Unit 11 Semantic Development of Words for Each Sex and What It Shows

1) A word once reserved for female persons in high places is generalised to refer to people of all levels in a society:

The titles of women are more likely to undergo this generalisation than the titles of men.

For instance, under the entry "lord" in Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary (CCELD), ten meanings are listed, all associated with nobility, authority and power. However, its counterpart "lady" is not so fortunate as to be reserved specially for the females of nobility.

Lord is the title used in front of the name of British earls, viscounts, marquesses, etc. In Britain, you address a man as “ My Lord” when he is a judge or bishop, or if he is an earl, viscount, marquess, etc.

The word “lord” is also used as part of the title of certain officials of very high rank in Britain. If someone “lords it over” you, they act in a way that shows that they are better than you.

A “lord” is a man who has a high rank in the British nobility. In former times, especially in medieval times, a “lord’ was a man who owned land or property and who had power and authority over other people.

The “Lords” is the House Lords; used in slightly informal British English. In the Christian church, “Lord” is used to refer to god and to Jesus Christ.

In the 19th century, George Eliot described “lady” in Silas Marner ( 1851 ) as: " She had the essential attributes of a lady--- high veracity, delicate honour in her dealings, deference to others,and refined personal habits."

Here, the connotation of " woman of refinement " can be felt Here, the connotation of " woman of refinement " can be felt. However, now, the connotations of the word "lady " are rather different from those of the word "lord" or "gentleman". As far as usage is concerned,"lady" is in many respects actually an equivalent to " man".

Shop assistants in Britain may be referred to as "sales ladies", but not "sales gentlemen", or " sales lords".

"ladies'wear " can be found for sale alongside "men's wear".

“cleaning lady ” , “cleaning man” and “cleaning woman” are good English,but not “cleaning gentleman” or “cleaning lord”

From these examples, it is evident that the term "lady" has undergone pejoration, lost its original glory and become a title for every female.

2) Some female terms reserved for female persons in high places have slipped past respectable women, and acquired obscene references:

The older use of " Madam" as a form of address showing respect still survives as in the greetings by shop assistants, hairdressers and waiters or at the beginning of official letters, however,its primary meaning has changed to " a keeper and procurer of women for men to use for sexual purposes "( Elaine Chaika,1982)

The same fate has also befallen "mistress", a title which used to be the counterpart of "Master". According to CCELD (p.926), a man's mistress is now " a woman who he has a sexual relationship with but is not married to", as is shown in the example: He keeps a mistress.

King and Queen A king is a crowned head. But queen has unfavourable meanings. The first is " male homosexual who acts like a woman". A female homosexual who acts like a man is not called a king, however. Rather, she becomes a butch, an older nickname for a tough, lower class boy.

Master/mistress These were once counterparts of each other, as shown in the children's rhyme " Mistress Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?"

The modern Mrs. was originally an abbreviation of Mistress, although today they can seldom, if ever, be interchanged.

Rare survivals of the original meaning of mistress do occur, as in : " The walls are full of pictures of famous people, all of them autographed to the mistress of the house, former movie star Shirley Temple Black".

The first meaning of mistress today is " woman kept by a man for sexual purposes." It is probably not without significance that the surviving pronunciation for the abbreviated spelling Mrs, hides the original derivation from mistress.

Governor/Governess Although governor degenerated briefly in nineteenth-century Cockney slang, the term still refers to men who “ exercise a sovereign authority in a colony, territory, or state". A governess, on the other hand, is chiefly "a nursemaid", operating in a realm much diminished from that of Queen Elizabeth I, who was acknowledged to be "the supreme majesty and governess of all persons" ( OED )

In such words the female term does not take on an immoral sexual connotation, but , instead, adding the feminine ending makes it applicable to a more trivial or low- ranking function than its male counterpart.

In the above example, the actual role denoted is different, but in some words denoting identical functions the feminine ending often carried the implications of less seriousness, as in poetess, sculptress, authoress. Apparently for this reason, many of the older-ess words are rarely used today.

Racial terms like Jewess or Negress sound archaic now Racial terms like Jewess or Negress sound archaic now. It is not without significance that in earlier times, females of he despised minority groups were designated with the -ess endings, much like females of animals species ( lioness, tigress). There was never, so far as I can tell, *Christianess, *Frenchness, *Italianess, *Caucasianess.

Uncle/Aunt Aunt was generalised first to mean “ an old woman” and then " a bawd or a prostitute". It is the latter meaning which Shakespeare draws upon in lines: " Summer songs for me and my aunts/ As we lie tumbling in the hay" ( Winter's Tale, IV,3,11-12 ).

