Sexism in Grammar: The Semantics of Gender in Australian English  

Oleh:

Wierzbicka, Anna

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Anthropological Linguistics (ada di JSTOR) vol. 44 no. 2 (Mar. 2002), page 143-177.
Fulltext: Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 143-177.pdf (4.29MB)

Isi artikel

This article explores the puzzling (nonstandard) use of the pro- nouns he and she in Tasmanian English and argues that behind the apparent chaos there lies a neat system of semantic distinctions, with important cultural implications. It is argued that, on both structural and semantic grounds, four distinct uses of he and she can be identified, that all these four types reflect a certain folk philosophy, and that, in particular, the use of she for objects is based on a sexist (sexual) simile, whereas the use of she for the ambient reflects a male perspective on the environment and male humor. It is also argued, that as a system, the semantic distinctions reflected in the use of he and she constitute an Australian innovation (preserved to some extent in Tasmanian English, and only marginally elsewhere).

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali