從框架理論的角度分析英漢互譯畢業(yè)論文

從框架理論的角度分析英漢互譯摘要：框架理論是認知語言學(xué)中的一個重要組成部分，它從認知的角度合理地解釋了翻譯現(xiàn)象。翻譯實踐不僅涉及到不同的語言，而且還涉及到不同的文化。由于不同語言存在框架系統(tǒng)和次框架的差異以及文化框架的差異,因此翻譯的任務(wù)實際上就是需要找到能夠激活與原語相同或相似的認知框架的語言表達式。本文從框架理論的定義及特點入手，結(jié)合實例探討框架理論在英漢互譯中的應(yīng)用，分析其在英漢互譯應(yīng)用過程中的優(yōu)缺點，從而使框架理論在未來被應(yīng)用到更廣闊的領(lǐng)域中，更準(zhǔn)確地指導(dǎo)人們的實踐與認知。關(guān)鍵詞：框架理論;英漢互譯;文化框架;應(yīng)用

AnAnalysisontheSexismofEnglishProverbsAbstract:Language,asamirroroftherealworld,cangiveusavividreflectionofsocialcustomsandvalues.Proverb,theessenceoflanguage,isactuallyapureconcentrationoftheentirecontentofculture.Withalonghistoryandtheirancientorigins,Englishproverbsstemfromtheaccumulationofexperience,whichhavebeenpassedonfromgenerationtogeneration.Thus,itismorerepresentativeandpersuasivetomakearesearchonsexismfromproverbs.ThethesisaimsatspecializinginsexismreflectedintheEnglishproverbs,probingintothephenomenonthroughaninductivestudyoftheproverbsappliedinEnglishfromtwomajoraspectsandsevenpointsintotal.Besides,thethesishasalsoinvestigatedintothecausesofsexismfromthreeaspects:historicalinfluence,physicalinfluenceandpsychologicalinfluence,revealingthesexbiasagainstwomeninvocabularysoastoenhancepeople’sawarenessaboutsexismandprovidereferencevalueinthisfieldofstudy.KeyWords:English;genderlanguage;proverb;sexismIIntroductionTherearegreatdifferencesamonghumanlanguages,amongwhichthedifferencesingendermayhavetheoldestorigin.Concentratedbyhumanistsandlinguists,“suchlanguagedifferenceanddiscriminationingenderissexism”(Bolinger,1989:21).Sexismisanewly-madeword,butithasalreadydeeplyrootedonproverbs.However,itwasnotuntilthe20thcentury,didscholarsbegintoplacetheireyesontheproblemsbetweenlanguageandgender.ThefirstgenerationtodoresearchongenderlanguagefromthepointoflinguisticsarerepresentedbyO.JespersonandE.Mauthner,buttheirstudywasonlydrawnfrompersonalviewsoroccasionalcommunication,untilthemiddleofthiscentury,thestudystartedtotakeitsfullwings.Afterthe1970s,somefamouslinguistics,suchasLakoff,madeaprobeonthesocialcausesofgenderlanguage.Fromtheendof1980sto1990s,linguistsfocusedonthefurtherinvestigationandstudyofthedifferentformsofmanandwoman.Thesimilarresearchinourcountrybegantotakeshapefromtheendof1970s,andmostofthearticlesatthattimewerejusttheintroductionofgenderfromtheperspectiveofEnglishcultureorigin.Thecontrastiveanalysisandresearchoriginatedfromthe1980s,theexpertsinthisfieldwerenotmany,suchasSun’sGenderandLanguage(1997)whichmadeanelaboratestudyonthebasisofpsycholinguistics.Nowadays,moreandmorelinguistsputforwardmanysystematicandcomprehensivebooksandauthoritativearticles,suchasZhao’sLanguageandGender(2003).Proverb,anindispensiblepartinthethesis,isactuallyapureconcentrationoftheentirecontentofculture,and“thewisdomofnationsliesintheirproverbs.”