An Analysis of Sexist Words in English and Chinese from the Perspective of Memetics

Abstract

With the development of economic globalization, the exchanges between countries are getting more frequent than before. Language plays an important role as a tool for communication among countries. English is known as linguine franca, while Chinese is one of the most populous languages in the world. Both languages are hugely influential aroud the world. Nowadays, women's status has improved. However, whether on the Internet or in social life, sexist words still emerge endlessly. Sexist words exist in both English and Chinese. Based on memetics, this paper discusses the generation, spread, rise and extinction mechanism of sexist words in English and Chinese from three perspectives: sexist word formation meme, sexist meaning meme and sexist word order meme. The formation and spread of sexist word memes in English and Chinese have something in common, but they also bear their own characteristics due to the differences of political, economic and cultural environment. Sexist ideas and sexist word memes interact with each other. The formation of sexist word memes is influenced by sexist ideas, while sexist word memes will promote the formation of sexist ideas. Based on the formation and transmission mechanism of memes, the paper proposes three elimination strategies of sexist word memes: establishing gender equality awareness, blocking the transmission process of sexist