英汉语言性别歧视的比较研究_潘建

作者简介:潘建(1962)),副教授,研究方向:女权主义与外国文学收稿日期:2000-02-27

2001年第3期总第143期外语与外语教学

For eign L anguages and T heir T eaching

2001,l 3Serial l 143

英汉语言性别歧视的比较研究

潘 建

(湖南大学外国语学院,湖南长沙 410079)

摘 要:本文以女性主义的立场,从文化的角度,论述了存在于英汉语言中的性别歧视现象,从两种语言中的造字、构词、词序、语义、谚语等方面进行了对比研究。

关键词:性别歧视;构词;造字;语义;谚语;女权运动 Abstract:Wit h a viewpo int of feminism the writer of this article describes sex ism that ex i sts in both English and Chinese and does a comparativ e research on the subject fr om their w ord formation,phrase org anizatio n,meaning ,pro ver bs and so on.

Key words:sex ism,word for matio n,meaning ,pro ver bs,feminism

中图分类号:H0-05 文献标识码:A 文章编号:1004-6038(2001)03-0014-03

性别歧视(sex ism)这个术语,是伴随西方女性主义产生的,因此,它出现在英语中还是近代的事。对英语或汉语中的性别歧视现象已有很多学者论及,但将两者做比较研究的文章还极少见,本文拟就此作一尝试性论述。

一、英语语言中的性别歧视1.1从构词看性别歧视

自从有了人类,就有了语言。但是,人类自父权社会以来,男性在生产劳动和各种其他社会活动中占主导地位,而语言是人们在劳动中创造出来的。因此,从英语的构词就能看到对女性的歧视。整个人类只属于男人:mankind;国家是由男人统治的:king dom(虽然英国也曾有女人统治,却没有queendom);从政的是男人:statesman,chairman,etc.;有职业的还是男人:po liceman,businessman,salesman,fireman,milk -man,postman,etc.;同族、同胞也只有男人,没有女人:kins -man,countryman;许多国家里只有男人存在:Englishman,F renchman,Irishman,Dutchman 。一些以-ar,-or ,-er 等结尾表示人的名词本来就用于男女双性,如:teacher,doctor,pro -fessor,mini ster 等,但又人为地创造一个阴性后缀-ess 来与之对应,使这些后缀反而变成了阳性后缀:actor -actress,host -hostess,count -countess,waiter -w aitress,etc.。就连女性(fe -male)这个术语都是由男性(male)派生而来。

从以上构词就可以看出,父权社会中,这种/逻各斯中心0(logocentric 即/词语中心0)是非常明显的。而女性在这个中心是无法拥有一席之地的,/她0成了被隐含的那一半。

1.2从男性词泛化现象看性别歧视

英语语言中的性别歧视还体现在篇章中男性词的泛化

使用上,如:第三人称代词和名词he,his,him,man,等。在表示第三人称男女双性单数时,用he 表示,she 则自然隐去。这样的例子可以说俯拾即是:

(1)He w ho sow s the w ind w ill reap t he w hir lwind.(张道真,1985)

(2)If a person breaks the law ,he w ill be punished.(王福祯等,1995:287)

(3)One should do the best he can.(同上)

(4)Somebo dy has lost his car keys.(不定代词还有:any -body,ev er ybody,no one 等也是这种用法。)(同上)美国语言学家N ilson 的5性别歧视与语言6(Sex ism and Langua ge)一书里举了一个非常典型的例子,说明性别歧视在语言中的普遍性:

(5)L et me show y ou the restrictions that would be placed o n my daughter...Among t he peculiar r estr ict ions placed on her would be that could never really participate in the bro therhood o f mankind.And reg ar dless o f what her for efathers were,she couldn .t hav e been born an Ir i shman,a Frenchman,or a Dutch -man...A t school she would have to leam ear ly that she could ser ve on committees but never be the spokesman or chairman.She could participate in sports,but she could not pract ice sports -manship.In baseball she could be a pitcher or a catcher but not the ballboy or the first baseman....Even if she rose to real power in the world and became a queen,she couldn .t rule be -cause ther e are only kingdoms )no queendoms....But if by some happenstance,she did succeed in gaining power in govern -ment,the real tragedy is t hat she could never be a statesman )