Interdependency of language and social views : A study of women's social position in a Bangla Speech Community

Abstract

Works of many feminists, linguistis and sociologists have suggested the notion that all languages are man-made and man-driven to carry out the male agenda, and it plays a role in creating and maintaining a certain social hierarchy and the position of women in the society. This can, to some extent explain the widely practiced treatment of women as secondary members of the society and family. This paper presents a first-hand study of the Bangla language from a feminist point of view. In the process, it aims to draw attention to the derogatory view of women upheld by a particular construction of language, shows how the language affects the view of the society and vice versa, and attempts to come up with a way of creating a unisex language. It also aims to show that the ideas regarding the pattern in the use of language by women and men are not based on facts and in most cases, untrue.