Understanding of Sexism in English Vocabulary in Chinese Context

Abstract

Sexism has existed since ancient times, and it is also a long-standing topic in academia. Language itself has no emotional meaning, but as a carrier of culture, it will doubtlessly reflect the phenomenon, and English is no exception. There are many examples of sexism in English vocabulary. This paper studies the sexism in English vocabulary and the understanding of these expressions in Chinese context. First of all, as Chinese users, the author briefly introduces the concept of linguistic sexism. Then the author concretely studies the manifestations of sexism in English vocabulary when these expressions come to Chinese language users and learners; in the end the author comes up with some suggestions about the ways of correctly understanding the linguistic sexism from the above studies and materials in Chinese context. Through the study of the author finds that the existence of sexism is still an indisputable fact, and is still seen in vocabulary everywhere. This phenomenon is partly due to the deep-rootedness of the idea of male superiority. And this phenomenon can be easily understood by Chinese users and learners. As China is a male-dominated country people hold the view that women are inferior to men. So the understanding of Chinese users and learners give hints to the cultural inclination of the nation.