中文摘要：语言作为人类传情达意的符号系统，具有悠久的历史。其本身是客观公正的，并不含有对男女任何一方的歧视。然而，语言又是社会的一面镜子，它的内涵来源于社会。千百年来，西方女性由于自身在经济，生理等方面的劣势地位，一直受到男性的打压与歧视，这些偏见映射到语言上，由此形成了英语语言上对于妇女的性别歧视。

本研究运用文献法及比较法系统阐述了自18世纪末标准英语建立以来英语语言中的性别歧视现象，内容涵盖词汇构成、词序、称谓等，并结合平衡破缺理论和标记理论等理论知识，以历史变化为纲综合比较了自二十世纪七十年代到九十年代后期上述各方面出现的新变化。继而从英语中的性别歧视现象的角度探讨西方社会中长期存在的男女不平等现象，并从社会语言学的角度讨论了英语性别歧视在不同阶段发生变化的深层社会文化原因，着重分析了女权主义、技术革命及互联网等因素对语言的影响。

更进一步，研究对未来英语中的性别歧视语言的变化进行了预测，同时指出，语言与文化之间存在着非常紧密的关系，而作为一种人类表情达意的符号，语言的使用会被特定的文化习俗所制约，文化的变化可以推动语言的变化。而英语性别歧视语同样被社会文化所影响，随着历史的进步，科技教育等在改变人们生活方式的同时也为新的歧视语的改革提供了平台。同时指出了研究过程中存在的一些不足和今后可能的研究方向。

关键词：英语语言； 性别歧视； 女权主义； 文化

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 The Background of the Research-1

1.2 The Purpose and Significance of the Study-2

1.3 The Research Questions  

1.4 The Structure and Organization of the Thesis-4

2. Literature Review-6

2.1 Sexism-6

2.1.1 The Definition of Sexism-6

2.1.2 Research on Sexism in English Language at Abroad and Home-6

2.2 The Relationship between Language and Culture-8

2.3 Theoretical basis-10

2.3.1 Balance Breaking Theory-10

2.3.2 Markedness Theory-11

2.3.3 “Community of Practice” Theory-11

3. The Diachronic Analysis of the Sexism in English-13

3.1 Sexism after the Formation of Standard English in the late 18th Century-13

3.1.1 Sexism in Word Formation-13

3.1.2 Generic Masculine-14

3.1.3 Word Order-15

3.1.4 Naming and Addressing-15

3.2 The Changes of Sexism in English in the 1960s and 1970s-16

3.2.1 The decline of the generic usage of masculine pronouns-17

3.2.2 The disappearance of generic usage of masculine nouns-17

3.2.3 The change of naming and addressing-18

3.2.4 The emergence of a large number of new neutral pronouns-18

3.3 The Changes of Sexism in English Language after the 1990s-19

3.3.1 The Appearance of Female-Centered Language-19

3.3.2 The Frequent Usage of New Neutrality of Vocabulary-20

3.3.3 The Positive Influence of Government and Publisher-22

3.3.4 The "new use" of sexist words and the disappearance of male professional words-23

3.4 Summary-27

4. The Origin and Decline Reasons of Sexism in English-28

4.1 The origin of sexism in English-28

4.1.1 The source of history-28

4.1.2 The source of society-28

4.1.3 The source of culture—the influence of Bible-29

4.2 Reasons of Decline of Sexism in English-30

4.2.1 Reasons for the decline of sexism in English in the 1960s and 1970s-31

4.2.2 Reasons for the decline of sexism in English after the 1990s-32

4.3 Summary-34

5. Speculation on the development of discriminatory language in the future-36

5.1 New directions for the development of sexist language-36

5.1.1 Changes in nicknames, proverbs and clauses-36

5.1.2 Changes at the level of discourse-36

6. Conclusion-38

6.1 The main findings-38

6.2 The Enlightment 

  6.3 The limitations of the study and future research perspectives… 

Notes-42

References-43