Sex differences have always been a subject of interest for human beings. So, such interest in language is not an exception. However, linguists prefer the term gender rather than “sex” because sex has to do with biological distinction; it is “a matter of genes, gonads and hormones” (Talbot 1998: 7). The term gender was also chosen as a neutral, an indiscriminating one (see Nevalainen 2003: 110, Curzan 2004). In contrast to the term sex “gender” refers to a linguistic construct on the one side and to the social construct on the other side. Gender as a linguistic construct relates to a gender system of language which is represented by e.g. the personal pronouns he, she, it or lexical items that “refer to men and women, as well as girls and boys” and which “retain gender semantically in a natural gender system” (Curzan 2004). Language as a social construct relates to the roles of males and females in society. The attitudes towards men and women are reflected in the language. Otherwise, we can observe gender differences analysing certain language patterns. It is assumed that language not only reflects gender division, but also creates and sustains it (Coates 1993: 4). In this paper I will be looking primarily at the impact of gender as a social variable on the English language. I will analyse the language change in the past, namely, in the Late Middle and the Early Modern English periods with help of the historical corpora. The paper should answer the question how the social variables such as gender together with social rank or genre cause change of the linguistic variables such as grammatical constructions from a diachronic point of view. The concept of a historical corpus and the historical background will be explained in order to understand the base of the investigations. Also, there will be a chapter on the present-day investigation on the language variation. Afterwards we should be able to compare the results from the past and present studies.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Historical background of the Early Modern English (EME)
2.1 The development of the English language during the epoch of the Renaissance (EME)
2.2. The social position of men and women
3. Concept of the historical corpus
4. Empirical studies
5. Synchronic approach of the language change
5.1 Gender differences
5.1.2 Politeness
5.1.3 The choice of topics
6. Gender themes in writing: sexist and non-sexist language
7. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the impact of gender as a social variable on the evolution of the English language, analyzing linguistic changes from a diachronic perspective in Late Middle and Early Modern English, while also contrasting these findings with present-day sociolinguistic patterns.
- The role of social variables (gender, social rank) in linguistic change.
- Analysis of historical corpora (CEEC, Helsinki Corpus) to track morphosyntactic shifts.
- Sociolinguistic differences in speech between men and women (politeness, topic selection).
- The emergence and impact of non-sexist language usage.
- Comparison between historical linguistic inequality and contemporary social progress.
Excerpt from the Book
2.2. The social position of men and women
In this part of the work we will take a closer look at the men’s and the women’s position in the society of the Early Modern English period for we can rely on our statements later when interpreting the results of the concrete examples.
Education depended on the social background and gender. The rich families of the upper classes had an opportunity to send their children to the public schools, whereas “children of the lower social strata rarely went to school [because their parents could hardly afford it]” (Nevalainen 2003: 41). “Girls had no access to the institutions of higher education [such as universities], but there were some schools for girls and apprenticeship was also available for them, but although only rarely. Prestigious language of law and administration was beyond the reach of the lower orders and women” (Nevalainen 2003: 41). “The level of literacy was […] socially stratified. […] Literacy was more common in towns than in the countryside, and in particular the urban elite, merchants, grocers and haberdashers had literacy rates of around 90 per cent […]. Women’s signature literacy was as low as 1 per cent in 1500 […], and it grew more slowly than men’s” (Nevalainen 2003: 42).
In contrast to women men were participating and ruling almost all public spheres, “including national and local politics, the economy, the church and the legal system (Nevalainen 2003: 43)”:
Women have no voyse in Parliament, They make no Lawes, they consent to none, they abrogate none. All of them are understood either married or to bee married and their desires or [are] subject to their husband, I know no remedy though some women can shift it well enough. (T.E, [Thomas Edgar?] The Lawes Resolutions of Womens Rights, 1632: 6 (cited in Nevalainen 2003: 114).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter defines the core terminology, distinguishing between 'sex' and 'gender', and establishes the objective of analyzing how social variables influence linguistic change over time.
2. Historical background of the Early Modern English (EME): This section provides the necessary historical context of the Renaissance, detailing the development of English as a language of culture and the systemic social inequality between men and women.
3. Concept of the historical corpus: This chapter introduces the methodology, explaining the use of the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (CEEC) and the Helsinki Corpus for sociolinguistic research.
4. Empirical studies: This section presents case studies on syntactic shifts, such as the use of negation and verb forms, to illustrate how different social classes influenced language evolution.
5. Synchronic approach of the language change: This chapter shifts to modern perspectives, exploring current differences in gendered speech patterns, politeness strategies, and topic preferences.
6. Gender themes in writing: sexist and non-sexist language: This part examines the impact of the feminist movement on language reform and the debate over modifying word meanings to reduce sexism.
7. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the enduring nature of gender inequality in language while acknowledging the progress made in the social status of women in modern industrial societies.
Keywords
Gender, Language Change, Early Modern English, Historical Corpus, CEEC, Helsinki Corpus, Sociolinguistics, Politeness, Sexist Language, Non-sexist Language, Social Stratification, Literacy, Diachronic Analysis, Synchronic Analysis, Linguistic Variation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper explores the relationship between gender and language change, analyzing how social status and gender roles have influenced the development of English from the Early Modern period to the present day.
Which historical periods and corpora are central to the analysis?
The research focuses on the Late Middle and Early Modern English periods, utilizing the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (CEEC) and the Helsinki Corpus to investigate linguistic shifts.
What is the main research question?
The study aims to determine how social variables, such as gender and social rank, interact with genres to cause changes in linguistic variables from a diachronic perspective.
What research methodology is applied?
The author employs a combination of historical corpus linguistics to track past usage and a synchronic sociolinguistic approach to analyze contemporary language patterns.
What does the main body cover?
The main body covers historical context, the technical concept of historical corpora, empirical analysis of verb forms and negation, and a comparison of modern speech behaviors like politeness and topic choice.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include gender, language change, Early Modern English, historical corpus, sociolinguistics, and non-sexist language.
Why are women considered the leading force in language change?
According to the text, women tend to use innovative forms more actively due to status and prestige concerns, often helping to spread new linguistic forms through supralocalization.
How does the author describe the difference between sexist and non-sexist language?
Sexist language is described as forms that preserve stereotypes and status imbalances, whereas non-sexist language seeks to redefine meaning to avoid gender distinctions, though the author notes this is more complex in languages with grammatical gender like German.
- Quote paper
- Olga Kuzin (Author), 2007, Gender and Language Change, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/69303
