To eliminate English names of sex discrimination and realize the equality between men and women in language,it will play an important role to put

5、forward appropriate strategies. Linguistic sexism is after all rooted in social reality. The English speaking communities use sex, to one degree or another, in allocating tasks, activities, rights, and responsibilities. As languages reflect society, so sexism in English naming is actually a mirror o

6、f the social conditions. Much of peoples behaviour is the result of socialization. Thus, the first strategy for sexism in English naming is to striving for balanced naming and addressing. English naming, in essence, is a reflection of society. Linguistic attempts to achieve real equality exclusively

7、 are empty talk, so the second strategy to get rid of sexism in English naming lies in the improvement of womens social status. Key words: sexism, English, naming, womenContentsIntroduction11. Linguistic Sexism Existing in English21.1 Definition of Sexism31.2 Literature Review42. Sexism in English P

8、ersonal Names62.1 Family Names62.2 Personal Names83. The Origins of Sexism93.1 Historical Origin of Sexism103.2 Social Origin of Sexism113.2.1 Religious Psychology123.2.2 Cultural Influence134. The Strategies of Reforming Sexism144.1 Striving for Balanced Naming and Addressing154.2 Improving Womens

9、Social Statusthe Basic Solution17Conclusion19Notes21References22IntroductionAn English linguist once said that language loyally reflects not only a nations history and culture, but also its games, amusements, beliefs and biases. Language is the mirror of the society. All the phenomena in the society

10、 can be found in language. There exists sex inequality in English speaking communities. As a result, we can locate sexism here and there in English. Language and gender is a popular issue in the area of sociolinguistics, the study of linguistic behavior as determined by social cultural factors. Soci

11、olinguistics did not come into being until the end of the 1960s. But actually, people had shown concern for language and gender long before sociolinguistics appeared as a discipline. In the eighteenth century, Welsh linguist Rowland Jones studied male and female language and claimed that the key to

12、the mystery of language is the Old Testament from the Bible. He concluded from his study that women were inferior to men, and all the inequalities in languages are absolutely just. Since the early twentieth century, especially since the feminist movement in the 1960s which originated in America and

13、then spread all over the world, there have been changes in attitudes towards the language and sex issue. For example, Alia published Women and Languages in 1984, which has had direct linguistic impact on the systematic study of sex and language and is considered the avant-guard in this field. It giv

14、es linguistically specific accounts which turn the study in this area notably to a reexamination of both the differences between mens and womens language and to be continued assumption that mens language constitutes the norm while women are prejudiced against in English. The custom of naming always

15、connects with ones sex, caste, strength, or features. From the naming convention of one society, we can insight into peoples attitudes to both genders. The naming custom in English language is an important window through which we can find that some important evidences support the idea of gender bias

16、 in English world. Most communities attach great importance to marking the childs sex when choosing a name.This thesis will try to explore the phenomena of sexism in English names, its causes and discuss the methods to avoid it.1. Linguistic Sexism Existing in EnglishIn the west, the existence of se

17、xism has long been noticed, but the awareness of it remained perceptual and vague until1960s when the feminist movement took place. The initial period of studies mainly concentrates on the gender language differences between males and females. Globally speaking, the rise of sociolinguistics in the m

18、id-70s gave great impetus to the study of sexism. Current studies in this field have shifted its focus from single linguistic variables to context-specific speech, drawing on approaches from discourse analysis and the ethnography of communication. 1.1 Definition of SexismWorks or dictionaries in dif

19、ferent areas define sexism in different perspectives: According to the New Oxford Dictionary of English, it means “unfair or unreasonable discrimination between the sexes, unreasonable maintaining of traditional sexual roles” 1. Therefore, sexism is a system of beliefs and practices that affirm the

20、dominance of men over women. Helgeson makes a more neutral definition on sexism from psychological angle: the affective (feeling) component of ones attitude toward the sex category or prejudice toward people based on their sex. Linguistic sexism refers to various sexist phenomena in language use. Ac

21、cording to Coats linguistic sexism can be any of the following four categories:1) Language that favors one sex over another, e.g. Frailty, thy name is woman; 2) Language that belittles one sex, e.g. Marry your son when you will, your daughter when you can;3) Language that makes one sex invisible, e.

22、g. Man is the highest form of life on earth. His superior intelligence, combined with certain physical characteristics, has enabled man to achieve things that are impossible for other animals; 4) Language that masks sexual discrimination, e.g. you know boys are boys, but you must be a good lady2.In

23、a short word, linguistic sexism can be defined as certain kind of prejudice or attitude in language use on genders. As a matter of fact, even we make such divisions; linguists still can not find the sexist evidences in language exactly and comprehensively. For sociolinguistics, language is not only

24、semiotic expression, it is a kind of politicized language, a kind of cultural stereotype, power ideology, social attitudes, or reflection of a kind of cognitive patterns.1.2 Literature Review Concern with the linguistic treatment and representation of women is said to be a characteristic of the seco

25、nd wave of the womens movement which started in late 1960s and early 1970s, mainly in the west of English speaking countries. Feminist scholarship and investigations into the sexism in language started in the mid-1970s.Early works on sexism in language involved documenting the various ways in which

26、language could be understood as being sexist. (Alia, 1984; Kramarae, 1985; Maggio, 1987; Spender, 1980) They have pointed out that the English language is inherently sexist because it carries certain assumptions about gender roles.The early works in the language and gender were carried out at a time