Man / Woman “man” and “woman”are not symmetric in meaning. While “man” can be used to refer to a servant, it can also be used to refer to a person of high social status, but the word “woman” can not be used to stand for a female of high social status : Do you know that a man must be either a man or a mouse?

“man” also contains the meanings of “courage”，“endurance”，“control” “man” also contains the meanings of “courage”，“endurance”，“control”. This is especially true when it is used as a verb. Well, I must man it out. ( to bear up manfully) Only that is poetry which cleanses and mans me. (to fortify the spirit ) Happy is your soul if Christ man the house…and command all. ( to rule )

Collins English Dictionary woman”进行释义时，没有一条释义可以表明 “woman”具有“重要人物”之意。只要是“妇女”似乎就一定“缺乏勇气”，“胆小如鼠”。虽然Collins English Dictionary并没有明确指出妇女的本性是懦弱，但是这本字典对“woman”提供了如下第六条释义： “a man considered as having female characteristics, such as meekness or cowardliness.”，即“具有诸如懦弱，胆小等女性性格的男性”。从这一定义中不难看出这一蕴意。

In English， “woman” not only means“a female servant”，but also“a mistress”. “woman of the street” is a “prostitute”. Cf: She is my woman, so don’t mess with her. * She is my lady, so don’t mess with her.

3) The terms which originated from the words denoting either sex undergo pejoration when used specifically to females now:

Harlot? Often , when they began to undergo pejoration they referred only to women. Take "harlot" for example, it was originally a fellow of either sex, referring more to men than to women in Middle English.

Then, it degenerated further Then, it degenerated further. Shakespeare's harlot king (Winter's Tale II) was characterised as "lewd". However, after Elithabethan times, the word was specialised for women only, meaning first "a disreputable woman" and later " a prostitute". The word " gossip" has also experienced the same pejoration.

Originally, the old English word that lies behind "gossip"(godsibb) meant " a godfather or god mother". This usage can be found in Evelyn's Diary (1649), who once described a child's parents as " being so poor that they had provided no gossips for its christening".

Because godparent was a familiar figure to every family, it gradually took up the meaning of "well-known acquaintance" by the 14th century, with its original meaning gradually forgotten.

Later, in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1590), Shakespeare used " gossip" to refer particularly to a woman's female friends who had been invited to be present at a birth. He was also the first to use it as a verb, as in:

With all my heart, I'll gossip at this feast. ( The Comedy of Errors 1590 ) It is from this use that word has come to mean " talk idly" and specially associated itself with women.

4) The same terms change meanings when applied to each gender: Consider " tramp " for example. CCELD (p.1553) defines its meaning as " a person who has no home or permanent job and very little money" or " a woman who is thought to have sex with a lot of men."

While a person who is homeless, jobless and poor may be a female, a male tramp is generally understood as having no job or no home, however, a female tramp is often interpreted as a loose woman. A loose man is casual, but a loose woman is one who has sex with many men.

Take " Professional " for another example Take " Professional " for another example. If you say that a man is a " professional ", you suggest that he is a member of one of the respected professions. If you call a woman " a professional", the implication of her following the oldest profession is dropped.

3) a person or a company that broadcasts illegally. “pirate”： 1) a person, especially in former times, who sailed on the sea and stole from other people’s ships. 2) someone who take and use someone else’s work or property without having the right to do so. 3) a person or a company that broadcasts illegally.

2．近义词使用与性别歧视 性别歧视不只是表现在词的语义变化之中， 它也表现在词的选择和搭配之中。交际中准确选词十分重要，这是因为同一个事物或概念等在一个社会中有时会有不同的两个或两个以上的词从不同的角度去承载这些语义。各近义词之间客观上存在的细微差异可能是所指语义上的， 也可以是社会意义，情感意义等方面的。 对这些词的研究同样从一个侧面揭示出妇女在社会中的形象。

以英语的 “talk”为例， 它的相关词有 “chat”, “gossip”, “nag”, “gabble”, “prattle”, “babble”, “chatter” 等。 根据Collins English Dictionary， 它们的所指语义为： Chat: to talk in an easy familiar way gossip: to talk casually, idly and maliciously about other people nag: to scold or annoy constantly

gabble: to utter words rapidly and indistinctly prattle: to talk in a foolish or childish way babble: to talk foolishly, incessantly or irrelevantly chatter: to speak ( about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly

从以上定义不难看出， 所有这些词汇表示的都是一种无聊的，无实际性内容的闲谈，不包含任何“以学术为目的”的，或“以商业事务为目的的交谈或谈判”之意。所有这些词汇都蕴有 “not desirable” 和 “stupid” 之意。有些词， 如: “prattle”, “babble”和 “chatter”还具有 “childish”的意思；而另一些词，如：“gossip”和 “nag”还具有 “triviality” 和 “nastiness” 的意思。

那么这些词在字典中的使用情况又是怎样的呢？ 以Chambers Universal Learners’ Dictionary (1980, edited by EM Kirkputrick, Chambers Ltd. Edinburgn) 为例： Chat: They chatted about the weather. We had a chat over coffee yesterday. He says women’s chat bores him.

