"The language of a particular culture does not serve all its speakers equally, for not all speakers contribute in an equal fashion to its formulation. Women are not as free or as able as men are to say what they wish, because the words and the norms for their use have been formulated by the dominant group, men".
Quote Attribution: Language Inequality & Gender
The provided quote critiques the inherent inequality within cultural language, stating that language formulation primarily by men restricts women's ability to express themselves freely.
Identifying the Speaker: Cheris Kramarae
This perspective aligns directly with the work of Cheris Kramarae, a prominent feminist linguist and media scholar. Her research extensively explored how dominant (male) perspectives shape language and communication systems, often marginalizing or silencing women's voices. Her seminal work, "A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English," and her broader theories on "Man-Made Language" directly address the concepts presented in the quote.
The quote highlights:
- Unequal contribution to language formulation.
- Men as the dominant group shaping norms.
- Women's constrained ability to speak freely due to these norms.
These points are central themes in Kramarae's analysis of gender and language.
Options Analysis
The quote is accurately attributed to Cheris Kramarae, whose academic work focused precisely on these issues of gendered language and power dynamics.
- Edwin Ardener
- Cheris Kramarae
- Gerdrin
- Catherine Mackinnon
Important Questions from Culture and Symbolic Transformations
- Which one of the following in the Indian context, is an ideology that organizes people of a particular religious faith to pursue common social, political and economic interests?
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the codes given below the lists :
List – I
(Concepts)List – II
(Thinkers)a. Cultural structure and
Cultural performancesi. K. Marx b. Non-violence ii. M.N. Srinivas c. Sanskritization iii. M.K. Gandhi d. Class consciousness iv. R. Redfield and M. Singer Codes :
Match the List-I with the List-II given below :
List-I List-II a. Ethnocentrism 1. People of lower castes collectively adopt upper caste, practices and belief to acquire higher status. b. Westernization 2. Yields economic or political power and occupies a higher position in the hierarchy. c. Sanskritization 3. Explains the changes brought about in our society through western contact. d. Dominant caste 4. Tendency of each group to take for granted the superiority of its own culture. Codes :
a b c dWho among the following has contributed in the Kulturekreise School?
(A) Ankermann and Schmidt
(B) Bergson
(C) Tylor and Morgan
(D) Darwin and Spencer
Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
- Lack of appropriate cultural resources like language and knowledge is known as :
