Chinese Words And Gender Relations

On the basis of prior linguistic research into gender, the article studies the six specified issues springing from the relations between gender and Chinese words.First, gender discrimination finds its reflections in words. "Ta(he)" is preferred to "Ta(she)" in that the female are viewed as subordinate to the male, and the female are regarded as exceptional; the nominal terms of address are unequal and the terms to address the female are often non-existent; the pejorative words used on the female are more than those on the male and the words to disfigure the female are more descriptive; the nominal words representing the female are prone to derogation, while those indicative of the male are liable for commendation; the male is placed prior to the female in terms of the word order.Second, gender differences are implicit in the choice of words. The female excel more in the perception of color words; the female prefer to use affectionate words; the female are more disposed to use euphemisms; the female are less likely to swear abuses and say foul language; the differences in terms of address are reflected in the fact that the ancient women were called "Niang", as opposed to the ancient men called "Lang". The same is also true of the present designation of nicknames for "Fu(Husband)" and "Qi(wife)". The differences in the nominal pronouns are found in the fact that the female use the second nominal pronoun to refer to the first nominal pronoun, the third for the first, and indefinite nominal pronouns for the definite ones.Third, gender differences and gender discrimination involved in abuses. The female swear undisguised uncouth abuses, compared to women who prefer to take a roundabout way. To chide the male is sheer contempt for their competence, while to curse the female is to bring disgrace to their chasteness; the female, once exposed to shyness, tend to make false swears, as opposed to the male when they are comfortably ensconced. The female, while cursing others, swears, in contrast to the male, who swear oaths while swearing themselves. The in-depth reason for swear has some bearing upon the outlook on virtue, the worship of ancestors, the animalism remnant in human beings and the joking habitual greetings.Fourth, gender discrimination and distinctions find their reflections in idioms. To be specific, the female are, more often than not, preceded by the male in terms of the word order in the idioms. Gender distinctions are often detected in those idioms depicting body language, gesture language and feelings and sentiments to the detail that some are solely for women, some are what men alone usually use, and the rest are applicable to both. The cultural connotations implicit in feminine idioms, revealing gender discrimination, unveiling the gender hierarchy, delineating the female psychology and laying bare the male supremacy, offers a multifaceted exhibition of women's life from multiple dimensions. Fifth, gender discrimination and distinctions find reflections in proverbs. These proverbs concern physiological ones(physical features, the law of aging, temperamental features), psychological ones(social psychology, the gender gap psychology, national psychology), social roles(family roles, social roles), and culture(feudal culture, social civilizations).Sixth, sexual discrimination and distinctions find their reflections in names. The family name finds its spring in ancient China when it was unique to women. As regards the given name, it is only accessible to men. The name of the female features preferentially the choice of these words with "Nv(Feminine)" being essentially one making-up component. Additionally, such words as the names of birds and flowers, ingenious articles, jewels, colors words, mellow scenery, refined virtues, and duplicate words are preferred to be selected as the feminine names. Another noteworthy point is there exists an occasional occurrence of the alternative use between the male and female names. Compared to those of the female, the names of men are more closely connected to a specific era. Notwithstanding this, the differences in the choice of words as names are on the wane as a whole.The thesis, as far as social linguistic theory and methodology is concerned, is primarily premised upon sociology, cultural studies, psychology, history, folklore and other subjects relevant to linguistics, through which the relations between the Chinese language and gender are expounded from multiple perspectives.