基于不同性别的英语表达差异分析

白晓红

【摘要】本文從四个方面分析英语中由于性别不同所带来的表达差异，为进一步研究英语表达中性别偏见和歧视提供理论支持。

【关键词】性别 差异 英语

【Abstract】This thesis is concerned with the general gender differences from the aspects of phonology， lexicon， syntax and discourse in order to support the further analysis on gender prejudice in English.

【Key words】Gender； Differences； English

Language is one aspect that makes our human beings unique in comparison to other species.Though men and women live in the same world and have no problem in communicating with each other， we cant deny the fact that men and women have many differences in the use of language.

The relationship between language and gender can be accounted for by two phases： 1） The general gender difference in the use of language， a kind of difference free of social and cultural factors， which will continue to exist.2） Distorted gender difference in the use of language which is caused by social and cultural prejudices.In this part， were going to discuss general gender differences first.They will be analyzed from the perspectives of phonology， lexicon， syntax and discourse.

Ⅰ.Gender differences in phonology

1.Pronunciation

As we all know， men have larger vocal tracts and larynxes than females， with the consequence that their fundamental and formant frequencies are lower.“Male speech is typically less variable than females： Male speech is more monotone（less pitch variation） and more uniform in loudness” （Lakoff 45）.

2.Voice pitch

Women and men have distinctly different voice qualities.In the majority of cases， most people can easily tell whether a voice belongs to a man or a woman： mens voices are commonly thought to be That is because the pitch of the voice is produced by vibration of the vocal cords in the larynx.Thick， heavy vocal cords vibrate more slowly than lighter ones； and as men usually develop a larger larynx than women， their voices tend to have lower pitch.This is one of sex differences rooted directly in the fact of physiology.

Ⅱ.Gender differences in lexicon

1.Vocabularies

Women use different vocabularies than men do.Lakoff has noted a number of differences.Take the color words for example.“Men are less likely to use nonbasic color words， such as magenta or taupe.Women also use more intense and empty adjectives such as divine， or charming， and intensifier adverbs like so” （Lakoff 76）.Just think about whether it would be more likely to hear a woman or man exclaiming， “Ohhhh！ Thats so lovely！”

2.Interjection

Generally speaking， males and females communicate by way of conversation.In the process， females usually keep to cooperative principle.“Never interrupting others， they prefer playing the role of hearers， encouraging others to continue the conversation by using such interjections as ‘mm， hmm， yeah etc.males are quite the contrary.Treating conversation as competition， they strive to be the speakers” （Lakoff 78）.So as to control the chance of speaking and selecting topics of conversation.

3.Reflection caused by names

Reflection meaning is one that may arouse listeners or readers reflection.In English， there are also some words that may remind us of different genders and characteristics associated with certain gender.

Based on different social functions， names are given according to peoples expectation of different genders.Whatever name will be given， people put an emphasis on females “beauty”， “tenderness”， “submission”， or whatever that may be associated with virtuous wife or qualified mother.That is why we can easily see Grace， Lily， Daisy， Rose， Susanna， Bonny， etc.in womens names.Mens names Godwin， Oscar， Alexander， Ronald etc.， associated with God， weapon， knowledge， authority， reputation to mean that mens mission of dominating the whole world， with women playing a minor role.

III.Gender differences in syntax

The principle Syntactic difference Lakoff noted is that women use more tag questions.“A tag question is tagged to the end of an assertion， questioning and negating it， as in ‘Women use more tag questions than men， dont they？ It urges the listener to confirm clearly that they agree with the statement” （Gary 78）.

Besides， imperative mood may play the same role.Most of the time， males like to use imperative mood to give a command or to make a decision.That can be seen in the sentences like：

1）Bring that here！

2）Write that down！

3）Have my suit cleaned.

As to women， they prefer adopting an indirect and euphemistic expression instead：

4）Could you bring that here？

5）Would you drop this by the cleaners on your way？

6）You could include that in your writing of the paragraph is you like.

（Yule 247）

IV.Gender differences in discourse

Studying men and women in conversation， Spender concludes that they have very different purposes in conversation styles in sex-separated peer groups as children.The two sexes move in separated worlds， picking up separate cultures.

Women are more likely to discuss personal issues such as friendships， love， disappointments， and other people.Men are likely to tell jokes and discuss news and sports.The two different goals in conversation result in some of the language differences in discourse.

Prejudicial language is a complicated issue.It will be a tough job to break away from sexist language and traditional patterns.In order to refresh the world around us， some solutions could be suggested： using fair rules can improve communication； use explicit， active words； give concrete examples， specifics and anecdotes to demonstrate facts； present your message in context of the “big picture”； present a balanced view； and avoid clichés and generalization that limit communication.These suggestions， if closely followed， our society can be improved and so does our language.

References：

[1]Gary，Goshgarian.Exploring Language（8th edition）.New York：Longman，Inc.1998.

[2]Lakoff，R.Language and Womens Place.New York：Harper and Row.1975.

[3]楊永林.社会语言学研究：功能.称谓.性别篇[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社，2004.