Gossip: I never pay attention to gossip. She dropped in for a cup of coffee and a gossip. She is a dreadful gossip. I don’t like people who gossip. She spends the whole day gossiping with her neighbors.

Nag: She nags (at) her husband about their lack of money. Gabble: She was so upset, she was just gabbling. The lady was obviously upset as she gabbled out her story to the policeman.

Prattle: She prattled on about nothing. Babble: The speaker was babbling in a language I couldn’t understand. What are you babbling about now? Chatter: The children chattered when the teacher left the room.

Chambers Universal Learners’ Dictionary   Words Chambers Universal Learners’ Dictionary 例数 阳性 阴性 中性 Chat 3 1 2 Gossip 5 Nag Gabble Prattle Babble Chatter  

英语用以专指男性闲聊的词组有两个：“shoot the breeze” 和 “chew the fat”。“shoot the breeze”的意思是“闲聊”，“为闲聊而相聚”。这是第二次世界大战用语。当时 “闲聊”往事成为军人上船后或限制留在基地时最喜爱的消遣，尤指感伤地思索或述说夸大往事。

“chew the fat” 的意思是 “闲聊”，“争论”。从语义成分分析来看，无论是 “shoot the breeze”，还是“chew the fat”，它们有着共同的语义成分： [+male, +power, +potency, +activity]， 与经常形容女性闲聊的词相比，显然这两个用以指代男性的表达法并不含有任何[+nastiness, +childishness] 或 [+bad]的言外之意。

3．语义属从关系与性别歧视

Poole (1646:21)points out： “The Masculine gender is more worthy than the Femine.”。 John Kirby (1746:117)writes in his book “ New English Grammar” ：The Masculine Person answers to the general Name, which comprehends both Male and Female;

Even now some language experts still hold that he is an unmarked term. the masculine singular pronoun of the third person; the man or male being. the person indefinitely; the one; anyone ( Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language ) the male being in question or last mentioned; anyone; that person ( the American College Dictionary )

根据 “he” 的这种无标记用法，以下四种表达均是错误的： 1.Someone telephoned me, but when I picked up the receiver, they suddenly hung it up. 2.Someone telephoned me, but when I picked up the receiver, she suddenly hung it up. 3.Someone telephoned me, but when I picked up the receiver, he or she suddenly hung it up. 4.Someone telephoned me, but when I picked up the receiver, s/he suddenly hung it up. 唯一正确的表达是： 5.Someone telephoned me ,but when I picked up the receiver, he suddenly hung it up.

Everyone is here, isn’t he? A. Everyone is here, isn’t he? Sex agreement violation B. Everyone is here, aren’t they? Number agreement violation

Wilson (1560:189)就英语的自然顺序问题发表如下议论： Some will set the Carts before the horse, as thus, My mother and my father are both at home, yet in speaking at least, let us keep a natural order and set the man before the woman for manner’s Sake.

“ladies and gentlemen” “father and mother” “boys and girls”, “men and women”, “males and females”, “he and she” “Mr. and Mrs.”， “John and Mary”

在基督教《圣经》的创世篇里，有这样几段话： And the Lord Said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field. and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

语言领域中的女权运动对阳性代词和 “man” 的无标记用法进行了抨击。 以 “man” 为例，女权主义者争辩道 “man”并不是指“整个人类”(human being)，而是指“男人的总和”，并举出如下的例子来充实他们的论点：

1）Man’s vital interests are food, shelter, and access to females. 2）Man is the only primate that commits rape. 3）? Man, unlike other mammals, has difficulties in giving birth.