(ThomasPaine,1935:201)Withalonghistoryandtheirancientorigin,Englishproverbsstemfromtheaccumulationofexperienceofdailylifeandthewisdomofthecommonpeople,whichhasbeenhandeddownfromgenerationtogeneration.Thusaproverbisamorerepresentativeandpersuasiveperspectivetomakearesearchonsexism.Bymeansofaninductivestudy,thethesishasprobedintothesexismphenomenonoftheproverbsappliedinEnglishfromthreemajoraspectsandsevenpointsintotal.Furthermore,thethesishasalsoinvestigatedintothecausesofsexismfromthreeaspects:historicalinfluence,physicalinfluenceandpsychologicalinfluence,aimingatmakingacleardemonstrationofsexisminlanguagelevelandhopingtohelppeoplereducethedailybiasagainstwomen.IIProverbsandSexismInthispart,someknowledgeofproverbandsexismwillbeexposed,amongwhichtheoriginanddevelopmentofproverbwillgiveusalittleillustrationabouttheexistenceofsexisminEnglish.2.1ProverbsProverb,asthespecialformoflanguage,isoneofthetypesofidioms1,whichexistsinalllanguages.Althoughweareveryfamiliarwithproverbs,itishardtomakeacorrectdefinitionfortheterm“proverb”.Andmanyauthoritativedictionariesprovidevariousdefinitions.AccordingtoOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish一ChineseDictionary,aproverbis“ashortwell-knownsayingthatstatesageneraltruthorgivesadvice”(2004:1384).Anditisbelievedthataproverbtypicallyexpressesacommonthoughtinasuccinct,oftenmetaphoricalway.Succinctandpithysayingisingeneraluseandexpressescommonideasandbeliefs.Proverbisapartofeveryspokenlanguageandfolkliterature,originatinginoraltradition.Oftenaproverbisfoundwithvariationsinmanydifferentpartsoftheworld.LiteratesocietiesdatingbacktotheancientEgyptianshavecollectedproverbs.Itisbelievedthattheword“proverb”firsttookitsshapefromtheGreekword“paroimia”,whichhasthemeaningoffiguration,referringtosuchkindsofwordsdifficulttobeunderstood,orwordstobeunderstoodaftersecondthought.AmajorityofproverbsarefromthemythofGreeceandRome,allegory,dramaandmanyfamousworks,whicharedifferentfromthoseforgedfromthedailylife.InEnglish,thewordproverbatfirstcoversfarmorecontentsthannow,whichconcludesidiom,metaphoraswellasmanyregularpetwords.Itissaidthat47%orsotookitsshapeinthe17thcentury.Inthe18thcentury,around16%appeared,while12%inthe19thcentury.Soitisquiteclearthatmostproverbscameintoexistencebeforethe17thcentury.InNorthAmerica,thebest-knowncollectionisprobablyPoorRichard'sAlmanac2.Proverbsarecreatedbycommonpeople,transmittedthroughdailycommunication,whicharethesummaryofgeneralregulatoryexperienceandthefruitsofthewisdomofthecommon.Accordingtotheircontents,theycanbedividedintofourmajorparts:meteorologicalproverbs,archaeologicalproverbs,livingproverbsandsocialproverbs.Thefirstoneisfromthecourseofknowingthenatureandconcludingtheexperienceofdailylife,thesecondoneisbasedontheproducingexperienceoffarmingbypeasants,whilethethirdonetakesitsoriginfromthesummaryofhealthprotectionandhygiene,thelastkindisfromtheattentioninsocializing,dealingwiththingsbothhomeandbroad.Asisshownabove,aproverbisakindofsayingwhichexpressesatruthbasedoncommonsenseortheagelesshumanexperienceofthepeopleinsimpleandconcrete,thoughoftenmetaphoricallanguage.Beinganessentialpartoflanguage,itplaysanimportantroleinlanguage,whichisconsideredaslivingfossilsbylinguistsbecausetheycontainalargequantityofagelesshumanexperience.Withoutproverbs,alanguagewouldbecomecolorlessandboringforlackingofvitalityandvividness.Therefore,itisnecessarytoundertakesomeresearchworkonproverbs.2.2SexismSexism,awordofprejudiceordiscriminationbasedonsex,especiallydiscriminationagainstwomenorbehavior,conditions,orattitudesthatfosterstereotypesofsocialrolesbasedonsex,firstcameknownin1968.SexismisananalogytermofracismmadebyAmericanfeminists,whichisdistinguisheditselfonthebasisofbiologicalsex.Sexism,moreoftenthannot,hastwodefinitions,onebeingthediscriminationofmentowardswomen,andviceversa.AccordingtoLongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,sexismisdefinedas“thebeliefthatwomenareweaker,lessintelligent,andlessimportantthanmen”(2007:1807).So,itisnecessarytopointoutthatsexismwementionhereisthediscriminationofmentowardswomen.Thesexismreflectedinlanguagehasformedthesexismoflanguage.Itismadeupaftertherevelationoftheasymmetryinlanguage,whichhasabasisontheSapir-WhorfHypothesis.Andthehypothesispointsoutthatlanguagehascloserelationwithculture,forlanguageitselfisapartofculturewhosereflectionisinfactakindofculturalphenomena.Sapir-Whorfhypothesisputsmuchattentionontherelationbetweenlanguageandculture,whichgivesatheorybasistosexism.Forthisreason,thishypothesishasalternativelybeenreferredtoasLinguisticDeterminismandLinguisticRelativity3-aviewwhichwasfirstexpoundedbytheGermanethnologist.Linguisticsmaintainthelanguageunderthechainsofreligiouslawsandthesocialstatuescanreflectthenaturalcontentofsociety’sschemata—mentakethemajorrolesintheworldwhiletheimagesofwomenarebroken.Inordertoacknowledgethetermsexismbetter,firstofall,wemustmakeadistinctionbetweensexandgender.Fromtheverybeginning,“gender”wasjustagrammaticallexiconwhichreferredtothefeminineormasculineofaword.Lateron,Westernfeministsadoptedandmadeitthekeyconceptoffeminism.OriginatedfromWesternfeminismmovements,feminismisthebeliefthatwomenshouldhaveequalrightstomenineveryaspect.Itinvolvesvariousmovements,theoriesandphilosophies,whichareallconcernedwiththeissuesofgenderdifferences.Feminismadvocatesequalityforwomenandalsocampaignsforwomen’srightsandinterests.Withtheextensivespreadingoffeminismsmovements,theconceptofgenderdevelopsandthenformsintoasystematicaltheory.Beforegendertheoryisdiscussed,abriefreviewofthosefeminismschoolsisnecessaryastheyhavecontributedalottoit.SimonedeBeauvoir,theauthorofTheSecondSex,oncesaid“sexisbiological,whilegenderissocialandcultural”(1973:125).Inherbook,shearguedthatwomenthroughouthistoryhavebeendefinedasthe“other”sex,adeviationfromthe"normal"male.WhiletheBritishsociologistAnthonyGiddensdefines“sex”as“biologicaloranatomicdifferencesbetweenmenandwomen,”whereas“gender”concernsthepsychological,socialandculturaldifferencesbetweenmalesandfemales.Therefore,genderisacquiredandshapedaccordingtothedifferentrequirementsoursocietyandculturehavemadefordifferentsexes.Andtraditionalculturalideologiesestablishdifferentcriteriaformenandwomentofollow.Forexample,inalmostalltheculturesintheworld,thereexistsafixednotionwhichregardswomenasweakwhilemenasstrongandpowerful.Thosecriteriahaveinfiltratedintopeople’smindswhichthenbecomethestandardstoevaluatemenandwomeninlabordivisionandsocialroles,thusresultinginthesexdifferentiationandalsotheinequalityofmenandwomenineveryaspectofsociallife. IIITheEmbodimentofSexisminEnglishProverbsLanguage,asthecarrierofculture,mirrorsallsortsofsocialcustomsandpersonalviews.Proverb,thevividfossilsoflanguage,recordsthefruitsofwisdomofthecommon.Besides,variousphenomenaarealsoreflectedinit,amongwhichsexismisonepart.Inthischapter,theembodimentofsexisminEnglishproverbsfromthreemainaspectsandsevenpointswillbediscussed.3.1Women’sLowSocialRolesInmostmale-dominatedsociety,womanistakenasthesubordinationandcommodityofman,womancanbeboughtorsetasideasmanlike.IntheNewTestament,thereissuchsentence:“Wives,submityourselvesuntoyourhusbands,asuntotheLord,forthehusbandistheheadofthewife,evenasChrististheheadoftheChurch.ThereforeasthechurchissubjectuntoChrist,soletthewivesbetotheirownhusbandineverything.”