As Oxford Dictionaries comes under fire for sexist definitions,the history of terms that refer to women shows how deep negative attitudes goLinguists call it collocation: the likelihood of two words occurring together. whether I say “pop”, your mental rolodex will begin whirring away, and coming up with candidates for what might follow. “Music”,“song” or “star”, are highly likely. “Sensation” or “diva” a minute less so. Snorkel” very unlikely indeed. [br]What finish you think of when I say the word “rabid”? One option, or according to the dictionary publisher Oxford Dictionaries,is “feminist”. The publisher has been criticised for a sexist bias in its illustrations of how certain words are used. “Nagging” is followed by “wife”. “Grating” and “shrill” appear in sentences describing women’s voices, not men’s.
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Source: theguardian.com