Key Words

Question 1

Seman tic deteriora on

(Who created the list)

Answer 1

the process by which nega ve connota ons become a ached to lexi-cal items.

Sara Mills (1995) created her own list of terms and pointed out that many of the fe- male forms are marked as being sugges ve of sexual promiscuity.

Some terms have under- gone seman c deteriora on i.e. “lady” used to be equal to “lord” but now the term has be-
come a ached to lower to lower status terms like “cleaning lady”

Question 2

The dynamic approach

(Who described it)

Answer 2

The “dynamic” or “social con- struc onist” approach is, as Coates describes, the most current approach to language and gender. Instead of speech falling into a natural gendered category, the dynamic nature and mul ple factors of an interac tion help a socially appropriate gendered construct

Question 3

Lexical asymmetry

Answer 3

Where a word should mean the same for the genders but actually has different connotations

E.g. Assertive

Question 4

Marked/Unmarked terms

Answer 4

Unmarked form: The normal/neutral form of a word

Most unmarked forms are considered male e.g. lion and waiter

Marked terms: The form of a word which stands out from the norm i.e. lioness and Waitress

Question 5

Idiomatic phrases

Answer 5

Accepted and known meaning which is different from dictionary definition

Question 6

Diminutive suffix

Answer 6

Affirmation which makes the new term less than the masculine noun

E.g. Cigarette

Cigar - associated with men.

Question 7

Example of gendered language

Answer 7

Mr and Mrs

Throughout history, a woman’s role in society has been closely associated with her marital status, which is why women use different titles. This highlights the privilege of men and the status they already have in society without being expected to marry someone.

Question 8

Gender-biased job titles

Answer 8

Policeman

Fireman

Postman

Chairman

Cameraman

Question 9

Gendered Greetings

Answer 9

“Ladies and gentlemen” or “Hello sir/madam”?

Although they are used to address both male and females and are not biased towards one specific gender at a time, these greetings are still gendered.

They are constantly setting binary gender norms

Question 10

Gender-Neutral Job Titles

Answer 10

Police Officer (instead of Policeman)

Fire Fighter (instead of Fireman)

Postal Worker (instead of Postman)

Chair/Chairperson (instead of Chairman)

Camera Operator (instead of Cameraman)

These do not carry bias

Question 11

Diminutives

Answer 11

Pet names

“Honey”, “Sweetie”, “Darling”

Question 12

Gendered language and associations

Answer 12

Marital status

Spinster - a shortcoming
Bachelor - Freedom