(HolyBible,2007,11:3-10)Thissentencetellsusthelowerrankofwomaninthewholefamily.Fromtheaddressofwomanaswifeingeneral,womanareregardedasthemanofhusband,theirvaluesarelimited,suchasteachingchildrenandhelpinghusbands,theirranksarenohigherthanslaves.Deprivedoftherightsofservingthecountriesandthepublic,theyareonlyconfinedinthelittlespaceofhomeandhavetokeeptheirhandsbusyeveryday.Womanisnomorethantheprivatepossessionandthetoolofbreedinginman’seyes.Thefollowingpartswillmainlyelaboratehowwomen’slowsocialrolesarereflectedinproverbsfromtwoaspects.3.1.1SubordinationWomen’sroleofsubordinationalsoexemplifiesitselfwhenmancanpossessandintrudewomancasually.Moreover,hecanabandonwomanwhenconfrontedwithdangerordifficultiesinordertosavehimself,turningwomanintotheonetosacrificeandbearallblame.Womenbecomehusband’sslaves,asimpletooltobearchildren.Thefollowingproverbsfallintothiscategory.1.Ifthehusbandbenotathome,thereisnobody.2.Wifeisthekeyofthehouse.3.Awoman,adogandawalnuttree,themoreyoubeatthem,thebetterthey’llbe.4.Itisasadhousewhenthehencrowsforlouderthanthecock5.Amanofstrawisworthofawomanofgold.6.Amanisamanthoughhehave/hasbutahoseonhead.7.Man,womananddevilarethethreedegreesofcomparison.8.Marriedmanturnshisstaffintoastake.9.Wifeandchildrenarebillsofcharges.Theproverbsmentionedaboveshowthatwomenareoppressedandbulliedintheman-dominatedworld.Theyareregardedasthedisposableclothes,orthedomesticanimalthatcanbebeatencasually.And“amanissuccessful,awomanissexy”(Nilsen,1977:234).Asawife,womanisthoughttobethe“oldmen’snurses”(FrancisBacon,2010:11).Intraditionalsociety,womenareconfrontedwiththemen’snegligenceandcasualcomment,playingaroleasthesubordinationtomen.3.1.2CommodityItiscommontocomparewomantocommodityintheworld.LinguistNilsenoncecitedafacttoexplainwhattheimagewomanhasinsocietyandwhattherolewomanplaysinsociety,oneofthepicnicnoticesofEnglishDepartmentofAmericanIndianCollegesays:“Goodfood!Deliciouswomen!”Besides,thecasealsorevealsthelowsocialrankofwomaninEnglish-speakingsocietyobviously.JustliketheChineseidiom“秀色可餐”,itisimaginedthattherearenootherthingsmorepassivethanthediningfood.Therearemanycountries,apartfromEnglish-speakingcountries,treatingwomanasgoodsratherthananequalperson.Intheman-dominatedworld,womenarenotonlytakenasthesubordination,butalsocommoditythatcanbeboughtorsoldattheirhusbandsorparents’will.TherearemanyproverbsinEnglishaboutwomenbeingtakenasacommodityinmarriage.Thepriceofawomaninmarriagemoreoftenthannotdependsonheryouthandappearance.Itiswellacknowledgedthattheyoungerawomaniswhenshemarries,thehigherpriceshehas.Andthepleasureoftheirmarriagesdependsontheirappearancetoalargeextent.Proverbsofthiskindcanbefoundinthefollowingexamples.1.Theloveofawomanandabottleofwine,aresweetforaseason,butlastforatime.2.SomegoodthingsIdon’thave:agoodlongsmile,agoodsmallbeerandagoodoldwoman.3.Ahorse,awifeandaswordmaybeshowedbutnotlent.4.Shesimperslikeamarewhensheeatsthistles.5.Holdupherheadlikeahendrinking.6.Nofishwithoutbone;nowomanwithoutatemper.7.Awomanislikealemon;yousqueezeherandthrowheraway.8.Allmeattobeeaten,andallmaidstobewed.9.Daughtersanddeadfisharenotkeepingwares.10.Marryyoursonwhenyouwill,yourdaughterwhenyoucan.12.Afairfaceishalfaportion.13.Awomanofnobirthmaymarryintothepurple.14.Marryawifeofthineowndegree.15.Marryyourdaughterandeatfreshfishbetimes.16.Hemarriesawidowandtwodaughtersmarrythreethieves.17.Afairwomanwithoutvirtueislikepalledwine.Manyproverbsaremadeitveryclearthatwomanarenomorethananypieceofgoods,beitherownhomeorherhusband’shome.Justliketheproverbsmentionedbelow,womenarenottreatedequallyasmenwhohaveallkindsofrights.3.2PejorativeCommentsonWomen’sCharactersInEnglishsociety,womenaregenerallytakenasweakerthanandinferiortomenformenjudgingwomenbythesuccessoftheirefforts.Womenoftenhaveimperfectorbrokencharacteristics,whichisalsoanotherembodimentofmen’sprejudiceagainstwomen.Thefollowingpartswillillustratethisaspectonebyone.3.2.1GarrulousnessItisnotuncommontotalkabouttheverbalcommunication,butonceitcomestowomen,weoftenassociatethemtothosewords,suchasgossip,chatter,prattle,babble,nagandsoon.InEnglish,itisnothardtofindmanyharshdescriptionsaboutwomen’sgarrulousness.Thefollowingproverbsareallsuchakind.1.Threewomenmakeamark.2.Manywomen,manywords;manygeese,manyturds.3.Threewomenandagoosemakeamarket.4.Womenwillsayanything.5.Arthurcouldnottamewomen’stongue.6.Awoman’stongueisthelastthingaboutherthatdies.7.Awoman’stonguewagslikealamb’stail.8.Onetongue’senoughforawoman.9.Wordsarewomen,deedsaremen.10.Husbandsareinheavenwhosewivesscoldnot.11.Asievewillholdwaterbetterthanawoman’smouthasecret.InEnglishproverbs,therearemanyproverbsthatdescribewomen’sgarrulousness.Womenareoftencomparedtogeese,whichoftenwrangle,implyingwomen’sgossipandchatter.Anditis“shamefulforwomentospeakinthemeeting”(HolyBible,2007,14:34-35).Usually,womenarerelatedtowordsratherthanaction,whichshowsthecommonthoughtsthatwomencanonlyspeakandgossipwhilemancanfightandsupportthefamily.Womencanonlybeconfinedtoherlittlehouseandthesurroundingswithoutmuchcontributiontohernationasawhole.3.2.2FrailtyInShakespeare’sHamlet,afamoussentenceis“Frailty,thynameiswoman.”(2008:145)ThissoliloquyisusedtodescribethematterthatHamlet’smothermarriedhisunclejustwithintwomonthsafterhisfather’sdeath.Wecaneasilydrawaconclusionthatthefeeblecharacterofwomenhasbeenrooteddeeplyintheworld.Womanisoftenconnectedwithtears,evenwhenshejustfaceswithsomefadescenery.Manyrevealingproverbsservethiskind.1.Womanismadetoweep.2.Nothingdriessofastasawoman'stears.3.Trustnotawomanwhensheweeps.4.Itisnomorepitytoseeawomanweepthantoseeagoosegobarefoot.5.Womenlaughwhentheycan,andweepwhentheywill.6.Womanismadeofglass.7.Glassesandlassesarebrittleware.8.Women,windandfortuneareeverchanging.9.Awomanisaweathercock.10.Awoman’smindandwinterwindchangeof.11.Womenareaswaveringasthewind.Theproverbswhichputemphasisonwoman’sweaknessarecommoninEnglishinparticular,whichoftenrelatestearstowomen,expressingtheideathatwhenwomenareconfrontedwithdifficultieswhatshedoesisnothingbutweeping.Women’simageisoftenrelatedtosomeeasilybrokengoods,suchasglass,whichinanotheraspectreflectstheregularthoughtthatwomenaremoretenderandfeeblethanmen.3.2.3VanityVanity