Language, Sex and Feminism
Introduction:
The language is political in every aspect. According to Joseph (2006) All animals are political, but some are more political than others, by reason of the language. Thus, man is the animal most politics it is the only animal that has the gift of speech, allowing you to disagree with others that "the disagreement is also natural as a human being who speaks" (p. 2).
In this article I will examine the relationship between language and gender. I will discuss the differences between men and women in the use of both languages. Also will examine the role played by culture and how his company's position in terms of power.
- Women tend to use language more polite than men.
Some linguists believe that women are aware of their inferior status in society, Therefore, men who have power. Consequently, many differences in using language clearly can occur between men and women. According Thanasoulas (1999), women do not use profanity or as strong as crazy shit, they could use stronger words such as "Oh fudge" (paragraph 7). What is interesting is the difference between men and women who use the language of the Internet through chat rooms and e-mails (emails). According to the hills (2000), intensive adverbs women use references to emotions, plus the use of modal verbs, short answers and complete, besides the use of answers minimum, pronouns, conjunctions of subordination personal objections and frequency of questions. Furthermore, men are more references to the amount, providing more views and justifications, using active verbs and phrases to trial and use more informal language. Therefore, these features provide the reader rates to predict the sex, then he or she is chatting online with an anonymous person.
* Cartoon by Peter Steiner (1993) published in the New Yorker, Inc.
Why are there such differences?
Thanasoulas (1999) argues that women who present they were unsure of their opinions "(para. 7), they have opinions that matter a lot, so I tend to use frequently to ask questions or questions label because they lack confidence (for example, is not fair, right?).
Holmes (1997) shows that the result of a test of how men and women the use of language in a community of English language were, men use almost double that [such vernacular?] N pronunciation than women. The fact that women use more polite and formal language according Thanasoulas on the way society treats women. For example, "people are tolerant of the behavior of children, while the performance of small girls is often frowned upon and punished on the spot "(para. 6). Therefore," women referred to role modeling proper behavior in the community "(quoted Thanasoulas Holmes, 1992: p.173). Furthermore, using standard forms or polished, a woman tries to protect his face, so avoid disagreements and seek agreement and a report. Holmes (1997) shows that women use more conventional forms in contexts where have the opportunity to pay attention to their language "(p. 198) to indicate a higher status than they have been allowed. Holmes (1997) cited in Lakoff for his use of women in these articles as you know, somehow I think that has been described as "hedges and that cases of the forms of women's language" (P. 200). Therefore, may express "the timidity or beliefs" (p. 201). Holmes also argued that because women are powerless and therefore tend to use appropriate language and level
"Those who are out of power must be polite, avoid making waves. Because, as a group, women more that men are more often excluded from power, the social meanings as "provisional" "According" to the prevailing values, conservatives support "(Holmes, 1997, said Lakoff, 1989: p.257).
In addition, Eckert said that femininity is defined as the denial of power, while the confirmation of masculinity is power. For example: In 1979, Margret Thatcher, who was the first woman Prime Minister in the United Kingdom ", was forced to undergo a transformation language, land, lowering his voice almost half the normal prosodic contours flattering to their slower delivery and its more authoritarian "(Cameron, 2005: p. 496), although it is clear that major power institutions remains a male preserve.
- The language is affected by society?
Another crucial point is the difference between sex and gender in language. According to Cameron (2005) "gender is constructed on the basis of sex" (P. 484). Shows that sex has to do with biology. However, sex is not something that is acquired once and for all at an early stage of life, but a realization "To be produced by their repeated actions" (p. 486). Holmes (1997) argues that sex has been replaced by cultural category. Also, using more than sex sex as a background variable stresses that the sex of a person is "socially constructed from the roles, norms and expectations of the community in which they participate" (p.203). It is estimated that in western urban contexts of women use a wide range of variants of the language than men, by Holmes (1997). Another supporting evidence that Nichols (1983) documents the widest variety of style of working class black women in South Carolina because of their social networks and the variety of people they encounter in their daily interactions. He explains that Japanese women use a wider range and more complex "pays tribute to the men and are very sensitive to contextual factors" (p. 198). Therefore, differences in language use between men and women depend on society and culture, where in some cultures, women are less than men or women are equal to men, sometimes women are superior to men.
- Is this the man with the woman who occupies the position?
