Abstract:Just as men and women are different physiologically, psychologically and socially, they are different linguistically. In daily life, misunderstandings or even conflicts often occur because of people’s ignorance of these differences between the languages of the two genders. Therefore, it is of great significance to learn them and analyze the reasons for those differences.   

The language of male and female in English, referred to as gender varieties in linguistics, has attracted more and more attention from scholars in recent years. Scholars in the western countries now have taken the lead in this field. There are only a few researches in Chinese relating to this study. This thesis is expected to inspire people’s interest in gender varieties in English. 

This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction. Chapter two introduces gender varieties in English. Chapter three analyzes the embodiment of gender varieties in the novel Pride and Prejudice. Chapter four explores some possible reasons for gender varieties in English.The last chapter is the conclusion that knowledge about gender varieties in language can help people communicate better with the opposite sex.   

Keywords:   English  gender varieties  difference  Pride and Prejudice 

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Jane Austen-1

1.2 Introduction to Pride and Prejudice-1

1.3 Structure of the Thesis-2

Chapter Two Gender Varieties in English-3

2.1 Research Background-3

2.2 Gender Varieties in English-3

Chapter Three Gender Varieties in English in Pride and Prejudice-5

3.1 Vocabulary-5

3.1.1 Hedges-5

3.1.2 Intensifiers-5

3.1.3 Interjections-6

3.2 Sentence Structure-7

3.2.1 Questions, Tag Questions and Imperative Sentences-7

3.2.2 Long Sentence and Short Sentence-8

3.3 Speech Style-9

3.3.1 Control of the Topic-9

3.3.2 Interruption-10

Chapter Four Reasons for Gender Varieties in Language-12

4.1 Physiological Reason-12

4.2 Psychological Reason-12

4.3 Social Reasons-13

4.3.1 Different Roles in Society-13

4.3.2 Unequal Social Status-14

Chapter Five Conclusion-15

References-17