,awordusedtodescribethatmanisrunningaftertheranks,moneyandsoon,whichinsexismpointofviewreferstothephenomenaofwomantopursuebeautyandappreciationinsteadofotherthings.Infact,vanityisalsousedtoimplywomen’sblindnessbecausesheoftenseesthingsnearhereyes.Proverbsofthiskindcanbefoundinthefollowingexamples.1.Tellawomansheisfairandshewillsoonturnfool.2.Maidenwithmanywooersoftenchoosestheworst.3.Everywomanwouldratherbebeautifulthangood.4.Themorewomenlookintheirglass,thelesstheylooktotheirhouse.5.Maidswantnothingbuthusbands,andwhentheyhavethem,theywanteverything.6.Womenaresaintsinthechurch,angelsinthestreet,anddeviIsathome.7.Womenroguethattheymaynotblush.8.Allaregoodlasses,butwhencecomethebadwives?9.Women,priests,andpoultry,haveneverenough.10.Millsandwivesareeverwanting.11.Fromtheevilwomanguardyourself,andthegoodonenevertrust.Womenareinferiortomennotonlyinability,butalsoinranksandknowledge.Thus,theytendtopursuetheappreciationofotherstoassurethemselves.Intermsofthelovingforbeauty,itisanembodimentofthetruththatwomenareinasubordinationrole,sowomenneedtobelovedandprotectedbymen.Butmenoftenjudgeawomanfirstfromherappearance,andtheirstandardalsoconcernsmoreaboutthemeeknessandbeauty,sotheymaketheutmosttomakethemselvesmoreprettyinordertomeetmen’sneeds.Therealcauseofallsuchaphenomenonisthecapinwomen’sheads-thelowsocialrole.3.2.4ViciousnessTherearealsosuchkindsofproverbsinEnglishwhichdescribewomenasthesourceofallevil,nomatterwhatmisfortunehappens.InmanyEnglishworks,womenaredescribedinanegativetone.ApartfromAdamwhosuffersalotfromEve,thewell-knownSamsonAgonisteshasalsodiedinrelationwithwomen.Womenhavetobearallsortsofblameforthewrongthingswhichareirrelevanttothem;thisisalsoanotherrevelationofthedeep-rootedthoughtsagainstwomeninEnglish-speakingcountries.1.Womenarethedevil’snets.2.WomenarethesnaresofSatan.3.Thereisnodevilsobadasashe-devil.4.Nothingagreesworsethanalady’sheartandbeggar’spurse.5.Fromtheevilwomanguardyourself.6.Abadwomanisworsethanabadman.7.Nowarwithoutawoman.8.Nomischiefbutawomanorapriestisatthebottomofit.9.Itisasorryflockwheretheewebearsthebell.Alltheseproverbsshowedaboveindicatethatwomanisadangerouscreaturetoman,becausesheisthoughttopossessthepowerwhichcannotonlycontrolbutalsodamageamanorevenanation.And,thepowermentionedheremainlyreferstothebeautyorsexualityofawoman,whethersheisthePandorainGreekMythorEveinHolyBible.3.2.5Narrow-mindednessInEnglishhistory,womenhavefewopportunitiestoreceiveeducation,asmanycollegesoruniversitiesdidnotacceptwomen.Underthiscircumstance,manywomenaredrivenoutoftheintelligentcircle,onlyafewleft.InEnglishproverbs,womenareoftenregardedasblindness,whocanonlyseewhatisintheirsight’sdistance,andtheyarenarrow-mindedeither.Thefollowingproverbsservethiscategory.l.Longhair,shortwit./Morehairthanwit./Womenhavelonghairandshortbrain.2.Allwomenaregood.3.Whenanassclimbsaladder,wemayfindwisdominwomen.4.Awomen’sadviceisnevertoseek.5.Beautyandfollyareoftencompanions.6.Womeninstateaffairsarelikemonkeysinglassshops.7.Awoman’smindandwinterwindchangeofit.8.Women,wind,andfortunecareeverchanging.9.Takethefirstadviceofawomanandnotthesecond.10.Amaidenwithmanywooersoftenchoosestheworst.11.Tellawomansheisfairandshewillsoonturnfool.Itisunfairtodeprivewomenoftheequalchancetoreceiveeducation,whileblamethemforstupidityontheotherhand.Womenarerestrictedintheirlittlehomeanddohouseworkeveryday,havinglittlechancetoembracetheupdatingknowledgeandthewholeworld.Theyarenotinferiorinintelligenceatall,butdeprivedofthechancetoreceiveeducation.Itisjustanotherrevelationthattheworldisdominatedbymen.IVTheCausesofSexisminProverbsFromwhathasmentionedinthesecondsection-theSapir-WhorfHypothesis,itiseasytodrawthatproverbsaretheappropriatetoolstounderstandthedeep-rootedsexisminEnglish-speakingsociety.Thedoctrinethatlanguageisthe“dressofthought”isfundamentalinNeo-Classicalliterarytheory(Abrams,1953:290).Theroleofwomeninsocietyandthesocialrulesarethemajorcausesofsexism,beiteasternorwestern,womenareinthesubordinatingroletomeninthewholehistorycourse,whichisthebasicreasonoftheappearanceofthedistinguishbetweengenderandsexism.Sexism,asanobjectiveexistence,hasitsownbackgroundandculturalsourceofappearanceanddevelopment.Thoughitishardtogiveafulldemonstrationofthecausesofsexisminproverbs,thisthesistriestoprobeintothecausesofsexismfromthreeaspects:historicalinfluence,physicalinfluenceandpsychologicalinfluence,revealingthesexbiasagainstwomeninproverbssoastoenhancepeopleawarenessaboutsexismaswell.4.1HistoricalInfluenceInthelongriverofhistory,thereisatrendtodegradewomeninwords’level,whichisconnectedwithalongperiodunderpatriarchalruling,whosevaluepotentiallyexistsintheworldtosomeextent.Undersuchasystem,menarewinnersandrulers,whoserightsarerelatedwithviolence,oppressionanddevastation.Meanwhile,womenareconfinedandruledbymen,whooftenplayaroleassubordinationandcommodity,sotheycanbeacquired,letandabandoned.Aclan,notaresidentialgroup,wasmadeupbyfemaleancestorsatfirstandherandpassedfromgenerationtogeneration,untilthelargequantityofpossessionsappeared,whichwasruledbymen.Therefore,suchakindoftendencyconsolidatesitspositionbymeansofeducationandsocialenvironment.AsLakoffoncesaid,“Linguisticbehavior,likeotherfacetsofthepersonalityisheavilyinfluencedbytrainingandeducation.Womenspeakastheydoandmenspeakastheydo-becausetheyhavefromchildhoodbeenrewardedfordoingso,overtlyorsubtly.Alsotheyspeakastheydobecausetheirchoiceofspeechstylereflectstheirself-image”(Lakoff,1975,2:45-79).“Genderrole”(Zheng,1999:25),infact,evolvingfromhistoricalinfluence,isindeedthemajoraspectoflinguisticbehaviorandthusoneofthecausesofdiscriminationinproverbs.Societyandlanguagebothplacemenintoacenterplace,totallyignoringtheexistenceofwomen.Evensincethepatriarchalsociety,theworldisman-dominated.Underthedeepinfluence,peopleareaccustomedandnotsuspectsuchanauthority.Language,asthemirrorofsociety,inwhichalsoreflectssexism.Then,theinequalityinsexbecamemoreandmoresystematical,thissituationisimprovedonlyalittleeveninoursociety.Thedistinctiverolebetweenmenandwomenareakindof“genderrole”,whichisasocialbehavioralpatterndistributedbysocietyaccordingtopeople’ssex.SimonedeBeauvoir,oncesaidwomen’splaceisinferiortothatofmenforalongperiod,theybecame“thesecondsexofmen”(1973:206),whichisactuallycausedbyhistoricalviewsofman-centeredworld.Proverbslike“ifthehusbandbenotathome,thereisnobody”or“wifeisthekeyofthehouse”canfullyexplainthelowsocialroleofwomen.Fromsentenceslike“ourpeoplearethebestgamblersinthegalaxy.Wecompeteforpower,fameandwomen”(