A subtle distinction in the way women are singled outby the language is evident in the way

A subtle distinction in the way women are singled out

by the language is evident in the way that the same personality 【M1】______

trait is characterized approvingly for one sex and denigrated

for the other. However, if a man is aggressive, he is considered 【M2】______

a go-getter, a serf-starter, while a woman is considered pushy

or a castrating bitch. If a woman consistently agrees to her 【M3】______

boss, she will be thought bright, a man will be called a yes-man 【M4】______

or an ass-licker.

Many of these discrepancies involve in words that deal directly 【M5】______

or indirectly in women's sexuality. In fact, one linguist has 【M6】______

even made the case "lady" is used as a euphemism for 【M7】______

"woman," in that "woman'' implies at sexuality, while "lady" 【M8】______

is desexed. Certainly, "woman" is a word that can imply the

presence not only of sex, but also of power, which "lady" cannot.

A lady doctor or Ladies' Lib would simply be incongruous.

Although women are used harshly by language, they are not in

their own turn allowed to using harsh language. Women' s language 【M9】______

in English, at least according to stereotype, does not contain

swear words. Robin Lakoff distinguished another character 【M10】______

of women's speech, the tag-form. sentence: a statement of fact

undercut by a final question. "We are going tomorrow, aren't we？"

"This is a terrific play, isn't it？" Even when a woman is assertive,

she often shows token of apparent passivity, as ff all her assertions

were only tentative.

【M1】