Base Knowledge

?

1. What is the meaning of semantic degradation?

  • Where the male and female forms of a word are not equal, due to the negative connotations of one.
  • Where a semantic field is very vague
  • Where women are unable to use semantics properly
  • Where men are unable to use semantics properly
1 of 8

Other questions in this quiz

2. Explain the meaning of a generic term.

  • A term used in preference to gender specific ones, or coined where one does not already exist.
  • Words that can be used for any age group
  • Vague words, thought to be favored by women in Otto Jesperson's research
  • Words that have different meanings for the different genders

3. Why might gender be ingrained in our language?

  • Children find it easier to learn language this way.
  • English came from Anglo-Saxon which had a case system and three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter).
  • It adds more complexity to our grammatical structures, which the human brain strove to create.
  • The people who use the language are gendered.

4. What are marked nouns?

  • These are nouns that take different forms, based on the subjects gender.
  • They are words that have an adjective attached to them
  • They are nouns that have been changed to be less sexist
  • They are nouns which signal position

5. What is meant by "Male-As-Norm"?

  • In many cases the norm, or standard is male, and the female term is still the subordinate one.
  • Men are not oppressed in society
  • Men are expected to do more than women.
  • Men are more likely to work than women

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar English Language resources:

See all English Language resources »See all Language and gender resources »