What is really interesting to me is that if the man occupying the position or market women in the West? Holmes (1997) argues that Women are often "the corridors of the family in interaction with strangers" (p. 199) is more common in women than in human interaction with other shops, with neighboring countries through phones and communication with schools. In other words, women are more able to express social roles than men. Cameron (2007) in his article on language and gender that defines women are better than men in the communication and verbal skills, because how your brain is wired. "The female brain excels at verbal tasks, while the male brain is more suitable for visual-spatial tasks and mathematics. Women love to talk, the men prefer action to words "(paragraph 2). Finally, the fact that what Cameron said, people with a female brain the most wonderful nurses, therapists, social workers, staff or personnel. On the other hand, people with a male brain the best scientists wonderful, engineers, electricians, lawyers or programmers. So when a manager at a call center in the northeast of England Cameron asked by an interviewer why women occupy all positions in the center, said: "We seek people who can discuss with people to interact and build relationships. What we found that women can do more … women are naturally good at this sort of thing. "Not because they all call center employees are women resulted in discrimination against men, but men fit in the places women can not even women can bear and positions in the men considered exhausted or difficult to implement. Thus, we find sex in the place where he or she belongs. In a place where both can fully enjoy their company.
- Does women to succeed in their war against man?
It is very strange to see how women, although his "weakness" in society, have the power to change the terminology to be used in front of thousands of years in the language (especially English). His power forced universities and institutions to change its policy on how to use language in this context. For example, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in 1992 issued a policy called "language sexist ", which states that:" Gender inclusive language or non-sexist language is language that is gender neutral as possible. This means the use of words reflect another type – for example, the President instead of President, instead of a flight attendant flight attendant "(Official RMIT, 2008). We do not go too far, the official website of the University of Technology Sydney, under the section on policy and legislation establishes guidelines and tips Avoid using "all the languages of discrimination against women does not adequately reflect their role, status and the presence of the Society (UTS official website, 2008). In addition, by providing solutions to the tables of "man" in language and in terms of employment (See http://www.equity.uts.edu.au/policy/language/sexist.html). However, Cameron (2005) reports that young men and women increasingly in the West today "are more similar than their grandparents were, in everything from the clothes they wear to the education they receive, the jobs they might aspire to do for their attitudes toward sex or sport "(p. 490). In terms simple, such discrimination may be more focused on the man who considers himself as a victim of being the culprit in our current era.
Conclusion
Certainly, women have suffered discrimination and other types of linguistic discrimination. But I wonder if Women are still victims of this discrimination more? Particularly sensitive to the positions after some of them are these days, where these positions involve the use of language as a basic element in their work. For example, Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President United States, Angela Dorothea Merkel is the chancellor of Germany, and Oprah Gail Winfrey is the highest rating talk show in television history.
About the Author
References:
Cameron, D., 2007, ‘what language barrier’, the Guardian. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/oct/01/gender.books
[Accessed 20 Sep 2008]
Cameron, D., 2005, ‘Language, gender and sexuality: current issues and new directions’, Applied Linguistics, vol. 26, no.4, pp. 482-502
Holmes, J., 2997, ‘Women, language and identity’, Journal of Sociolinguistics, Oxford: Blackwell, p.195-223. Available from: http://drr.lib.uts.edu.au/file/18982/013104_holmeswomen.pdf
[Accessed 18 Sep 2008]
Hills, M., 2000, ‘you are what you type: language and gender deception on the internet’, university of Otago. Available from: http://www.netsafe.org.nz/Doc_Library/Internet_language_dissertation.pdf
[Accessed 19 Sep 2008]
Joseph, J., 2006, ‘How politics permeates language (and vice versa)’. language and Politics Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press p.1-21
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 2008, ‘Gender Inclusive Language’, available from: http://www.su.rmit.edu.au/rights/downloads/2008/gender inclusive language/genderinclusivelanguage0801.pdf. [Accessed in 20 Sep 2008]
Thanasoulas, D., 1999, ‘why can’t a woman be more like a man’, Language and Sex. Available from: http://www.englishclub.com/tefl-articles/language-sex.htm
[Accessed 19 Sep 2008]
University of technology Sydney, 2008, ‘language, Sex and Gender’, available from: http://www.equity.uts.edu.au/policy/language/sexist.html. [Accessed 20 Sep 2008]
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