1）Man’s vital interests are food, shelter, and access to females. 2）Man is the only primate that commits rape. 3）? Man, unlike other mammals, has difficulties in giving birth. 从语义的角度来分析，例1）和例2）的语义显然不包括女性，否则的话，这两个句子必然会和例3）一样显得荒唐可笑，不可接受。

因此， “man”的无标记用法是强加给语言使用者的主观规则，应予以推翻。然而传统语法作为标准英语的规范由来已久，根深蒂固。一种表达一旦被社会接受，且形成了一种惯性力量，就难以驾御，随心所欲地加以改变。阳性对阴性的包含关系也不例外。

事实上，在名词中， 不只是 “man” 被用作了无标记名词，在许多情况下，集合名词在其语用上都表现出与 “man” 同样的使用模式。它们一方面把女性包含在集合名词语义中，另一方面又会把女性排斥在集合名词所指语义之外，例如：

有时，人们会牺牲他们的妻子和孩子为代价以追求政治权力。 1） People sometimes seek their political power at the sacrifice of their wives and children.(有标记用法，只指男性。) 有时，人们会牺牲他们的妻子和孩子为代价以追求政治权力。 2） By law, Americans are not allowed to have two wives. (有标记使用，只指阳性。) 根据法律，美国人不允许有两个妻子。

3） Young people in the university should concentrate their energy on study instead of anxiously seeking girl friends. (有标记用法，只指大学的男同学。) 年轻人在大学应该把精力用在学习上，不应该把精力放在追求女朋友上。 4） Drivers are supposed to belt their wives and children for the sake of safety. (有标记使用，只指男性驾驶员。) 为了安全起见，驾驶员应该给他们的妻子和孩子系好安全带。

以上这些例句都是排它性用法。有时，这些集合名词又作为无标记词使用，既包括男性，又包括女性，例如： 5） People don’t like being ill, but women put up with it better than men.（无标记使用，泛指任何人。） 人并不喜欢生病，但是与男人相比，女人对疾病的耐受力要强。

因此，没有理由相信， “man”只指社会中“男性成员的总和”，否则，按照这一推理，英语中许多集合名词也就只能指“男性”成员。这种逻辑显然荒唐可笑。英语中，阳性与阴性名词以及集合名词在语用上表现出的包含关系上的不对称性是英语社会“男尊女卑”价值观在语言使用中沉积的结果。

女权运动对英语词汇的影响大致可以分为三个阶段。 在70年代，女权主义者把主要目标放在了改变以阳性代词或名词的无标记使用上，对词法上含有阳性成分，语义上无性别标记的词一律把阳性词尾改为中性词尾，且创造出与阳性词尾词相对应的阴性词尾词，使原来阳性结尾的词成为有标记词，专指男性。

例如: 把“spokesperson, spokespeople, humankind, chairman” 等词作为中性词取代 “spokesman, mankind, chairman” 以及“he” 的无标记使用，使这些具有明确阳性构词成分的词专门指阳性。在指阴性时，再把阳性成分改为阴性成分，如： “spokeswoman, womankind, chairwoman, congresswoman”等。

进入80年代以后，语言领域中开展女权运动的人又把注意力转向了男性和女性相对应词的研究中。他们发现许多以 “-ess”结尾的与阳性词相对应的阴性词在语义上并不与阳性词相对应，例如： “poetess, sculptress, authoress” 在语义上与 “poet, sculptor, author”相比都蕴有 “less seriousness”的意思，有许多以阴性词尾结尾的词还含有道德上和性行为方面的不贞洁之意。

为了改变语言中的这种不对应现象，在使用中人们普遍回避具有明确性别标记的词，选用一些与原来的词完全不同的，无明确性别标记的中性词去指代相关阳性和阴性的对应词，例如：

中性词 原来词汇 server waiter/waitress flight attendants stewards/stewardesses mail carrier mailman paper carrier paperman firefighter fireman police officer policeman/policewoman World History Man and His World Ordinary people the common man a farm couple the farmer and his wife presiding officer chairman/chairwoman

进入90年代以来，性别中性化的发展趋势有了新的变化。变化的主要特征之一就是具有阳性语义词的中性化，原来与阳性词相对应的阴性词逐渐为女性所冷落，且有被淘汰出词汇系统之外的危险，例如： 中性词 阴性/阳性 actor actress/actor host hostess/host hero heroine/hero comedian comedienne/comedian landlord landlady/landlord

从语言字典的编写来看，一些语言学家直接或间接地力图在英语数据的采集和编撰中废除几百年来传统语法学家在字典编写中所蕴涵的男子中心主义的思想。以阳性代词对 阴性代词的包含关系为例。在Collins English Dictionary中，对 “they”的第三条定义是：

they: not standard, refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody，例如： If anybody objects, they can go. 对“their”的第三条定义是： their: belonging to or associated in some way with an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody，例如： Everyone should bring their own lunch.

