Breaking the Bias of English
How English Disempowers Women and How to Fix It in Only Six Words
Aiming to shake patriarchy’s hold over everyday speech and writing, Breaking the Bias of English is an inquisitive linguistic study.
The insidious ways that language shapes perception are explored in Vivian R. Probst’s work of linguistic theory Breaking the Bias of English.
Beginning with the premise that English carries marks of gender-based power imbalances at the level of letters, words, and sounds, this book investigates and addresses such imbalances. In addition to its illustrative personal anecdotes, it makes use of quotes from noted linguists and motivational speakers. Such examples litter the chapters as evidence of the idea that patriarchal notions are pervasive in everyday speech and writing. Multiple calls to action are forwarded: to change how people think about language; to change how people use it; to play word games to expand understanding.
The book also includes templates for rearranging the letters of English words to see what else their letters might spell and for seeking alternate, less gendered words in sample sentences. Some of the resultant connections strain credulity, though: Rearranging the letters of blame to yield male is presented as proof that it the former is biased toward men and masculinity. Elsewhere, a list of the one hundred most prevalent words in English is used to argue that sixteen of them are “he” words, as in, they have the letters h-e, h-i-s, or m-a-n in them somewhere. Even presumed feminine words like she and her are rendered suspect in such estimations, as both contain he within their spelling.
The mechanisms whereby either spellings or sounds can convey sexist meanings are not explained with persuasive precision, though, and complementary suggestions, such as to write dictionary editors with requests to replace she and her with shi and hir to negate their masculine roots, fall flat. More compelling is the assertion that every way to refer to a woman in English is in related to men: the word woman contains man, while female contains male, for example, and this gendered proximity only goes one way, as men are not often defined by their relationships to women. An array of gendered words for professions—fireman, mailman—are included in support of this notion.
However, such insights are rare in a text that is also marked by repetition, and whose organization is more conversational than academic. The chapters range in length, with the shortest just two pages long. Further, two of the appendices impart information from Probst’s publications that are not related to linguistics, taking the book too far afield.
The feminist linguistics text Breaking the Bias of English makes bold assertions about the entwined natures of language and patriarchy.
Reviewed by
Jeana Jorgensen
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
