language and gender terminology Flashcards
What is lexical asymmetry/ semantic non equivalences?
pairs of words which seem to be equal e.g Lord/Lady, Mistress/Master but often are not, with the female term having been degraded in some way
What is semantic over-representation?
more words to describe a particular concept/group of people than their equivalent
What are marked terms?
use of diminutive suffixes ‘ess’ or ‘ette’ on the ends of words to make them more feminine e.g actor/actress
What are semantic fields?
terms for women that often derive from items of food or animals
What are terms of address?
Men are usually ‘Mr’, whereas women can be ‘Mrs’, ‘Ms’ or ‘Miss’
What are generic terms?
‘man’ and ‘he’ are used to mean all people
What is meant by language as a positioning tool?
Language is used to position men above women and reinforces sociological hierarchies
What is androcentric language?
a gender bias in language which favours men