该字典的作者在 “their”的定义下加了这样一段注释： The use of their as in sense 3 is sometimes regarded as unacceptable in formal contexts, though it has existed in the language for at least five centuries, and is common in informal contexts.

由Henry Bosley Woolf主编的Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1977)给 “they” 和“their”的部分定义如下： they: often used with an indefinite third person singular antecedent their: used with an indefinite third person singular antecedent:

英国著名现代语言学家的代表Sinclair在1987年编著的Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary(CCELD)中放弃了阳性对阴性的包含关系.

he: 1）to refer to a man or a boy who has already been mentioned or named, or whose identity is known. 2）to refer to a person whose sex is not known or is not stated, esp. after pronoun such as “someone”, or “nobody” or when you have used a singular noun to refer to a particular class or group of people. Some people dislike this use.

they: 1）Refer to people, animals or things that have already been mentioned or whose identity is known. 2）Instead of “he” or “she”, to refer to a person whose sex is not known or stated, esp. after pronoun, such as “someone” or “nobody” , or when you have used a singular noun to refer generally to a particular class or group of people. Some people dislike this use.

strut: someone who struts walks in a proud way with their head held high and their chest out, as if they are very important. Stub out: when someone stubs out a cigarette or cigar, they put it out by pressing the burning end against something hard.

Stubborn: someone who is stubborn is determined to do what they want and very unwilling to change their mind. Stuff: If you stuff someone in game, you beat them easily.

What is worth noting here is that the terms for females in authority have taken on sexual meaning. However, it should not follow that there are no derogative terms for men in English society.

In reality, there are a lot such as " pimp, stud, cheat, jerk", to name only a few. But these terms are the words completely different from the ones used to indicate male's authority, dignity and nobility. what is interesting is that while the titles originally reserved for noble females have gone through the degradation in meaning, those terms for noble males have remained the same.

女权主义者对英语所表现出的憎恶情感在当时女权运动的背景下是可以理解的。但是，如果冷静地分析英语的使用情况，不难发现英语对社会中的每一个成员都是平等的。不管性别如何，英语的使用都是有褒有贬。如果只是以语言中的一些表达或使用来判断所指对象在社会中的形象显然具有一定的片面性。

如果说英语中，一些使用有损于妇女形象，那么男性在语言中所折射出来的形象也并非是女权主义们所声称的那样表现为一贯的“尊贵”、“高雅”、“具有绅士风度”。英语中也有大量的表达法折射出男性的“粗俗”、“下贱”、“卑鄙”、“庸俗”、“阴险”、“毒辣”、“酗酒”、“吸毒”、“淫秽”、“放荡”等。如果说只是以英语中某些表达法的用法来进行某种价值判断，那么男性形象并不比女性高大、崇高。他们甚至成为社会动乱的祸源, 例如：

1）与流氓行为有关： 请看以下两句例句： a) The witness said that the hooligan consisted of three people and a woman. b)？The witness said that the hooligan consisted of three people and a man. 第一个例句在语义上是可接受的，而第二个例句则不可接受。

第一个例句在语义上之所以是自然的是因为在英语社区中，“hooligan”的使用在其语义成分中更多地包含[+Male]这一语义成分。作为集合名词，尽管一个流氓团伙中可能会有女性加入其中，但是人们在使用这一单词时，习惯上仍然把[—Male]这一语义特征赋予了 “hooligan”一词。所以，第二句的例句在使用了 “hooligan”一词后，把“ man”排斥在 “hooligan”的语义特征之外，使得整个语义不自然。

“skunk”一词在Oxford English Dictionary中被定义为 “a thoroughly mean or contemptible person”,即：一个卑鄙的人。但是这本字典在所提供的三个例句中有两个明确与阳性词搭配，另一个性别不明：  

He is a skunk---a bad chap about the heart. Now, Tom, you skunk, this is the third time you’ve forgot to set on that switch. That miserable old skunk you’ve engaged to take my place

