Analysis Of Sexism In Language From The Feminist Perspective

Since the late 1960s, feminism as a social movement striving for the liberation of women and the equality of sexes has made a great impact on the study of language in the discipline of linguistics in a variety of ways. It has triggered the interest of some linguists in examining the different ways in which languages represent and treat women and men - a research area that became known as the study of sexism in language. Based on the theories of linguistics, especially feminist linguistics, this thesis is to analyze sexism in language at different levels aiming at foregrounding those hidden differences in the representation and treatment of women and men in language, because the differences are so prevalent within the society that they appear to be normal and commonsense. Analysis from the feminist perspective can help to challenge these notions of 'normality' and raise people's awareness, which serves as a prelude to the elimination of sexism in language. To address the topic, deductive and inductive approaches are employed as general framework for the research work.The thesis begins with some theoretical issues, giving a brief introduction to some terms and concepts relevant to the analysis work of this thesis and a general review of researches on sexism in language. The second chapter is concerned with analysis of sexism in the formation of words and generic usages at the lexical level with a focus on the way that feminist critics have dealt with sexism in language and the effects this type of language-usage has on people, particularly females. Solutions to the problem are offered. Although certain words concerning gender difference do seem to reflect an overall gender bias, it is clear that it is not sufficient to analyze language simply at the level of the word because words have meaning only in the context. So Chapterlllanalyzes thesemantic features of sexism in language in terms of derogation of women, naming and addressing, masculine-feminine order, semantic development of paired words, semantic components, metaphors. The semantic resources available are part of the system which produces sexism. Analyzing them from the feminist perspective and making people aware of the implications of their language-use are ways of undermining the continual reproduction of sexist meanings. Strategies for semantic change of sexist language are examined. Due to feminists' efforts, increased awareness of sexism in language has resulted in institutionalized changes in usage - many sexist and racist terms no longer appear, or appear less frequently, in the national press. However, feminist pressure around the issue of sexism has also changed the nature of sexism in English, driven the overt sexism underground and forced it to become more indirect or subtle. On another hand, gender bias against women in English is more an ideological product and individual opinion than a mere linguistic phenomenon and it can be expressed consciously and unconsciously via language. Fowler (1986) says that the most dangerous of all is that people are often unconscious about sexist ideology when it functions, because biased ideology against women is buried deeper in individual's linguistic habits than people have imagined and is most effective and harmful when its workings are least visible in discourse. Chapter IV discusses new ways of probing sexism in language and focuses on the sample analysis of texts under the guidance of Transitivity System by Halliday and Post Feminist Text Analysis by Mills in order to make those "invisible" visible to people and therefore to reduce the sexist ideology's control and influence on people. Finally, Chapter V draws the conclusion and offers some suggestions to improve women's social position.