The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of linguistic sexism in Afrikaans and
its evolution over seven decades, reflecting possible societal changes. More specifically, the
inquiry sought to investigate the presence of sexism in Afrikaans women’s magazines from
1948 to 2020.
To achieve this, a corpus was constructed using 57 editions of the Afrikaans women’s
magazine, rooi rose. The data was then analysed by means of the #LancsBox corpus software
tool.
Situated within the domain of language and gender, the study delved into the intricate
interplay between linguistic and societal norms. We accept that there is a symbiotic and
reciprocal relationship between language and the way humans experience the external world.
This also applies to the relationship between a (specific) language and the way in which the
concept of gender is embodied by speakers of the language. In particular, linguistic sexism,
a subfield of the language and gender field, can be seen as the lens through which possible
discrimination against women can be made visible.
Linguistic sexism manifests inter alia through lexical items of the following types: forms
of address and titles; gendered nouns like skryfster (“female author”) and sekretaresse (“female
secretary”); the generic he and the frequency of co-occurrence of the pronouns hy (“he”),
hom (“him”) and sy (“his”) with gender-neutral nouns like baba (“baby”), kind (“child”)
and mens (“humankind”, “man”).
The findings from the rooi rose corpus paint a nuanced picture. While the prevalence of
mevrou outweighs that of mejuffrou, suggesting a lingering gender bias, the diminishing gap
between their usage indicates a gradual shift. However, traditions like beauty competitions
perpetuate linguistic sexism, with titles like Mejuffrou Persoonlikheid (“Miss Personality”)
and Mejuffrou Glimlag (“Miss Smile”) reinforcing traditional gender norms. Me, the Afrikaans
equivalent of “Ms”, appears so infrequently in the corpus that its frequency is negligible.
The analysis of professional and personal names reveals a changing landscape, with
certain terms evolving into gender-neutral descriptors, albeit with remnants of gender
stereotypes persisting in certain contexts.
The generic use of masculine pronouns (“hy”, “hom”, “sy”) when referring to gender neutral
nouns underscores linguistic bias. GraphColl (a function of #LancsBox) was used to
ascertain how many times hy (“he”), hom (“him”) and the possessive pronoun sy (“his”)
refer to mens (“person”), kind (“child” and baba (“baby”) where the gender of these words
is uncertain.
An example of such occurrences is the following: Wie kan werklik begryp wat die kind dink en voel en glo daar waar hy in sy eie betowerde
wêreldjie verlore raak? (“Who can really understand what the child thinks and
feels and believes where he gets lost in his own enchanted little world?”)
References to baba (“baby”), kind (“child”) and mens (“person”) in most cases show a clear
preference for the male personal or possessive pronouns.
To conclude, while the linguistic landscape of Afrikaans women in rooi rose demonstrates
strides towards inclusivity, traces of entrenched linguistic biases endure, illustrating the
complex interplay between language and societal norms.
Hierdie artikel ondersoek die taallandskap van die Afrikaanse vrou soos wat dit te sien is in
die rooi rose van 1948 – 2020 en vra of hierdie landskap, veral wat taalseksisme betref, soos
te siene in rooi rose sedert 1948, verander het. Die rooi rose-korpus was die databron wat
ontleed is met die moontlikhede wat korpuslinguistiek as metode bied.
Die studie val in die sosiolinguistieksubveld wat in die breë as die taal-en-gender-veld
bekend staan. Taalseksisme val in hierdie deelgebied. Taalseksisme (en gepaardgaande
stereotipering) kom voor wanneer daar deur en in taal teen ’n geslag of gender gediskrimineer
word.
Kwantitatiewe navorsing is gebruik om frekwensies van leksikale items soos aanspreekvorms
en titels, die generiese hy en manlike en vroulike persoons- en beroepsname vas
te stel. Soekwoorde binne konteks, soos wat verkry word in konkordansiereëls, asook
kollokasies is kwalitatief ontleed.
Die gevolgtrekking waartoe die studie kom, is dat daar verandering op te merk is wat die
gebruik van sommige leksikale items betref. Daar is ’n frekwensieafname te bespeur in sommige
titels en aanspreekvorme, maar die neutrale me (wat nie onderskeid tref wat huwelikstatus
betref nie) word nie in die korpus aangetref nie. Afrikaans volg die wêreldtendens deur sommige
manlike en vroulike selfstandige naamwoorde te vervang met een naamwoord wat na beide
mans en vrouens kan verwys. Daar is egter nog tekens van taalseksisme in die korpus. Die
generiese hy word tot 2020 nog baie gebruik en onderskeid word ook nog getref wat betref
die huwelikstatus van vroue.
