published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

M.A. (Afrikaans) / Language sexism and stereotyping in Afrikaans teaching material perpetuate an image of Afrikaans reality which is not in keeping with the modern spirit of the times. Excessive language sexism can result in the second or foreign language learner forming an unfavourable image of the speakers of the language. It can also have teaching implications, of which a negative attitude and lack of motivation are the most important. It is the aim of this study to determine to which degree language sexism and sexist stereotyping occur in Afrikaans teaching material. The method of research followed when analysing several Afrikaans courses for adult foreign language learners is a qualitative-interpretative one. The subjectivity of such method is minimised by the quantitative support of the triangulation process followed in determining the occurrence of the male pronoun "he" in Afrikaans...

Submitted to the Faculty ofArts in fulfillrnent ofthe Master ofArts degree in the Department of General Linguistics at the University of Zululand, 2004. / The main purpose of the research carried out for this study was to look at the status of women and language use especially in isiZulu language. The dissertation examines the way women are treated in Zulu families, in societies and in the workplace. The dissertation also examines how female learners are differentiated from male learners in terms of their intellectual capacity and responsibility. The data collected in this study shows the unequal treatment given to female managers by society compared to that of male managers. It also shows restrictions and regulations faced by married women in a patriarchal society in terms of their movements, how they should dress, behave and use the language. Another interesting finding of this study is that ironically speaking, women have control over men because even though women are considered as having the inferior status than men, in a Zulu family, a man cannot take decisions without the approval from his wife. For example, if Mr Mkhize asks Mr Zulu to sell him a cow, even if Mr Zulu likes the idea, he would not just agree. Instead, Mr Zulu will lie to Mr Mkhize and say he is still going to think about what he is asking. But in reality, he will be creating time to discuss the matter with his wife. Mr Zulu's response will entirely depend on whether the wife agreed or not The findings of this study suggests that in most societies women are still not viewed as good enough to hold high positions and still viewed as misfits particularly in rural areas. It is up to women to prove their worth to the world by behaving and speaking accordingly.

Superiority, control, and dominance theories of disparaging humor were reviewed, and sexist humor was studied as representative of the field. The effects of educational level and sex of subject on the judgment of humor in sexist material were investigated, utilizing a set of 50 cartoons and jokes devised to approximate overlapping standard curves on the dimensions sexist content and humor. Subjects were 71 males and 73 females, comprising 84 undergraduates and 60 doctoral graduate students. Each subject performed a forced Q sort of the jokes, with 104 rating for humor and 40 rating for sexism to establish content weights. Subjects' rankings, age, sex, and educational level were recorded upon completion of the task. Significant negative correlations were found between educational level and judgment of humor in sexist material, and female subjects judged sexist material to be significantly less funny than males. Some support was indicated for existing theories.

A randomly-selected sample of 31,115 words taken from the eight original plays of Lillian Hellman was analyzed on the basis of female and male dialogue. Lexical classes--verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns--were examined by studying terms described by other researchers, especially Mary P. Hiatt, as belonging to generally "feminine" or "masculine" categories. In these classes, differences were statistically significant based on gender in two areas.Adjective figures that took into account type 1) of adjective, 2) of referent, and 3) of speaker showed statistical significance. This was true only for the "feminine" adjectives, especially as used by female speakers for female referents. Pronouns were distributed through the plays and used by the genders of speakers at significant levels of difference. A connection was evidenced between each gender of speaker and the gender of pronouns used, a strong relationship that also showed significance by play.Areas of syntax studied were emphasis, communication unit length, and clause structure. Markings of emphasis were significant by gender, female characters having both more instances and more marked words. Length evidenced no difference, likely because of requirements of the dramatic setting. The study of clause structure showed that female characters were given more whole sentences and more coordination at significant levels.Each area studied was analyzed for statistical significance. Hiatt's results were also statisticaly calculated and reported. Significance was based on chi-square calculations, at a level of p < .05 for rejecting null hypotheses. In addition to an axis based on gender, figures were also computed for specific plays.Applying the categories to individual plays and characters showed Hellman"s use of these strategies to define personality. For instance, with adjectives and emphasis, types more often given to female characters were also given in comparatively large number to themen in the Hubbard plays (The Little Foxes, and Another Part of the Forest), thereby marking them as unusual and adding to their characterization. / Department of English

Univ., Diss.--Kiel, 2000. / Literaturverz. S. [210] - 224.

The purpose of this study has been to analyze the language of the popular lyrics of the seventies to determine if sexism is used to communicate in various musical genres. Three manifestations of sexist language developed by the Sexism in Textbooks Committee of Women at Scott, Foresman have been used in this study. The lyrics analyzed include 100 lyrics selected from songwriter-singers noted as articulate musical artists of the seventies, 90 songs reaching the "Top Ten" charts (1970-1978), and the top 100 songs of 1978. Chapter I defines sexism and explains three manifestations of sexist language. Chapter II includes examples from seven talented lyricists which illustrate sexism. Chapter III presents an evaluation of sexism in the "Top Ten" lyrics (1970-1978). Chapter IV reveals changes in stereotypic language appearing in the 1978 top 100 lyrics. Chapter V offers summaries and reasons for the findings.

In reconstructing the meaning of prehistoric artifacts, the art historian's task is particularly difficult. Scholars dealing with this period of time have to build their arguments on scarce archeological data, often unaided by written documents. Due to this lack of information, prehistoric female figurines are the subject of innacurate iconographic interpretations. In the case of the Mesoamerican Preclassic, the missing data is supplemented by subjective perceptions about people who do not belong to the scholar's own sex or ethnic background. The resulting misinterpretations fill the interstices between the information available and the historical facts. The traditional view that considers these figurines nothing more than beautiful women stop any further inquiries into the subject. Sometimes, the scholar's own fantasies substitute for logical arguments. Scholars writing on Mesoamerican iconography must be careful not to follow many of their predecessors to avoid confusing their colleagues, students and the general public.

The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between media, language and gender stereotypes. It assumes that language usage in mass media creates and reproduces gender inequalities. Its main objectives are firstly, to randomly select terms for Zulu women from the chosen TV case study, Kwakhalanyonini. Secondly, selected terms will be analyzed, using the 'transvaluative analysis technique', in order to explain their meaning and hierarchy. This having been done, an attempt will be made to show how the usage of these terms reflect gender stereotypes, by locating women into subordinate positions. A question may well be asked; why Zulu language? I am a native Zulu speaker, with Zulu speaking parents. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bonn, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-173).