The relationship between language and gender in feminist deconstruction theories: the case of grammatical gender

Alvanoudi, Angeliki (2008) The relationship between language and gender in feminist deconstruction theories: the case of grammatical gender. Studies in Greek Linguistics, 28. pp. 89-99.

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Abstract

The relation between language and gender has been an object of inquiry for both feminist linguistics and feminist deconstruction theories. In the present paper, I focus on the work of three feminist deconstruction philosophers, Luce Irigaray, Monique Wittig and Judith Butler, who have theorized language as a means of constructing gendered subjectivity and reproducing the patriarchal symbolic order, with a special emphasis on the role of grammatical gender. I would like to address two questions: (1) Do feminist deconstruction philosophers approach grammatical gender in a way which is compatible to linguistics? (2) How do they contribute to the understanding of the relation between language and gender and more specifically to the understanding of grammatical gender? I argue that, although feminist deconstruction theories contribute to a deeper understanding of the category of gender, they prove to be arbitrary and inadequate from a linguistic perspective.

Item ID: 28167
Item Type: Article (Non-Refereed Research)
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The Journal Studies in Greek Linguistics contains the papers of the Annual Meetings of the Department of Linguistics, School of Philology, Faculty of Philosophy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. This article is published in Greek only.

Date Deposited: 22 Jul 2014 04:25
FoR Codes: 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2004 Linguistics > 200405 Language in Culture and Society (Sociolinguistics) @ 100%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970120 Expanding Knowledge in Language, Communication and Culture @ 100%
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