常见的具有[+Male]语义特征的词还有： scoundrel（流氓，无赖），rogue（无赖，流氓，恶棍），scamp（强盗，坏蛋，流氓），villain（恶棍，流氓，淘气鬼）, rascal（流氓），knave（狡猾而惯于欺骗的流氓），fraud（诈骗者），hypocrite（伪君子）, sneak（偷偷摸摸、鬼鬼祟祟的人），shyster（奸诈之徒），cad（下流，流氓，尤指没有君子天性的人；故意违反行为准则的人），

trickster（以各种伪装出现的骗子），swindler（诈骗者）, grafter（盗贼，骗子），black sheep（害群之马），ruffian（恶棍，暴徒），rowdy（小流氓；粗暴且好争吵的人），scalawag（下流、无耻的流氓），black-guard（说话下流粗俗的人），blackleg(骗子)，wretch（无耻之徒），wastrel（饭桶，败家子），

varlet（行为下贱的人），miscreant（道德败坏的无赖，歹徒），gambler（赌徒），bastard（杂种），fink（罢工的破坏者，告密者），bad egg（坏蛋），conman（欺诈钱财的骗子），flimflammer（靠花言巧语等欺诈手段占便宜的人），two-timer（骗子），good-for-nothing（二流子），son of a bitch（狗崽子）

2）与性行为有关: rape（强奸），rake(浪荡子；淫荡的人)，rapist（强奸犯），debaucher（诱奸妇女、道德败坏的人），rip（名声不好、性行为不洁的浪荡子），betrayer（诱奸后抛弃牺牲品的人），deceiver（骗子），ravisher（强奸犯），violator（强奸犯），defiler（亵渎、侮辱女性的人），rake（淫逸的人），dirty old man（老色鬼），

Peeping Tom（有窥视瘾癖的人。英国传说中的人物，Tom系Coventry一裁缝，因偷看Lady Godiva裸体骑马过市而双目失明），wolf常指男性。在现代英语中，可指（1）具有侵略性的男性同性恋者。（2）在性欲上具有侵略性的男性。（3）引诱和侵占他人女友或妻子的色狼。sport: 打扮入时的花花公子，沉醉于酗酒、女人、赌博、寻欢作乐的人；一个为了寻欢而挥霍钱财无度，缺乏责任心的人。old Joe:性病，尤指梅毒和淋病。

3）与动物有关： serpent: 在基督教《圣经.创记3:1-5》旧约中，撒旦曾经化作蛇引诱夏娃。“serpent”从此成了撒旦的代名词，同时也成了“嫉妒、阴险、恶毒”的象征，如： Error is a siren and a serpent. “serpent”也常指阴险、毒辣、狡猾的人,尤其是指男性，如：  Edmund, I arrest thee on capital treason; and in they arrest, this guided Serpent.

cur: 原来是个中性词，意思是 “a watch dog, or shepherd’s dog”, 该词贬义化后，指 “a surly, ill-bred, low, or cowardly man”,如： That I may drive away these curs, brought hither by an evil fate. ( Bryant Iliad I. viii.263)

worm:常指男性，表示“软弱、可鄙的人”，如： a) You are no worm, you are a man; so get up, lad, and fight… b) The worm! Maybe he thought he was doing me a favor.

swine: “下流坯；制造事端，给他人带来麻烦和痛苦而自己却无所谓的人”,常指男性： a) You are a cynical swine! b) He realized what a swine he had been!

dirty dog: 虽然可指“妓女”，但是也具有“禽兽般恶毒的人”，“社会低下的无用之辈”，常指男性：如： a) You dirty dog! You should have evicted your own mother ! b) He let her down, the dirty dog !

hound dog：美国南部山区用语，因摇滚乐歌唱家而流行，尤其是在1958年间，美国摇滚乐猫王艾维斯·普莱斯莱的一曲 “Hound Dog”而流行开来。这一短语现指“一个除‘性’以外什么也不想的人”；“色鬼；专门追求女性的人”。

bum: 流浪汉，尤指穷困潦倒、卑贱、肮脏、酗酒成性的男子。他们没有职业、生活目标、或社会地位。他们四处行骗，声名狼藉。

常见的主要用于指男性的动物还有： stool pigeon(引诱别人上圈套的人), mongrel(杂种), reptile(可怜虫；背躬屈节的人)，rat（危难时变节的小人；卑鄙的小人）, viper（毒如蛇蝎的人）, snake（卑劣的人），polecat（可鄙、可恶的人），insect（渺小、无能的人；二次大战美国海军用语，指年轻无经验的海军少尉）, louse（任何使人讨厌的人，通常指缺乏人性、仁慈、慷慨与道德的男性）

4）与酗酒有关： drunkard（醉鬼），lush（酒鬼，尤指有工作、家庭并在社会上小有地位的习惯性酒徒），boozehound（嗜酒成性的人），souse（狂饮作乐的人），tank（醉汉），toper（酗酒的人；纵情饮酒的人），souse（嗜酒成性的醉汉），hooch-hound（尤指沉迷于喝劣质自制私酒的人），rum-pot（醉鬼），rum-dum(酒徒；一个由于经常醉酒而愚蠢、懒惰、无用、迷糊的人), pub-crawler（烂醉如泥的醉汉）, wino（酒鬼，尤指喝低价酒的无业酒徒）, rounder（喝酒无度的浪荡子）  

