Gender discourse in modern English and Russian belles-letters

Theories of discourse as theories of gender: discourse analysis in language and gender studies. Belles-letters style as one of the functional styles of literary standard of the English language. Gender discourse in the tales of the three languages.
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Introduction

The theme of the research work is «Gender discourse in modern English and Russian belles-letters». According to many linguists, the concept of «discourse» is very helpful in understanding why men must resist negative stereotypes of their gender imposed by those with a negative mind-set. Discourse is a term that is often used synonymously with «ideology». However, it is much more than this, and is a central concept in trying to make sense of the contested area of understanding gender.

The study of language and gender has increasingly become the study of discourse and gender. While phonological, lexical, and other kinds of linguistic analysis continue to be influential, the interdisciplinary investigation of discourse-level phenomena, always a robust area of language and gender scholarship, has become the central approach of the field. Hundreds of books, articles, and dissertations in numerous disciplines examine the intersection between discourse and gender from a variety of analytic perspectives. This proliferation of research presents problems for any attempt at a comprehensive overview, for although many of these studies are explicitly framed as drawing on the insights of discourse analysis, their approaches are so different that it is impossible to offer a unified treatment of discourse analysis as a tool for the study of language and gender.

Student interest in literary texts is of particular significance for some of the broader questions among students. Research on adolescent patterns of participation and achievement in education generally, and in literacy more particularly, have indicated that there are significant numbers of boys who are falling behind the levels of achievement of their female peers. Understanding the role interest plays in initiating and maintaining literacy skills will help address this problem. Does student engagement with particular texts depend upon students coming to the task with a well-developed interest in literature? Does reading further into a text depend on the level of interest aroused when students first encounter the text? Are these responses to the texts different for boys and girls? These phenomena determine the topicality of our research work.

This paper is a result of a keen and long-lasting interest of its author in applied linguistics in combination with the factors that enable people to interpret fairy tales in both native and foreign language. The question is whether on the basis of discourse analysis theories it is possible to make it easy for foreign language learners to read texts with full comprehension.

So, the aim of our diploma work is to define the role of gender in discourse through English, Russian and Kazakh belles-letters, exactly fairy-tales.

In order to achieve the aim of the work it is necessary to decide the following objectives:

· to look through the literature;

· to demonstrate the approaches of the investigation the notion;

· to make discourse analysis of belles-letters (fairy tales);

· to make the comparative analysis of gender differentiation in Kazakh, Russian and English fairy tales.

The object of the research is gender discourse in belles-letters.

The subject to reveal discourse of gender differentiation in English, Russian and Kazakh fairy tales.

To achieve the object of the work the following objectives of the research can be pointed out: discourse analysis, quantitative and qualitative analyses, complex analysis of literary work, descriptive and comparative methods.

Scientific novelty of the research paper is in the fact that the given paper is the attempt to define the gender discourse in belles-letters, exactly in fairy tales of different languages as English, Russian and Kazakh.

The theoretical and methodological basis consist of the analyzing of the research of the Т. Van Dake, J. Austin, J. Searle, M. Fuko, E. Goffmana, S.I. Vinogradova, B.P. Parshin, V.Z. Demjankova, J.S. Stepanova on the given subject «discourse». We have taken for the analyses the following works: in English - English Folktales (edited by D. Keding and A. Douglas): «The Pottle of Brains», «The Old Woman and her Pig», «The Farmer and the Cheese», «Jack Turnip», «Lazy Jack»; in Russian - Михаил Евграфович Салтыков-Щедрин «Недреманное око», «Дикий помещик», «Баран непомнящий», «Повесть о том, как один мужик двух генералов прокормил»; in Kazakh - «Красавица Кункей», «Три сына бедняка», «Чудесный сад».

While writing the research work we used such methods as selecting of bibliography, textual and interpreting analysis and comparison of the literary works of the examined period of time.

The practical significance of the research consists of use of scientific - theoretical results and the fact, that actual material can be used at reading lectures on the course of English Literature and drawing up of the manuals and various grants.

The structure: of the work is presented by Introduction, Theoretical and Practical parts, Conclusion, List of used literature (bibliography) and Appendix. The whole work consists of 62 pages. The theme, actuality, the aim, object, subject, methods of investigation of the work are identified in the introduction. In the first part description of the term 'discourse' itself, including examples of its various types and functions are described. It also presents a thorough analysis of the function of a gender in belles-letters, a historical background of how scholars became interested in the use of language, the manners in which they examined speech and writing, as well as it depicts the division of discursive devices. The practical part includes the comparative analysis of Kazakh, Russian and English fairy tales. The work is summed up in the conclusion.



1. Theories of discourse as theories of gender: discourse analysis in language and gender studies

1.1 The concept of discourse in linguistics

Mass media, being a component of interiorization, plays the important role in the course of gender socialization. Occurrence of «new journalism» and the information addressed exclusively to women has been noted in the end of the XIX century. Gradually press «feminization» was replaced «equalization» that has caused serious discussions on a wave of success of feminist movement. Thereof the tendency of dedication of researches to women in journalism was in the early eighties of the XX century observed, however basically in socially - economic aspect; after there was variety of the works devoted to studying of gender relations in journalism, and also to transformations in public consciousness concerning a role of women and information representation. The given fact was an incitement to start the discourse analysis, in particular media, as display means in it of new realities of our society. The given researches of a media discourse are connected not only with the language use, but also with communicator of speeches, society and culture. Thus, the discourse-analysis covers such academic disciplines which focus attention to various aspects of human activity: anthropology, journalism, rhetoric, the literature and cultural science, sociology, psychology, geography, jurisprudence and formation. Therefore non-linguists address in the works to linguistics by means of discourse-analysis studying, and work of philologists gets interdisciplinary value.

In the given work views of modern researchers as Т. Van Dake, J. Austin, J. Searle, M. Fuko, E. Goffmana, S.I. Vinogradova, B.P. Parshin, V.Z. Demjankova, J.S. Stepanova on the given subject «discourse» are presented and also various approaches for an analysis discourse are offered.

Since its introduction to modern science the term 'discourse' has taken various, sometimes very broad, meanings. In order to specify which of the numerous senses is analyzed in the following work it has to be defined. Originally the word 'discourse' comes from Latin 'discursus' which denoted 'conversation, speech'. Thus understood, however, discourse refers to too wide an area of human life, therefore only discourse from the vantage point of linguistics, and especially applied linguistics, is explained here.

There is no agreement among linguists as to the use of the term discourse in that some use it in reference to texts, while others claim it denotes speech which is for instance illustrated by the following definition: «Discourse: a continuous stretch of (especially spoken) language larger than a sentence, often constituting a coherent unit such as a sermon, argument, joke, or narrative» [1, 105]. On the other hand Dakowska, being aware of differences between kinds of discourses indicates the unity of communicative intentions as a vital element of each of them. Consequently she suggests using terms 'text' and 'discourse' almost interchangeably betok...