gender and language Flashcards
Who established the ‘Males as the Norm Syndrome’ and When?
Dale Splender
what is male is the norm syndrome?
The idea that the English Language itself is intrinsically structured to create power imbalance.
What is linguistic determinism?
The notion that the language you speak predominantly determines your thought and feelings
what is a negative semantic space?
using unnecessary words to specify who is doing the job
In what ways does the ‘Male is the Norm’ study suggest the english language favours men?
- the use of male pronouns simply as a matter of convenience (e.g., you avoid saying ‘he or she’ and opt for using he)
- ‘man’ and ‘mankind’ being the automatic for generalising humankind
what term did intersectional feminists coincide with in order to avoid the use of ‘men’ or ‘man’?
‘womxn’
Are there any etymological points for Men being the norm?
In the bible Adam created Eve from his rib
What did Dale Splender do?
Related how in the 1960s, when most primary school teachers were female, gender free articles referring to them were often ‘she’.
What was the male minorities response to this development?
they wished to be included and some even insisted on the use of the male pronoun instead.
What is marking in the context of David Splender’s theory?
A modifier that tells us a hidden undertone. For example a ‘single-mother’ is a Mother who is incapable of keeping a man and is therefor worth less than a married mother or a mother not given the prefix of ‘single’
tautologous
make redundant
what is a kinship term?
words used in a speech community to identify relationships between individuals in a family e.g. brother, mother
cultural relativism
not judging a culture to our own standards regarding right and wrong and taking into account other cultural contexts
what was the sex discrimination act?
In 1975 it became illegal to write. job advertisement that implied only people of one specific sex could apply
what were the exceptions to the sex discrimination act?
(In 1975)
- if recruitment was targeted at a specific under-represented group
Gender and address terms
women don’t always get given the same gender-free titles in the work place.
e.g., lady-doctor, headmistress, bar-maid
what is a diminutive?
a suffix eg.,baroness
what diminutive is added to signal less legitimacy in context to job titles?
-ette & -ess
Who studied terms endearment? And when?
Goddard 1983
what is a vocative?
a word or phrase used to address a reader or listening directly
What is the basic principle of the O’barr & Atkins study?
the weak and uncertain language typically associated with women is used by both men and women in vulnerable positions with lack of power
what is the diversity approach?
Focuses on the idea that sex and gender are different and that our sex doesn’t effect the language we use but gender does
How did O’barr and Atkins investigate their theories?
- They took 10 features that Lackoff claimed and looked at the language used by a number of witnesses both male and female to see if Lackoff’s hypothesis was proved
L they specifically used courtroom examples
