A critical discourse analysis on gender-biased language in the guardian.com = Phân tích diễn ngôn phê phán về ngôn ngữ có sự kỳ thị về giới trên tờ báo The Guardian.com. M.A. Thesis Linguistics: 82202

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ KIM THOA A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ON GENDER-BIASED L

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ KIM THOA

A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ON GENDER-BIASED LANGUAGE

IN THE GUARDIAN.COM

PHÂN TÍCH DIỄN NGÔN PHÊ PHÁN VỀ NGÔN NGỮ CÓ SỰ KỲ THỊ VỀ GIỚI

TRÊN TỜ BÁO THE GUARDIAN.COM

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201.01

HANOI – 2017

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ KIM THOA

A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ON GENDER-BIASED LANGUAGE

IN THE GUARDIAN.COM

PHÂN TÍCH DIỄN NGÔN PHÊ PHÁN VỀ NGÔN NGỮ CÓ SỰ KỲ THỊ VỀ

GIỚI TRÊN TỜ BÁO THE GUARDIAN.COM

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201.01 Supervisor: Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn

HANOI - 2017

Hanoi – 2017

Nguyễn Thị Kim Thoa

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the period of completing the Master thesis, the author has received the support

of a great number of people

First and foremost, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Dr Huynh Anh Tuan, my supervisor, who has generously given me insightful guidance and valuable feedback during the process of carrying out the thesis, without which this thesis would be far from completed

I would also like to give my sincere gratitude to all of the lecturers at ULIS –VNU, Hanoi for their scholarly knowledge and enthusiasm in their lectures

My profound thanks are also to all my friends and classmates in the cohort 23, who have always stayed by my side, given me constructive comments and perked me up every time I need

Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks go to my family for their immeasurable support and continual encouragement

The Master thesis could not have been fulfilled without them

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ABSTRACT

The study examines gender-biased language in the Olympic Games 2012 in theguardian.com From the perspective of critical discourse analysis, the article explores how the news coverage of male and female athletes of the Olympic Games

2012 consistently perpetuates an ideology of gender inequality in language

The research approach is critical discourse analysis and the research method is qualitative method Fairclough‟s (2001) three-dimensional model was selected and adopted as the model of analysis Specifically, the sports news from theguardian.com

of the Olympic Games 2012 were explored through two linguistic levels: morphemes and words & phrases At morphemes level, -man element and personal titles were investigated; whereas, at words & phrases level, gender-marked modifiers, gender- marking, overestimation and underestimation of Olympians were examined

The analysis reveals that the existence of gender inequality was embedded in sports news at both morphemes and lexemes level There exist certain differences between the demonstration of male and female athletes While male Olympians are portrayed in terms which identify athletic achievement with masculinity, female Olympians are depicted as less competent than male Olympians

This study contributes to knowledge in the field of language and gender, especially language use in the online newspaper and can be followed up by similar studies in other topics such as politics, fashion, business and advertisement

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 3

1 Rationale of the research 3

2 Scope of the research 3

3 Aims and objectives of the research 4

4 Research questions 4

5 Significance of the research 4

6 Research methodology 4

7 Organization of the research 5

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 6

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1.1 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) 6

1.1.1 Definition 6

1.1.2 Fairclough‟s three-dimensional framework 6

1.2 Language and gender 7

1.3 Sexism 7

1.4 Linguistics markers of gender bias 8

1.4.1 Morphemes 8

1.4.1.1 -man element 8

1.4.1.2 Personal titles 8

1.4.2 Words and phrases 9

1.4.2.1 Gender-marked modifiers 9

1.4.2.2 Gender marking 10

1.4.2.3 Underestimation and overestimation 11

1.4.2.3.1 Underestimation 11

1.4.2.3.2 Overestimation 11

1.5 Related studies 11

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 13

2.1 Research questions 13

2.2 Research approach 13

2.3 Research method 13

2.4 Setting of the research 14

2.5 Data collection 14

2.6 Data collection procedure 14

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2.7 Data analytical framework 14

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 16

3.1 Morphemes 16

3.1.1 –man elements 16

3.1.1.1 Sportsman/ sportsperson 16

3.1.1.2 Sportsmanship / sportspersonship 17

3.1.2 Personal titles 18

3.2 Words and phrases 18

3.2.1 Gender-marked modifiers 19

3.2.2 Gender marking 20

3.2.3 Underestimation and overestimation 20

3.2.3.1 Underestimation 20

3.2.3.1.1 Emphasizing the appearance of female Olympians 20

3.2.3.1.2 Suspecting the great female Olympians‟ potential and outstanding performance 21

3.2.3.2 Overestimation 22

PART C: CONCLUSION 23

1 A summary of findings 23

2 Limitation and recommendation for further studies 24

REFERENCES 25

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PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the research

