Vietnamese Migrants' Attitudes Towards Vietnamese Sexist Language
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Vietnamese Migrants' Attitudes towards Vietnamese Sexist Language by Mira Nguyen Chau M.ED — University of Tasmania Submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania February, 2006 Declaration I declare that this thesis does not contain material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university; nor does it contain material previously published or written by any other person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Mira N. Chau STATEMENT OF AUTHORTTY OF ACCESS This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. iL61; Iszl 6-kuu, Mira N. Chau Abstract This thesis examines Vietnamese Australians' attitudes towards sexist language. One can not separate language from the cultural and social issues as they are intertwined with one another. The shaping of an individual's behaviours, attitudes, life values, his/her application of language largely depends on the social environment where s/he has grown up. In Vietnamese society, Confucianism has played a part in shaping many individuals' thinking. Although in the present time it is not as popular as many years ago, it still exists in a number of families, it can be seen through the way they behave, what they believe. There are many research studies on the sexist language in English whereas it is rare to find a research study dealing with sexist language in Vietnamese. This thesis deals with the Vietnamese migrants' attitudes and perception of sexist language. It investigates the nature and characteristics of sexist language in Vietnamese and makes some comparison with that in English. Special attention is given to the socio-cultural context in which sexist language was derived and used. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. iv Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge, with thanks, the support of many people who made this thesis possible. First of all, major support was provided by my supervisor, Dr. Thao Le, the vision of whom has led to this effort in the first place, and to its completion. My continual gratitude and admiration go to Dr. Thao Le for his professional insight and guidance, patience, flexibility and endless flow of ideas given to me during the period of writing this thesis. I also wish to express my appreciation to Dr. Thao Le for his support as a mentor during some of the most difficult time in my life. His experience and valuable advice, his positive outlook on life and encouragement have guided me through difficulty. I owe a great debt to the many people who participated in the questionnaire and interviews. They have provided the experiences, valuable information and inspiration to tackle this thesis. The insight gained from the interaction with them is invaluable to me. I am thankful to my special friends who gave me critical help and detailed suggestions along the way. They include Tai Le, Huyen Chau, Annette Curmi and Chim Hai. Heartfelt thanks go to my husband, An, and my children, Thuong, Dien and Ho who have helped me in numerous ways. Their support and encouragement are much appreciated. V Contents Declaration Statement of authority of access Abstract Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Overview 2 1.2 The social and cultural context of discriminatory/sexist language 5 1.3 Context and issues of discriminatory/sexist language in Vietnamese 8 1.4 Research aims 9 1.4.1 The statement of the problem 10 1.4.2 Research assumptions 10 1.5 Research limitation 11 1.6 Significance of the study 11 1.7 The structure of the thesis 12 1.8 Conclusion 15 Chapter 2: Prejudice and Discrimination 2.1 Introduction: What is prejudice? 17 2.2 Development of prejudice 18 2.3 Discrimination and prejudice 21 2.4 Prejudice and discrimination in the school context 27 2.5 Prevention of prejudice and discrimination 29 2.6 Sexism 37 2.7 Conclusion 44 Chapter 3: Language and culture: a base for discriminatory sexist language 3.1 Introduction 45 3.2 Language and culture 45 3.3 Language and Gender 49 3.3.1 The influence of early social conditioning 55 3.3.2 Gender issues 57 vi 3.3.3 Stereotyping 69 3.3.4 Linguistic markers of sexist language 77 3.3.5 Language of racial discrimination 92 3.4 Conclusion 97 Chapter 4: Discriminatory sexist language in the Vietnamese culture 4.1 Introduction 98 4.2 An overview of the Vietnamese history, culture and language 98 4.2.1 Ancient history 98 4.2.2 Cultural and political change 102 4.2.3 Culture 104 4.2.3.1 The notion of