Abstract

Language can reflect people’s view towards the society. As a social phenomenon, sexism reflects not only in our social life but also reflected in our language. This thesis is theoretically based on Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, which states that language is the product of the society and also it can affect our mind. This thesis analyzes the sexism in English language from the perspective of the morphological, lexical and semantic asymmetry. This thesis explores the phenomenon of language discrimination caused by asymmetry in English language, and analyzes the causes from the historical, cultural and social perspectives. And then analyze the reasons of it. Finally, put forward to some strategies to change the situation.

Key Words: English language, sexism, Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis 

CONTENTS

中文摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction-1

  1.1 Definition of the sexism-1

  1.2 Theoretical Basis---Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis-1

  1.3 Purpose of the Study-2

2. The Performance of Sexism in English-2

  2.1 Morphological Asymmetry-2

    2.1.1 Word Order-2

    2.1.2 Word Formation-3

  2.2 Lexical Asymmetry-4

    2.2.1 Personal Names and Family Names-4

    2.2.2 Addressing Terms-5

    2.2.3 Sexually Weighted Words about Woman-5

  2.3 Semantic Asymmetry -7

    2.3.1 Sexual Woman and Generic Man-7

    2.3.2 Semantic shift of Paired-words-7

    2.3.3 Semantic shift of Same Word-9

    2.3.4 Sexism in Idioms and Proverbs-10

3 Reasons of Sexism in English-11

  3.1 Reasons from Historical Perspective-11

  3.2 Reasons from Social Perspective-12

  3.3 Reasons from Cultural Perspective-12

4 Strategies of Reforming English sexism-13

  4.1 Gender Neutralization-13

  4.2 Avoiding Gender Stereotyping-13

  4.3 Improving Women’s Social Status-13

5 Conclusions-13

Works Cited-15