27、 when women in the western world were fighting for their equality and liberation. As a result, lots of attention was focused on the sexism reflected in the language, and the devastating social consequences of such a language (the language that deprecates and ignores women and at the same time keeps

28、them in their low social hierarchy). The emergence of the current thought within academic circlewhich can be loosely called “feminist/ postmodernist”led to different ways of thinking about gender and to a further emphasis on the importance of language and linguistic theory. Language was and is seen

29、by many feminists as 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 oppression (Spender, 1980). Chinese scholar, Zhu Wanjin (1992) analyzed sexism practices from the perspectiv

30、e of lexicology; Bai Jiehong (2000) analyzed sexism from the cultural perspective; Yang Yonglin (2004) points out that sexism have two senses: the narrow sense and the broad sense. Admittedly, such studies on language and gender are still rare and their studies have not touched upon how to reduce or

31、 eliminate the sexism in language. Moreover, little work has been completed on sexism in English naming.2. Sexism in English Personal NamesNaming practices involve a lot of issues. Names, titles and other terms of address are a powerful means of identifying and describing people. Depending on the so

32、ciety and the language, name can reflect a persons sex, age occupation, social status, and geographical, linguistic, religious or affiliation.For most of us, a name is much more than just a tag or a label. It is a symbol, which stands for the unique combination of characteristics and attributes than

33、 define us as an individual. It is the closest thing that we have to shorthand for the self-concept. The vast majority of names of names carry distinct feminine or masculine connotations.2.1 Family NamesWhen women were born, they were given their fathers name and adopted their husbands names upon th

34、eir marriage. Its only sons who can carry on their fathers name forever, whereas women lost this capacity when they got married. This stresses the portrayal of women as the prosperity of men, passed from father to husband. They just have no freedom to own their own names. US Senator Hilary Rodham Cl

35、inton is a good example. Though allegedly a feminist, she has shifted between addressing herself Hilary Rodham, Hilary Rodham Clinton and Hilary Clinton. Either way she names herself after a manher father or her husband, or both.Children typically inherit their fathers rather than their mothers fami

36、ly names, which enables fathers but not mothers to achieve a direct continuity of naming from generation, provided they have sons. Even if there are only daughter, however the derivation of female forms from male names enables the transmission to continue. Its very common for women in Englishspeakin

37、g countries to adapt their husbands names upon they got married. Thus women are said to “marry into families, and families are said to die out if an all-female” generation occurs.Thus, Spender comments: “Practically, it means that womens family names dont count and there is one more device making wo

38、men invisible.” In the ceremony, the official asks, “Who gives the bride away?” and the father answers. “I do”, or “Her mother and I do”, but that does not solve the problem inherent in the idea that a bride is something to be handed over from one man to another.2.2 Personal Names The names that peo

39、ple give their children show the hopes and dreams they have for them and also personal names often reflect their parents hope and expectations for their children, so from their personal names, we can know the different attitudes of parents to boys and girls. Personal names for girls and boys often r

40、eflect stereotyped features of feminity or masculinity prevailing in a particular culture or society. For example, boys are often givens associated with strength, power, and heroism whereas girls have names reflecting grace and other feminine virtues.In British culture, girls usually have names take

41、n from small, aesthetically pleasing item. So, women maybe named after virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Patience, Patience, Prudence, Chastity; or Vegetation: Rose, Lily, Rosalind, Violet, Flora, Phyllis, Iris, Heather, Olive, Myrtle; or calendar units: April, May, June, Spring, or minerals: Pearl, Be

42、ryl, Ruby, Amber, Jade, Crystal, Jet, Diamond, Margaret, Jewel, which stress beauty and elegance. Ruby, Jewel, Pearl, Esther, and Stella means “star”, Ada means “omament” and Vanessa means, “Butterfly”However, men are more likely to be given names with meanings of power and strength. For example, Ne

43、il means, “champion”; Martin is from “Mars”, the god of war; Harold means “Chief of the army”; Richard means “strong king” and so on.Research has also shown those boys names differ phonologically from girls being shorter and ending frequently in a stop (p, t, k, etc.). In cultures using Indo-Europea

44、n languages girls names are often derivative of boy, and formed by Latinate suffixes which lengthen the name, often adding a vowel ending. E.g. Roberta, Henrietta, Patricia. Another common practice found in the English language is that of giving girls names, which are diminutive of men or boys names

45、. In English, this practice has given rise to such names as Georgina from George, Glenda from Glen, Roberta from Robert, Christiana from Christine, Jacqueline from Jacque, Pauline Paul, etc.From above, we can conclude that naming practices for men and women differ in many respects, and that men gene

46、rally take precedence over women.3. The Origins of SexismWith regard to the causes of sexism in English naming, it is believed that there are three pre-dominant factors attributing to that: historical background, social role and position, and cultural influence. By the historical background, I hereb

47、y mean the ancient codes and records that carry the keynote of a culture including a gender ideology. However, the sexism in English naming is after all rooted in social reality, i.e. the immediate social situation and the broader social factors. Meanwhile, culture inevitably has an influence in the

48、 forming of sexism in naming.3.1 Historical Origin of SexismMen and women shoulder the responsibility of the living and multiplying of human beings and the construction and development of the society. In fact, there are no status differences between them. Nevertheless, in history, feudalist thoughts

49、 have occupied peoples thoughts for a long time. As a result, there was a long period when men enjoyed higher status than women. The ingrained concept still remains in some peoples heads, and has left a mark on naming.Language was produced from and together with work. As a special social phenomenon, language has d