A Corpus-based Study Of Gender-related Differences Of Taboos In Spoken English

The research on language and gender has been in existence for a long time.Many scholars have explored the influence of gender on language use from different aspects,including sociolinguistics,phonetics,pragmatics psychology and so on.Gender studies have long been discussed in the field of sociolinguistics,but there is still controversy about whether there are differences in language use between different genders.Taboo word is an important part of human language.It plays an irreplaceable role in social communication and fully conveys the intense emotions of the users to achieve the intended purpose of the communication.However,because the taboo language itself is sensitive,it is often advocated to avoid using it in daily life.Due to the diverse cultural backgrounds of different countries,the use of taboo words in cross-cultural communication is likely to lead to misunderstanding and communication barriers.At the same time,the domestic research on taboo words mainly is focusing on the differences between Chinese and foreign taboo words,but less on the influence of social factors on the use of taboo words.Based on the corpus Spoken BNC2014,this study aims to explore the gender characteristics of native speakers using taboos in their spoken English,and the interaction between gender and age,gender and socio-economic status on taboo use.10 high-frequency taboos studied by Kristin L.Jay and Timothy B.Jay(2015)were used as preliminary research candidates.After the writer's searching of the data,5 taboo words most frequently used are taken as the ultimate research subjects,respectively,fuck,shit,bitch,damn,hell.The research questions are as follows:(1)What are the gender differences in taboo language use?(2)What interactions are there between gender and age on taboo words?(3)What interactions are there between gender and socio-economic status on taboo words?(4)What are the genderdifferences on functions of taboo words?The results of the study indicate that English native speakers use taboos in spoken language with gender differences.(1)Female uses more taboo words(517)than male(378),and women use taboo more frequently than men.At the same time,the conclusions are applicable to the study of five taboo words,that is,for the use of fuck,shit,bitch,damn and hell.Female's frequency of use of taboo words is higher than male's,and the highest frequency being the word shit.The study has analyzed the reasons of internal factors and external factors.Internal factors include psychological factors and physiological factors.External factors are mainly reflected in the influence of social culture.(2)The use of taboo words has significant differences in the interaction between people of different gender and age.On the whole,the age of 19-29 years old has the highest frequency of taboos.In the female group,the use frequency of taboo words is decreasing with the age after 19-29 years old.In the male group,the frequency of taboo words is more irregular than that of female.In the overall downward trend,there is a slight increase in the group of 60-69 years old.(3)The use of taboo words has significant differences in the interaction between people of different gender and social class.The people in the lower management,administrative and professional occupations use taboo words most frequently,and the female with this socio-economic status uses the word fuck more while male prefers to use the word shit.(4)In the analysis of the function of taboo words,it is found that female and male show a similar trend,that is,the intended purpose of the use of taboo words is to attract others' attention and show his/her contempt.This research has some theoretical and practical significance.In theory,this study focuses on the oral English taboos,explores the impact of social factors on the English language,and contributes to the understanding of the use of taboos under the influence of gender in sociolinguistics.In practice,on the one hand,it helps to understand the habits of male and female using English taboos in the English native language,reducing people's misunderstandings in communication.On the other hand,the gender study of taboo words can be applied to the teaching of intercultural communication to improve the socio-culturalawareness of English learners,and brings them and native speakers closer in terms of the use of taboo words.