首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
In recent years criticisms have been voiced concerning sexist bias in the English language. It has been argued that some of the
In recent years criticisms have been voiced concerning sexist bias in the English language. It has been argued that some of the
admin
2015-09-26
78
问题
In recent years criticisms have been voiced concerning sexist bias in the English language. It has been argued that some of the vocabulary and grammar we use reflects and reinforces a traditional view of the world as one in which men are dominant and women play a secondary role.
Take the word "chairman", for example. While this can in fact apply to people of both sexes, it appears to some people to be male-oriented as it ends in "man". In the past people taking the role of chairman were exclusively male, and the word was obviously originally a compound of "chair" and "man". Many English speakers, however, have ceased to view this word as a compound and no more feel it to be composed of two units, "chair" and "man", than they perceive "cupboard" as composed of "cup" and "board". In addition the continued use of chairman might be defended on the grounds that the final syllable is pronounced /m’n/ rather than / m
n/, just like the final syllable of woman. Despite such considerations other speakers take a contrary view and are sensitive to the components of which it is made up. They clearly perceive it as a title which perpetuates traditional ideas about the place of women in society. For this reason they seek to replace it with neutral terms such as "chairperson" or "chair" , so that it is now possible to ask questions such as: "Who is chair of the committee?"
Other changes advocated include the replacement of words such as "postman", "fireman" and "policeman" with more clearly neutral terms such as "postal worker", "fire-fighter" and "police officer". There is, however, continuing controversy about how far such language changes should go. Should changes also be considered to traditional idioms such as "man in the street" and titles such as "Peking Man"? What about those words where the male meaning of "man" is no longer dominant, such as "manhandle"?
To the extent that changes have taken place, they have done so more in the written language and formal pronouncements than in everyday speech. You would be quite likely to read in the paper that "Postal workers are to receive a pay increase". But "Has the postman been?" would be most likely to be heard in informal conversation. Here "postman" remains firmly entrenched in popular usage.
The lack of a sex-neutral third-person singular in English has also attracted attention. How, for example, do we fill in the blank in the following sentence? "A good teacher always makes sure is well prepared for the lesson. " Traditionally, this would be filled in with "he". The male pronoun in such cases is clearly intended to refer to both sexes. It is still widely used in this way, but some people, especially women, dislike it. They may prefer to add the female pronoun to the male, as in "A good teacher always makes sure he or she is well prepared for the lesson". Some people, however, feel that this looks and sounds awkward. Another solution is to use the plural "they" for the singular; "A good teacher always makes sure they are well prepared for the lesson. " This is often heard in conversation, but is less frequent in formal written English. More cautious souls can avoid the problem altogether by rephrasing in the plural: "Good teachers always make sure they are well prepared for the lesson. "
The extent to which language reflects and shapes attitudes and behaviors is a matter of conjecture. Chinese, Japanese, Persian and Turkish do not make the kinds of sex distinctions English makes through its system of pronouns, but it would be difficult to maintain that males who speak these languages are less sexist than males who speak English!
To what extent does the language reflect and shape attitudes and behaviors?
选项
A、They are closely related.
B、It is a matter of conjecture.
C、They have nothing to do with each other.
D、Only in English are they closely related.
答案
B
解析
细节题。从文章最后一段首句The extent to which language reflects and shapes attitudes andbehaviors is a matter of conjecture.可以看出,语言在某种程度上反映和塑造讲话者的态度和举止只是一种推测,所以[B]是正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/IYXK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Ireallyappreciate______metogetoutofthetroublesthatIranintorecentlybutfoundithardtohandle.
Whydoadultsbelievethatalcoholicawarenessprogramsteachyoungpeoplenottooverdrink?Recently,readinganarticleabout
Whydoadultsbelievethatalcoholicawarenessprogramsteachyoungpeoplenottooverdrink?Recently,readinganarticleabout
InrecentyearscriticismshavebeenvoicedconcerningsexistbiasintheEnglishlanguage.Ithasbeenarguedthatsomeofthe
InrecentyearscriticismshavebeenvoicedconcerningsexistbiasintheEnglishlanguage.Ithasbeenarguedthatsomeofthe
IfyouhavereallybeenstudyingEnglishforsolong,it’sabouttimeyou______abletowritelettersinEnglish.
Mybrother’splansarevery______;hewantstomasterEnglish,FrenchandSpanishbeforeheissixteen.
Surprisingly,nooneknowshowmanychildrenreceiveeducation,inEnglishhospitals,stilllessthecontentorqualityofthat
随机试题
下列刀具材料中红硬性最好的是()
下列各项不属于国别文化的是()
A.尊重家属意见.不惜一切代价进行抢救B.说服家属彻底放弃治疗与抢救C.实施积极安乐死D.有限度地治疗与抢救E.实行消极安乐死某老年患者身患肺癌,生命垂危,家属明确要求不惜一切代价抢救.医生应选择
白某(1983年8月10日出生)、刘某(1983年8月11日出生)预谋强奸中学同学赵某(1984年5月16日出生)。2001年8月11日,白某和刘某将赵某从家中骗至黄魏公路北侧一水闸房内。白某先提出要与赵某发生性关系,遭到赵某拒绝,白某即使用暴力将赵某强
对于施工方案主要内容,以下表述正确的有()。
中国名牌产品是指实物质量达到国际同类产品先进水平、()、具有较强市场竞争力的产品。
在考生文件夹下YUE文件夹中创建名为BAK的文件夹。
【B1】【B9】
Smokersinthe"landofthefree"arefindingthemselvesincreasinglylessfreetopursuetheirhabit.NewYorkCityofficialsa
Skipthatthirdhelpingofroastbeef,savetheplanetanddoyourheartafavoratthesametime.That’stheadviceofAlan
最新回复
(
0
)