The notion of gender role – the social role that covers a range of behaviors considered appropriate for people based on their sex – gives rise to the sexism in language – the use of language that discriminates against members of a certain sex. In Vietnam, the roles assigned to men and women gradually form stereotypes and prejudices against both sexes. These stereotypes have taken root in the minds of many Vietnamese and are reflected in their lexical choice and conversational implications. In many cultures, including Vietnamese, men are expected to develop traits of masculinity, such as strength, courage, independence, and assertiveness, while women are expected to develop traits of femininity, such as gentleness, tolerance, empathy and sensitivity. Additionally, men are expected to have successful careers, achieve social status, and earn money to feed the family, while women are expected to take care of household chores and submit to their husbands. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The idea of ​​gender roles creates conventional images of the sexes and forces men and women to adjust their behavior to meet the norms social, which can be further reinforced: people tend to have the same beliefs and share the same behavior with the majority of others and to consider these commonalities as a norm, giving rise to even more stereotypes which lead to sexism. Sexism in language can affect both sexes; however, its main victims are women and the Vietnamese are no exception. Sexism is reflected above all in lexical choice. Vietnamese women of all social classes and eras are addressed according to their husband's name or position. In Vietnamese, “ông” and “bà” are titles used before nouns to designate men and women respectively. In the colonial era, the word “bà hội đồng” designated the woman whose husband was responsible for an administrative unit – “ông hội đồng”. The same goes for “bà cai lệ”, whose husband commanded the guards in a feudal district – “ông cai lệ” and “bà nghè”, whose husband – “ông nghè” – was someone who occupied a specific academic position. . These practices aimed at addressing women are still visible in today's society, although they are not as profound. There are two ways to interpret the following word: “bà chủ tịch” – the woman who is herself president or the wife of a president – ​​“ông chủ tịch” (Khang, N 2016). Authors adopted common ways of addressing women for female characters. “Tắt đèn” by Ngô Tất Tố revolves around the tragic life of a poor woman known as “Dậu”. However, her real name was "Đào" and "Dậu" was her husband's name. “Đào” appeared a few times before “Dậu” became the main reference for women (Khang, N 2016). The husband's name is also used to designate all married couples. In the same work, the antagonists were called "vợ chồng Nghị Quế", in which "Nghị Quế" was the husband's name. In Vũ Trọng Phụng's "Hạnh phúc của một tang gia", a wealthy married couple called themselves "ông bà Văn Minh", in which "Văn Minh" was the husband's name. The woman was therefore called “bà Văn Minh”. Household chores are called “công việc nội trợ” in Vietnamese. If you're Vietnamese, chances are you've heard the phrase "bà nội trợ", but never something like "ông nội trợ". This follows from the conventional image ofthe wife: stay at home full time and take care of household problems. Because of this, women cannot develop their skills while men are not allowed to stay at home full-time and do housework. If he does so, he will be considered incompetent, unambitious and may be maliciously called “Đồ đàn bà!” » (You woman!) because it's supposed to be a woman's job. The professional range of women is limited not because of their inability, but because of the conventional image of women, deeply rooted in people's minds.mind. Vietnamese has another pair of words – “trai” and “gái” – to refer to men and women, respectively. However, there is a striking difference between their meanings in certain circumstances. The literal meanings of the following collocations display symmetry in terms of gender, hence a disparity in the presupposed meaning. If you type the word “làm trai” (literal meaning: being a man) into any search engine, the first results will be about “chí làm trai” (a set of characteristics that a man must possess: resilience, ambition, nobility of spirit, aspiration for good…). On the other hand, if you do the same thing with “làm gái” (literal meaning: being a woman), you will obtain results on prostitution. Occupation names in Vietnamese are gender neutral, meaning they can apply to both genders. However, some of them are associated only with men and add the prefix "nữ" to designate a woman practicing these professions. Words such as “kiến ​​trúc sư” (architect), “kĩ sư” (engineer), “giám đốc” (director), “chính trị gia” (politician) evoke the image of a man, not of a woman. The addition of the prefix “nữ” amounts to affirming that these professions are reserved for men and that if a woman joins them, she is considered an unusual case and must be distinguished from male colleagues. This may be partly because these are male-dominated professions, but over time the mental image they convey will exclude women from participation. Second, sexism is not only reflected in lexical choice but also in conversations. The question “What does her husband do?” is often used to ask about a woman, which conveys the belief that a woman's value lies in her husband and that she is dependent on him. A woman is not evaluated on her own abilities but on her husband. However, if she surpasses her husband in some area, usually in terms of income or education, he will be looked down upon, just like a man who stays at home full time doing housework. In Vietnamese, reprimand can have a sexist connotation. Phrases such as “Con trai gì mà nhát như con gái” (How can one be as cowardly as a girl?) or “Con gái gì mà hung dữ như con trai” (How can one be as fierce as a girl? a man?) are This is likely to occur when members of a certain sex fail to conform to their gender role or exhibit traits considered exclusive to the opposite sex. Here, “cowardly” is associated with women and “fierce” is associated with men. There are different words for people of different genders, but only those for women are used to insult and humiliate. Women appear much more frequently in derogatory phrases, a typical one being "Đồ đàn bà!" » (You woman!). Anyone who receives this sentence is considered cowardly, selfish, or narrow-minded, regardless of gender, which promotes the prejudice that these horrible characteristics are exclusive to women. The word “đàn bà” itself carries a.