Discourse analysis

men
Women
actor	Actress
	Nun
bride
policeman
	Duchess
	Princess
hero
steward
host
	Waitress
manager
	Widow
Governor
author
	Clerkess
poet

1. If you fill the table successfully, look at the pairs of words and decide which of the female items
a) no longer in use
b) still in use but probably disappearing
c) showing no signs of disappearing
2. What do you think the connection between changes in the use of -ess

• 
  Traditionally, English has used he/him/his when the sex of a person is not known, or in references that can apply to either men or women, especially in a formal style.
  

If a student is ill, he must send his medical certificate to the College office.
If I ever find the person who did that, I'll kill him.

• 
  Many people now regard such usage as sexist (or genderism) and try to avoid it. He or she, him or her and his or her are common.
  

If a student is ill, he or she must send a medical certificate

• 
  According to the Cambridge International Dictionary of English (1995), sexism refers to 'the idea or belief that the members of one sex are less intelligent, able, skillful, etc. than the members of the other sex'. Other definitions refer to the oppression of members of one sex by the other. In theory, then, sexism (or genderism) can be seen as some kind of discrimination against either gender. In reality, of course, when the alleged sexism/genderism of the English language is discussed it is discrimination against females as built into the language that is of concern. Such discrimination is an aspect of power since it is a means of maintaining a power structure which favors males over females. The issue using words only related to man e.g. chairman, fireman, spokesman makes English language GENDER BIAS
  
• 
  As many women dislike being called, for example, 'chairman' or 'spokesman', these words are now often avoided in references to women or in general references to people of either sex. In many cases, -person is now used instead of -man.
  

Alice has just been elected chairperson (or chair) of our committee.
A spokesperson said that the Minister does not intend to resign.
In some cases, new words ending in -woman (e.g. spokeswoman) are coming into use. But there is also a move to choose words, even for men, which are not gender-marked (e.g. supervisor instead of foreman; ambulance staff instead of ambulance men, firefighter instead of fireman).