equality in Vietnamese culture 104 4.2.3.2 The meaning of the number one hundred in Vietnamese culture 105 4.2.3.3 Cultural values 105 4.2.4 Religious beliefs 112 4.2.4.1 Buddhism 112 4.2.4.2 Confucianism 115 4.2.4.3 Taoism 116 4.2.4.4 Christianity 118 4.2.4.5 Caodaism 118 4.2.4.6 Hoa Hao Buddhism 120 4.3 The Vietnamese Family 120 4.3.1 The male status in the family 120 4.3.2 The female status in the family 121 4.3.3 Family rank 122 4.3.4 Kinship 123 4.3.5 Cult of ancestors 123 4.3.6 Children and filial piety 124 4.3.6.1 Spirit of the family 124 4.3.6.2 The role of daughters 125 4.3.6.3 The role of sons 126 4.3.6.4 The significance of filial piety in the Vietnamese family 126 4.3.6.5 Vietnamese families after 1975 130 vii 4.4 Confucian ideology 132 4.4.1 Self-cultivation 134 4.4.2 Family and filial piety 137 4.4.3 From family to the larger community 139 4.4.4 The proper conduct in the country 140 4.4.5 The Confucian image of women and emotions 141 4.4.6 The Confucian image of men 144 4.5. Confucian influence in Vietnam 145 4.5.1 Cultural influence 146 4.5.2 Gender division influence 148 4.5.3 The female image in a Confucian society 149 4.5.4 The Confucian image of man 153 4.5.5 Confucian marriage 154 4.6 Women and changes . 155 4.7 Aspects of Vietnamese authenticity 158 4.8 Vietnamese Literature and linguistic features 163 4.8.1 Literature 163 4.8.2 Linguistics features 164 4.8.3 Linguistic features during the Chinese ruling 165 4.8.4 Linguistic features under the French rule 168 4.8.5 Vietnamese attitudes in classifiers 171 4.9 Vietnamese sexist language 174 4.9.1 Confucian influence in Vietnamese proverbs and folklores 174 4.9.2 Presupposition 184 4.9.3 People's appearance 186 4.9.4 Occupation 192 4.9.5 Non-Confucian attitudes in folklore 193 4.10 Conclusion 195 Chapter 5: Contrastive features of English and Vietnamese discriminatory aspects 5.1 Introduction 196 5.2 Contrastive analysis 196 5.3 English versus Vietnamese 199 5.3.1 Linguistic aspect 199 5.3.2 Contrastive features in English and Vietnamese kinship terminology 201 5.3.3 Sociolinguistic aspect 203 5.3.3.1 Communication 204 5.3.3.2 Personal relationship 206 5.3.3.3 Interpersonal relationship 206 5.3.3.4 Emotion 209 5.3.3.5 Similarities and differences 210 5.4 Conclusion 214 Chapter 6: Research methodology 6.1 Introduction 215 6.2 Qualitative and quantitative approach 218 6.3 Participants 219 6.4 Questionnaire 221 6.5 Interview 222 6.6 Research validity 223 6.7 Pilot study 223 6.8 Research reliability 224 6.9 Ethical Issues 224 6.10 Conclusion 225 Chapter 7: Quantitative data analysis 7.1 Introduction 226 7.2 Questionnaire results 226 7.3 Preliminary data analysis 228 7.4 Cluster analysis 242 7.5 Conclusion 252 Chapter 8: Qualitative data analysis 8.1 Introduction 253 8.2 Using Qualitative Method in Interviews 254 8.3 The Interview Process 257 8.4 Interviews' Purpose and Content 259 ix 8.5 Interviewing Questions and Answers 261 8.6 Result of interviews 272 8.6.1 Role and status of women 272 8.6.2 Role and status of men 273 8.6.3 Confucian influence 275 8.6.4 Cultural theme 276 8.6.5 Marriage theme 277 8.6.6 Participants' attitudes towards sexist language 277 8.7 Conclusion 278 Chapter 9 Conclusion 9.1 Reflective overview 281 9.2 The research study and results 282 9.3 The significance of the research findings 283 9.4 Limitation of the study 285 9.5 Suggestions for future research 286 9.6 Conclusion 288 References 289 Appendix 298 List of Tables Table 1 220 Table 2 221 List of Figures Figure 1- Age 227 Figure 2- Job 227 Figure 3- Gender 227 Figure 4- English 227 Figure 5- Residence length 228 Figure 6- Case processing summary 229 Figure 7- Age Q12 Crosstabulation 230 Figure 8- Job Q12 Crosstabulation 230 Figure 9- Gender Q12 Crosstabulation 231 Figure 10- Educational Level Q12 Crosstabulation 231 Figure 11- English Q12 Crosstabulation 231 Figure 12- Residence length Q12 Crosstabulation 232 Figure 13- Group statistics 232 Figure 14- Compare means analysis 237 Figure 15- Compare means Age 237 Figure 16- Compare means Residency 238 Figure 17- Compare means Residency & Education 239 Figure 18- Compare means Gender 239 Figure 19- Age: Q39 240 Figure 20- Career: Q39 241 Figure 21- Gender: Q39 241 Figure 22- Educational level: Q39 241 Figure 23- English: Q39 242 Figure 24- Residency: Q39 242 xi Vietnamese Migrants' Attitudes Towards Sexist Language 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Overview After the Second World War, the population growth in Australia has increased to nearly sixty percent due to immigration from overseas.