On elucidating language used in newspapers, it came to the researcher‟s notice that sports commentaries on both male and female sportspeople could be a representative source of gender inequality which has been existing in a field which used to be dominated by men First of all, regarding the relationship between sports and newspapers, like every other subject in the modern society, sports and newspaper are linked directly as newspapers spread updated news/ reports/ commentaries about sports

to interested readers During the spotlight of mass media, sports have changed dramatically It is important to study how the media represent male athletes, female athletes and sporting events because the media help shape society‟s beliefs about them (Duncan, Jensen, & Messner, 1993) The topic as to how gender inequality is presented

in sports news is still a persistent problem It is because gender is more than a role assigned or assumed to men and women, and more than an individual characteristic of males and females Gender identity is a social construct that is formed as individuals go through socialization process in their society and culture

There were a number of studies on gendered language, however, few attempts have so far been made in analyzing language and gender in online newspaper related to sports Therefore, this study attempts to explore how gender are represented on sports in London Olympic Games 2012 in the light of critical discourse analysis (CDA)

2 Scope of the research

In this study, I would give spotlight on investigating gender-biased language on the

online news of The guardian in the Olympic Games 2012 from July 27, 2012 to

August 12, 2012 Gender-biased language in sports news can be examined in different units of meaning of linguistic expressions ranging from morphemes, lexemes and sentences Due to the constraint of time and the limited length of a minor thesis, this

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paper focuses on two main aspects that may show evidence of gender-biased language which are morphemes and words & phrases

3 Aims and objectives of the research

The study primarily aims to identify whether there exists gender biased language in The Guardian newspaper on reporting male and female athletes participating in the Olympic Games 2012

To achieve this aim, the study sought to achieve the following objectives:

- to identify how genders are linguistically represented by the media

- to investigate whether these representations construct gender inequality

5 Significance of the research

This study is expected to provide both theoretical and practical significance In terms

of theatrical benefit, the findings of this study are expected to enrich the knowledge about critical discourse analysis In terms of practical benefits, this study is intended to identify whether or not gender-biased language exists in an English newspaper Raising awareness of, minimizing and generally eliminating gender-biased language for a more equal community are the reasons of conducting the paper

6 Research methodology

In terms of research method, the study employs qualitative method to arrive at a thorough analysis of the data collected

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Data collected are synthesized and analyzed using the framework of CDA CDA will

be applied as an approach in the process of text analysis to uncover hidden ideologies regarding the use of language to express gender equality Three phases of CDA given

by Fairclough (2001), which will be presented in the paper, are used as the framework

in analyzing the language in the news

This study exploits data from news reports in English on The Guardian online newspaper All the news reports in the study are selected during the time period from July 27, 2012 to August 12, 2012

7 Organization of the research

The study consists of three parts

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an evolution from the Critical Linguistics developed in the 1970s by a group of linguists at the University of East Anglia including Fowler et al (1979) and Kress and Hodge (1979)

1.1.1 Definition

CDA is a type of analytical research that involves the analysis of how text and talk in political and social context enact, reproduce and resist inequality, social power abuse and dominance (Van Dijk, 2003) According to Van Dijk (2003), CDA does not have a unitary theoretical framework, but has more of shared perspectives encompassing a range of approaches rather than a step-by-step process Fiske (1994) has claimed that

“our words are never neutral” because they convey how we see ourselves, specifically, our identity, knowledge, values and beliefs

1.1.2 Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework

Fairclough (1989) claimed that discourse constitutes three dimensions which he labeled

as texts, interactions (process of production, process of interpretation), and contexts (social conditions of production, social conditions of interpretation) Corresponding to the three dimensions of discourse, Fairclough (1989) distinguishes three phases of conducting CDA, namely description, interpretation, and explanation of the text

Stage 1: Description

Description is the stage which is concerned with formal properties of the text In other words, the description focuses on three aspects: vocabulary, grammar and textual structure (Fairclough, 2001)

Stage 2: Interpretation

This stage deals with the relationship between text and interaction At this stage, text can be seen as a resource in the interpretation process The features of text and context

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(situational and intertextual context) serve as cues for being interpreted on the basis of

a background of common-sense assumptions (Member Resources - MR)

Stage 3: Explanation

The explanation stage involves the relationship between social context and the social determination of the processes of production and interpretation of their social effect These social determinations and effects are mediated by MR: that is social structures shape MR while MR in turn shapes discourses; and discourses sustain or change MR, which in turn sustains or changes structures At this stage, usually the underlying ideological perspectives are exposed

1.2 Language and gender

Since the 1960s, the sociolinguistics have explored the relationship between language and gender The relationship between language and gender is presented through three

books: Male/Female Language (Key, 1975), Language and Woman’s Place (Lakoff, 1975) and Difference and Dominance (1975) These very first studies have focused on

distinguishing different aspects of sex and gender Sex has to with biological differences between men and women, whereas gender is culturally constructed, and its attributes can change depending on time and society (Lowe-Morne, 2002) For instance, childbearing and breastfeeding pertains to sex because they are permanent roles of women, while tree-cutting or cooking belongs to gender Lowe-Morne emphasizes that gender is not synonymous to women/men as many people are made to believe

