Difference between revisions of "Unmarked"

From Conservapedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(marked terms are used only when context requires)
(→‎top: clean up & uniformity)
 
(5 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
An '''unmarked''' term, in [[linguistics]], is one which is used in a general sense, as opposed to a specific sense. For example, "man hour" refers to the amount of work one person can do in one hour. It does not specify a male human being, despite protestations by feminist language reformers. The term "person hour" has accordingly not gained currency.  
+
An '''unmarked''' term, in [[linguistics]], is a word which refers to the broadest subset of specifics within a category.  This distinction develops as a matter of common usage among the public, and accordingly is often identified with a dominant subset within a hierarchical [[phonology]]. For example, "man" is often used to refer to all [[human being]]s, even though it simultaneously refers to just males; this usage evolved thanks to masculine dominance of the phonological hierarchy, and is reflected in many other places as well. This principle also applies in the inverse, where the dominated subset is used as the label for generalities that are considered inferior ("stewardess" for all who serve passengers on a plane, for example).
  
−
A road sign saying "men at work" does indeed employ the [[connotation]] of big, burly, heavily-muscled '''male''' human beings. That is the sort of worker typically employed in heavy construction. The point of the sign is to prompt the necessary caution by drivers, alerting them to the presence of construction workers along or on the road. A phrase like "people at work" would fail at this purpose, because it connotes shopkeepers and secretaries. You might as well say "downtown area".
+
Critics of many contemporary unmarked terms (such as [[deconstruction]]ists) have pointed out an essential privilege to the group that was dominant within the phonological hierarchy when they developed - typically men - but defenders argue that, because the masculine form of words is also generally considered to be the gender-neutral form within the whole of the language, this reflects the essential utility and consistency of the practice, rather than a systemic bias. Accordingly, while such terms as "brotherhood of man" still identify all human beings rather than just males, there has been some shift in other terms, such as the increased use of the neutral term "flight attendant" rather than "stewardess."
−
 
 
−
A term like "teacher" is often understood to mean a female person. Indeed, writers have often used feminine pronouns in a sentence using the unmarked term. This is, of course, not to imply that men cannot be teachers. It merely reflects the stereotype which ''teacher'' invokes. "Nurse" even more strongly implies a woman, so much so that the term "male nurse" must be used to indicate a man. No one says "female nurse".
 
−
 
 
−
A vehicle like a bus (short for "omnibus") meant a horse-drawn carriage in the 1860s. The unmarked term could hardly refer to anything else, as only trains had a powerful enough engine to pull cars. A "bus" nowadays can only be an [[automobile]]. Likewise, a "car" would be part of a chariot or (later in history) a train. Now the unmarked term refers to an [[automobile]] other than a bus or truck. Only in context of rail travel or elevators would "car" mean anything else.
 
  
 
Unmarked terms are very common, and marked terms are used only when context requires. For example, the notice "No dogs allowed" is always understood to contain an exception for seeing-eye dogs. Likewise, in the context of a daycare center "accident" refers to a toileting accident like wet pants (and "wet" in turn means urine rather than a water spillage).
 
Unmarked terms are very common, and marked terms are used only when context requires. For example, the notice "No dogs allowed" is always understood to contain an exception for seeing-eye dogs. Likewise, in the context of a daycare center "accident" refers to a toileting accident like wet pants (and "wet" in turn means urine rather than a water spillage).
Line 12: Line 8:
  
 
* [[Context]]
 
* [[Context]]
 +
 +
[[Category:Linguistics]]

Latest revision as of 21:14, July 13, 2016

An unmarked term, in linguistics, is a word which refers to the broadest subset of specifics within a category. This distinction develops as a matter of common usage among the public, and accordingly is often identified with a dominant subset within a hierarchical phonology. For example, "man" is often used to refer to all human beings, even though it simultaneously refers to just males; this usage evolved thanks to masculine dominance of the phonological hierarchy, and is reflected in many other places as well. This principle also applies in the inverse, where the dominated subset is used as the label for generalities that are considered inferior ("stewardess" for all who serve passengers on a plane, for example).

Critics of many contemporary unmarked terms (such as deconstructionists) have pointed out an essential privilege to the group that was dominant within the phonological hierarchy when they developed - typically men - but defenders argue that, because the masculine form of words is also generally considered to be the gender-neutral form within the whole of the language, this reflects the essential utility and consistency of the practice, rather than a systemic bias. Accordingly, while such terms as "brotherhood of man" still identify all human beings rather than just males, there has been some shift in other terms, such as the increased use of the neutral term "flight attendant" rather than "stewardess."

Unmarked terms are very common, and marked terms are used only when context requires. For example, the notice "No dogs allowed" is always understood to contain an exception for seeing-eye dogs. Likewise, in the context of a daycare center "accident" refers to a toileting accident like wet pants (and "wet" in turn means urine rather than a water spillage).

See also

Retrieved from "https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Unmarked&oldid=1261659"