5）以违法行为有关： crook（职业罪犯），conspirator（搞阴谋诡计的人）, racketeer（从事令人怀疑、不道德的事业；通过敲诈勒索等非法手段获取钱财的人），gangster(歹徒；匪徒)，outlaw（歹徒；亡命之徒），jailbird（囚犯或有犯罪前科记录的罪犯），desperado（胆大妄为的亡命之徒），bookie（以赌赛马为生的人）

6）与上了年纪的人有关： geezer（老家伙，通常为不知名的、年老而古怪的男人），old goat（ 上了年纪而令人讨厌的人，尤指男性自大、吝啬、寒酸、固执、冷酷无情的老人），old fool（愚蠢、笨拙的老人），coot(上了年纪的愚蠢的老家伙)，codger（脾气古怪的老家伙），fogey（守旧保守的老人），crone（干瘪的丑老太婆）

7）与青少年有关： squirt（个头矮，且行为浮华、放肆、卑贱的年轻人），young punk（低级的流氓，尤指年轻的小流氓或年轻的罪犯），wench(原意是乡村的小女孩，贬义化后意为妓女。在现代英语中，现在又有褒义化趋向，可指任何女孩，尤指那些动人活泼的女孩，在年轻人中被广泛使用。)，

cookie pusher（一个不努力而想通过巴结奉承上司被提拔的人；马屁精），gamin(顽童；游荡街头、流气十足的孩子)，titty-boo（野性十足的少女；问题少女，通常指所犯罪为吸毒、性行为不贞洁等非职业性、非暴力性一类的犯罪行为），hep cat（花花公子；追求女人、放荡生活的年轻人）

8）与农民有关： yokel（乡巴佬）, hick（乡下人；住在乡下或小集镇上的土头土脑的人；四肢发达、头脑简单、不懂人情世故的农民），rube（一个愚蠢的农夫；乡巴佬），bumpkin（土包子；乡巴佬），clod（笨拙的乡下佬），villain(原意是农夫，现在主要指守财奴；粗暴的人)，boor（原意是农夫，现在主要指粗鲁、无礼、笨拙的人），churl(原来指农夫，现在指没有教养的人)，clown(原来的意思是农民，贬义化后指小丑)，redneck（乡下人；穷困的南方白种农人；令人讨厌的嬉皮士）

9) 与劳动者有关： flunky(贬:穿号衣的男仆)，hack(贬:惟命是从的工作人员)，drudge(贬:做苦工、服贱役的人)  

10）与医生有关： quack（冒牌医生；江湖骗子），croaker（黑社会、吸毒者等对医生的贬称），pill pusher（旨在推销药物的医生），butcher（技术水平低劣的外科医生），chalatan（江湖医生；一个装腔作势、冒充有医疗水平的人），mountebank (走江湖、卖假药的江湖医生)

11）与律师有关： shyster（不择手段的律师），ambulance chaser（怂恿事故受伤者进行起诉的律师）  

12）与警察有关： beat（对警察的贬称，由“打人”一词使人联想起警察的野蛮粗暴的形象），pounder（对巡警的贬称），cop（警察，源于警察制服上一度所使用的铜扣，后通过借代手段用来指警察，含有对法律的鄙视，对警察的贬损之意），

copper（由 “Copper button”缩略而来，主要在下层社会中使用，有对警察贬损之意），the bull（警察，任何种类的执法官员；原为游民和黑社会用语；该词的意思与西班牙语“bul”有关。在西班牙语中，“bul”的意思是“policeman”。同时英语中“bull”的意思“公牛”因其身体庞大而凶猛而强化了这一语义。）

13)与从事政治的人有关： agitator（从事政治上的煽动者），demagogue（蛊惑民心的政客），timeserver（随波逐流、没有主见的政客），political panderer（政治流氓），poser（在政治上装腔作势，故作姿态的人），rabble rouser（蛊惑民心的政客），

baby-kisser（政治家；政客；政治家门在竞选时常装出友善的姿态与成年人握手并亲吻他们的孩子，以争取选票。语义由此而来），arm-waver（一个自以为是，以爱国自居的从事政治煽动的人，shyster(政治上的奸诈之徒)，hooligan（政治恶棍；作为政治等特殊势力的代表企图压倒其他人的合法和人道权利的人）

以上英语使用情况向人们展示英语中存在着大量诋毁男性高贵声誉的词。如果说英语在使用上表现出性别歧视现象的话，那么男性在英语使用中同样受到了歧视。

一些女权主义者把英语看成是一种性别歧视语言。她们收集了一些英语的用法，并由此得出英语是性别歧视语言。这些女权主义者忽视了语言与语言使用的区别。语言作为一种体系是社会约定俗成，为语言社区所共有。正如语言没有阶级性一样，语言作为一种体系也不可能在性别上存在歧视性的差异。但是这种系统的使用确实可以在一定的程度上反映出语言使用者的主观态度。因此，有必要把语言与语言使用区分开来。

男性在人类社会中，凭着自身健壮有力的身体征服了女性。为了确保自己在社会中的统治地位，他们把许多贬义成分赋予阴性词以显示男性的至高无上。这似乎已成了人类社会的共识。汉语语言中，大量具有贬义色彩的词都是以“女”为偏旁，如“怒”，“奴”，“奸”，“妓”，“嫉妒”，“妖”，“嫖”，“婪”，“嫩”，“娇”，“娼”等。

在英语社会中，男性用来指女性的词的各种消极性语义也正说明了男性对女性消极的价值判断，即把女性首先作为性宣泄的对象。这种价值判断通过语言使用被物化于词义之中。在父权制的社会中，男性有这种力量。他们在社会价值观念的形成中起着主导作用。他们甚至能够突破社会被禁忌的诸如“性”的那些范畴，并把对社会禁忌范畴的突破看成是男性力量的象征之一。如果女性违反了禁忌的范畴，便被认为是违反了道德观念，就会遭到包括女性在内的全社会的唾弃，甚至因此受到监禁，直至判处死刑。

当Nathaniel Hawthorne于1864年去世后，他的妻子Sophia Peabody对Hawthorne作品仔细地进行了审阅，删除了Hawthorne作品中所有在当时被禁忌的 “leg” 一词，用“limb”取而代之。在Hawthorne所处的时代，钢琴和椅子的腿都不能裸露，何况人的腿呢？

有趣的是Hawthorne 在自己的作品中突破了这种社会禁忌。他的妻子对丈夫的这种突破禁忌范畴的作法只是保持沉默或者说是一种无奈，直到丈夫去世后才采取了一些她认为是得体的行动。这个事实至少展示了两个基本事实：一是男人突破禁忌的力量，二是女人对禁忌范畴的敏感性。

男性对禁忌范畴突破的力量使得他们能够把“性”语义注入到诸如“queen”, “miss”, “madam”, “woman”, “girl”, “mother”, “lady”等阴性词之中，并在他们规定的意义上使用这些词。女性则不同。特定的社会价值观使她们至少不能向男性那样谈论性行为，或者向男性那样把“性”含义注入诸如 “gentleman”, “mister”, “master”, “governor”, “king”, “father”之中。

当我们用一个词去指一个客观事物时，人们也可以只是把这个词的某一部分特征赋予了所指对象，而不是这个词所指语义的总和。语境的存在使得交际双方能够在一个词的不同的语义之间进行正确的选择。以英语中 “mother”为例：

mother   母亲 母兽 根源 女隐修道院院长 大娘 女祖先 大家伙 妓女

当我们把 “mother”这一符号赋予某个所指对象时，并不是说某人只是一位母亲，也不是说我们把“母亲”、“母兽”、“根源”、“女隐修道院院长”、“大娘” 、“女祖先”、“大家伙”、“妓女”等内容同时赋予了被称之为 “mother”的所指对象。在特定的语境中，我们只是把这一符号下的某个或某些特征赋予了所指对象。

这种现象不仅发生在一个符号的所指语义上，而且也发生在语言外围的，与个人经验有关的，具有主观色彩的内涵语义上。以 “woman”为例：

有母性 善于烹调 文静 富有同情心 woman 缺乏理性 (妇女) 胆怯 心胸狭窄 爱唠叨

当一个人把一个对象称为 “woman”时，并不会把 “woman”所有的内涵语义都赋予给这一对象。说话人选择什么样的内涵语义与说话人的个人经历密切相关。从词义的发展来看，任何词都可能有一个中心语义，并且围绕这个中心语义衍射出一系列的次要语义。这些次要语义与中心语义存在千丝万屡的联系，但是由中心语义衍射出来的各次要语义之间的关系既相互联系，又相对独立。这就使得在同一个词下产生具有不同褒贬词义的次要语义成为可能。