LANGUAGE OF GENDER AND SEXISM IN BESSIE HEAD’S A QUESTION OF POWER AND TSITSI DANGAREMBGA’S NERVOUS CONDITIONS

LANGUAGE OF GENDER AND SEXISM IN BESSIE HEAD’S A QUESTION OF POWER AND TSITSI DANGAREMBGA’S NERVOUS CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT

Linguistic sexism is a wide range of verbal and academic practices which includes not only how women or men are labeled and referred to but also how language strategies in mixed sex interactions are explored by authors in their prose fictions to generate and depreciate the conventional and polite use of language. From this purview, it is unarguable that language does not just reflect the reality of the society but also strengthens and maintains social existence given such a view, language does mirror the gendered perspectives and can also impact and contribute to changing perception of gender over time. It has also been proven that language helps to shape our view of the society; organize our knowledge and also helps us to learn new things and assimilate the norms and social patterns of our community. Certain sweeping statement depicting the relationship between language and gender brings to mind two great issues:  the representation of gender in language and the controversial characteristic of men and women. This research work has in prominence the identification and interpretation of possible linguistic features in gender and sexism in African prose narratives using Noam Fairclough’s Model of Critical Discourse Analysis and Lakoff Rosemary’s Model of Deficit and Dominance Theory.

LANGUAGE OF GENDER AND SEXISM IN BESSIE HEAD’S A QUESTION OF POWER AND TSITSI DANGAREMBGA’S NERVOUS CONDITIONS