1.3 Sexism

Sexism refers to usage of language to treat men or women, especially women, unfairly

on the basis of their sex In other words, “sexism” refers to the existence of certain elements in a language that help expressing bias in favor of one sex on the other Kramarae and Treichler (1985) pointed out that sexism is defined as a social relationship in which males have authority and power over females

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Gender-biased language (or sexist language) is the language that treats a certain gender more favorably over another In most cases in English, the bias is in favor of men rather than women Similarly, Cameron (1985, p.72) defines sexist language as language that contains a lexicon and a grammatical structure that excludes insults or trivializes women Gender-biased language is part of discriminatory language

1.4 Linguistics markers of gender bias

Gender bias is represented by different linguistic levels The levels of morphemes and words & phrases which are the focus of the study are defined to lead the subsequent process of data collection

1.4.1 Morphemes

Anything meaningful in language is a linguistic expression Linguistic expression may

be of various length There are three units of meaning: morphemes (which may be less than a word), lexemes (words and idioms) and sentences A lexeme may consist of one

or more meaningful unit, called morphemes

1.4.1.1 -man element

Words that contains -man element are commonly used in English texts This study is preoccupied with function of “-man” words Traditionally, some occupational titles have been explicitly marked for the dominated group of males Therefore, the job titles often end with -man and seem to be male-dominated occupations According to Doyle (1998), occupational titles ending with -man have traditionally been considered as generic term addressing to a male or a female

1.4.1.2 Personal titles

The title of a person is placed in front of a person‟s name and it indicates the marital status The personal titles that are of interest for this study are Mr., Mrs., Miss and Ms Naugon (2002) claimed that Mr denotes that the subject is male, it makes him keep his original identity allotted him at birth, without revealing to the public his marital status

As confirmed by Infante (2001), Mrs identifies a woman in relation to a male The

The personal title dilemma seems to favour men more than it does women and can be avoid by using neutral personal titles

1.4.2 Words and phrases

In linguistics, a word is the smallest element that can be uttered in isolation with objective or practical meaning Words can be put together to build larger elements of language, such as phrases In other words, phrases are a small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit, typically forming a component of a clause

At the words and phrases level, we analyze the date basing on gender-marked modifiers, gender marking and overestimation & underestimation In sports news, underestimation of women and overestimation of men can be exposed through the use

of words and phrases The sportswriters often direct negative demonstration to women and positive demonstrations to men through patterns of exploiting words and expression These negative demonstrations can be the underestimation to female athletes or women‟s sports, meanwhile, men‟s sports and males‟ peers receive sportswriter‟s favor which is hardly granted to even great women

1.4.2.1 Gender-marked modifiers

Gender inequality are mostly seen in occupation words The use of these modifiers suggests that the occupation in question is solely for men or women and a woman or

believed that people are surprised when the athlete is a woman or the nurse who check you in the hospital is a man The focus on these opposing sexisms has been on discrimination against women rather than men

1.4.2.2 Gender marking

Gender discrimination can be easily found at many aspects of culture at different levels In sport, female athletes have been unfortunate recipients of most gender bias The term “gender marking” was first used by Gill (2000), which refers to the use of Women‟s Final Four in NCAA Division I basketball as in comparison with the Men‟s Division I Tournament, which is simply called the Final Four Similarly, the NBA refers to National Basketball Association) for the male athlete while the female‟s is called WNBA (Women‟s National Basketball Association)

The female athletes are trivialized through the asymmetrical gender marking whereby the male is described as an unmarked category and the female as a marked one While men‟s sports events are defined as simply athletic events, women are marked and identified as “women‟s” athletic events In other words, men are considered as the norm, the universal while the women are identified as “other” As Messner, Duncan, and Jensen (1993, p.127) note, gender marking women‟s athletics renders the women‟s game as “the other, derivative, and by implication, inferior to the men‟s.”

under-1.4.2.3.2 Overestimation

While sportswriters usually direct the underestimation to women athletes, men peers often receive sportswriters‟ favour like overestimation which is hardly granted to even great women Overestimation of men often focuses on men‟s brilliant talent

The evidences of overestimation over male athletes in sports news could be found out

in the Ngo and Tran‟s study (2014) The sportswriter James Richardson complimented

Gareth Bale – a football player by flying lexemes such as “Prince of Wales” and

“prince of goals” It can be interpreted as the symbol of nobility because in European countries, “prince” means nobleman It implied that Gareth Bale was really the symbol

of Wales and the representative of Wales as well Obviously, the sportswriter

overestimate to the footballer Gareth Bale Whereas, the fly words such as princess, princess of goals have not yet been used for the women His review significantly

influences on the reader‟s mind

1.5 Related studies

Messer (1988) and Rowe and Brown (1994) have elaborated on the idea that the sports realm remains a site where gender inequality is accepted as a norm From an early age men and women are socialized differently To be specific, while men are taught to watch or play sports, women are taught that sporting activities are only for men The media highlights masculinity by showing the physical appearance of an athlete, the pose of an athlete, with the written text which accompanies a photograph Whisenant,