GRAMMAR AND GENDER

by Dennis Baron ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1986

A scholarly survey of sexual bias in the English language and of past and present attempts to correct it. Baron cites numerous examples of pseudo-scholarly attempts to debase words referring to the female of the species and to enhance words that define males. In the 17th century, for instance, linguists began tracing the word ""girl"" to such distinctly pejorative roots as garrula (Latin for talkative), girella (Italian for weathercock), or guarr (old Norse for a clumsy, stupid person). These male scholars were unaware that until the late 16th century, ""girl"" had applied to children of both sexes. This is just one of the ways, says Baron, that men have used language to assert their own superiority and downgrade women. Another is the oft-repeated theory that women speak a different language, which was usually characterized as being hyperbolic, emotional, or too passive. ""Masculine"" language was considered superior in that it was regarded as being monosyllabic, direct and unemotional. The changing status of women, however, has confounded the English tongue, and Baron has unearthed numerous linguistic contortions that attempt to reflect these changes. In the 19th century, for instance, some colleges granted Maids of Arts or Vestals of Philosophy degrees to their women graduates. More recently, such words as doctress, aviatrix, farmerette, authoress and so on have proliferated; so has a vogue for gender negatives such as chairperson, salesperson, etc. The problem of substituting ""person"" for ""man"" in compound words is a thorny one because ""man"" means both the entire human race and the male of the species. Few, as Baron points out, have suggested replacing ""manhole"" or ""manhandle"" with ""peoplehole"" or ""peoplehandle."" Other linguistic dilemmas discussed here include the lack of a single word for ""he or she"" or ""his or her,"" and the perpetual problem of whether to address women as Miss, Mrs. or Ms. A professor of English at the University of Illinois, Baron treats his subject with scholarly gravity. But his material is intrinsically so humorous it cries for a light touch. This, Baron does not have.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986

ISBN: 0300038836

Page Count: -

Publisher: Yale Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION