Language mirrors gender preference

Abstract

The following piece of research will look at certain aspects of contemporary usage of Arabic and English. The aim is to reveal prejudicial attitudes in the language use that demean women while on the other hand glorify and honor men. The paper will not only try to describe a linguistic phenomenon and its social context, but will also attempt to show how linguistic differentiation and usage reflect social structure i.e. it is a direct consequence of the structural social inequality found in the community. Data from Arabic, mainly Qatari Arabic, and English in the fields of names, insults, word ordering and titles is presented to provide evidence that sex-related bias in language usage is evident everywhere, albeit in different forms and fashions, and to different degrees.