Unit 12 Gender Bias in Language课文翻译综合教程一

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1、Unit12GenderBiasinLanguageLanguageisaverypowerfulelement.Itisthemostcommonmethodofcommunication.Yetitisoftenmisunderstoodandmisinterpreted,forlanguageisaverycomplicatedmechanismwithagreatdealofnuance.Therearetimeswheninconversationwithanotherindividual,thatwemusttakeintoaccounttheperson’slin

2、guisticgenealogy.Therearepeoplewhouselanguagethatwouldbeconsideredprejudicialorbiasedinuse.Butthequestionthatisraisedisinregardtolanguageusage:Islanguagethecauseofthebiasorisitreflectiveofthepreexistingbiasthattheuserholds?Therearethosewhobelievethatthelanguagethatweuseinday-to-dayconversati

3、onisbiasedinandofitself.Theyfeelthattheterm"mailman",forexample,isonethatexcludeswomenmailcarriers.Thentherearethosewhofeelthatlanguageisareflectionoftheprejudicesthatpeoplehavewithinthemselves.Thatistosay,thewordsthatpeoplechoosetouseinconversationdenotethebiasthattheyharborwithintheirownex

4、istence.TherearewordsintheEnglishlanguagethatareexistingorhaveexisted(someofthemhavechangedwiththenewwaveof“politicalcorrectness”comingabout)thathaveinherentlybeensexuallybiasedagainstwomen.Forexample,thepersonwhoinvestigatesreportedcomplaints(asfromconsumersorstudents),reportsfindings,andhe

5、lpstoachievefairandimpartialsettlementsisombudsman(Merriam-WebsterDictionary),butombudspersonhereatIndianaStateUniversity.ThisisanexampleofthegenderbiasthatexistsintheEnglishlanguage.Thelanguageisarrangedsothatmenareidentifiedwithexaltedpositions,andwomenareidentifiedwithmoreservice-oriented

6、positionsinwhichtheyarebeingdominatedandinstructedbymen.Sothelanguageusedtoconveythistypeofmalesupremacyisgenerallyreflectingthehonoredpositionofthemaleandthesubservienceofthefemale.Eveninrelationships,themaleinthehomeisoftenreferredtoasthe“manofthehouse,”evenifitisa4-year-oldchild.Itishighl

7、yinsultingtosaythata4-year-oldmale,basedsolelyonhisgender,ismorequalifiedandcapableofconductingthebusinessandaffairsofthehomethanhispossiblywell-educated,highlyintellectualmother.Thereisadefinitedisparityinthatsituation.InAmericanculture,awomanisva