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 sexism in language – the use of language that discriminates against members of a certain gender. 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 implicatures. In many cultures, including Vietnamese, men are supposed to develop traits of masculinity, such as strength, courage, independence and assertiveness, while women are supposed to develop traits of femininity, such as kindness, tolerance, empathy and sensitivity. Furthermore, men are expected to lead a successful career, achieve social status, and earn money to feed the family, while women are expected to take care of household chores and submit to their husband. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The idea of ​​gender roles creates conventional images of the sexes and forces both men and women to adapt their behavior to meet social norms, which can further reinforce: people tend to have the same belief and share the same behavior with most others and consider these commonalities a standard, giving rise to further stereotypes that lead to sexism. Sexism in language can affect both sexes; however, its main victims are women and Vietnamese is no exception. First of all, sexism is reflected in lexical choice. Vietnamese women of all social classes and historical periods are addressed based on their husband's name or position. In Vietnamese, “ông” and “bà” are titles used before names to refer to men and women respectively. During the colonial period, the word “bà hội đồng” referred to the woman whose husband was the head of an administrative unit – “ông hội đồng”. The same goes for “bà cai lệ”, whose husband was a guard commander in a feudal district – “ông cai lệ” and “bà nghè”, whose husband – “ông nghè” – was someone who held a specific academic position . . These practices of addressing women are still visible in today's society, although not as profoundly. There are two ways to interpret the following word: “bà chủ tịch” – the woman who is herself a president or the wife of a president – ​​“ông chủ tịch” (Khang, N 2016). Authors have adopted common ways to address female characters to women. Ngô Tất Tố’s “Tắt đèn” 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 refer to married couples as a whole. 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 rich married couple was called "ông bà Văn Minh", in which "Văn Minh" was the husband's name. The wife was therefore called “bà Văn Minh”. Household chores are called “công việc nội trợ” in Vietnamese. If you are Vietnamese, chances are you have heard the phrase “bà nội trợ” but never something like “ông nội trợ”. This comes from the conventional image of women: staying at home full time and taking care of domestic problems. Because of this, women are prevented from developing skills while men are not allowed to stay at home full timeand do housework. If he does so, he will be considered incompetent, unambitious and may be spitefully called “Đồ đàn bà!” (You woman!) because this is supposedly a woman's job. The professional range of women is limited not because of their inability, but because of the conventional image of women that is deeply rooted in the people's mind. Vietnamese has another pair of words – “trai” and “gái” – to refer to men and women respectively. However, in some circumstances there is a striking difference between their meanings. The literal meanings of the following collocations show a symmetry in terms of gender, resulting in a disparity in assumed meaning. If you type the word “làm trai” (literal meaning: to be men) in any search engine, the first results will be on “chí lam trai” (a set of characteristics that a man must possess: resilience, ambition, nobility of soul, aspiration to good…). On the other hand, if you do the same with “làm gái” (literal meaning: to be women) you will get results about prostitution. Occupation names in Vietnamese are gender-neutral, meaning they can be applied to either gender. However, people associate some of them only with men and add the prefix “nữ” to refer to a woman working in these professions. Words like “kiến trúc sư” (architect), “kĩ sư” (engineer), “giám đốc” (director), “chính trị gia” (politician) evoke the image of a man, not a woman. The addition of the prefix “nữ” is equivalent to stating that these occupations are reserved for men and that if a woman participates in them, it is considered an unusual case and it is necessary to distinguish her from her male colleagues. This may be partly due to the fact that these are male-dominated occupations, but over time the mental image they carry will exclude women from participating. Secondly, sexism is not only reflected in lexical choice but also in conversations. The question “What does your 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 does not evaluate herself based on her own abilities but based on those of her husband. However, if she surpasses her husband in some areas, usually in terms of income or education, the husband will be looked down upon, just like a man who stays home full time to do housework. In Vietnamese, scolding can have sexist implications. Expressions such as “Con trai gì mà nhát như con gái” (How can you be cowardly like a girl?) or “Con gái gì mà hanging dữ như con trai” (How can you be fierce like a boy?) are likely to occur when members of a particular gender do not respect their gender role or display traits considered exclusive to the opposite gender. Here, “cowardly” is associated with women and “fierce” is associated with men. There are different words to refer to people of different sexes, but only feminine ones are used to insult and humiliate. Women appear much more frequently in derogatory phrases, a typical example being “Đồ đàn bà!” (You woman!). Anyone who receives this sentence is considered cowardly, selfish, or narrow-minded regardless of gender, which conveys the prejudice that these terrible characteristics are exclusive to women. The very word “đàn bà” has a negative connotation. An expression like “Đồ đàn ông!” (You friend!) never exists since the word “đàn ông” is neutral and can also convey a sense of maturity while “đàn bà” is used more or less with a contemptuous attitude. Furthermore, sexism can be found in Vietnamese folk verses – ca dao – as they are a representation of the real world and reflect the beliefs people have about the world. . They exist.