Contents

Preface

1 Introduction

Language and Gender as a Cultural and Social Problem

Initial Studies on Language and Gender

Is Gender a Grammatical or Semantic Issue?

Symbolization and Language Organization

Gender Markedness

Gender Markedness in Natural Languages

Gender Markedness in Constructed Languages

Grammatical Gender in Hebrew

Feminine Markedness and Derivation

Grammatical Gender of Animate and Inanimate Nouns

Grammatical Gender of Numerals

Semantic Impact on Gender

Language and Gender Representation

Gender and Brain Representation

Gender and the Speech Community

Language and Gender Research

Linguistic Changes in Gender

2 Language and Gender in Classical Hebrew

General Remarks

Gender in the Bible

Men and Women’s Representation in Biblical Terms

Women’s Status in the Bible

Women and Leadership in the Bible

Gender Proverbs in the Bible

Grammatical Gender in Biblical Hebrew

Gender Shifting of Pronouns and Inflected Prepositions

Gender Shifting of Verbs, Participles and Copulas

Gender Shifting and Special Cases of Nouns

Differences in Forms of Address

Gender in Mishnaic Times

Grammatical Gender in Mishnaic Hebrew

Women’s Status in Mishnaic Period

Mishnaic Stories about Women

Gender in the Middle Ages

Grammatical Gender in Medieval Hebrew

Women’s Status in Medieval Times

3 Language, Gender and Religion

Men and Women in Judaism

Women and the Study of Religious Texts

Expectation for Women to Remain Silent

Jewish Women’s Status Over the Course of Time

Linguistic Terms for Religious Functions

Jewish Ceremonies

Birth Ceremonies and Prayers

Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah Ceremonies

The Wedding Ceremony

Special Religious Texts for Women

Religious Texts Written by Women

Feminist Changes in Judaism

Language Changes in Liturgical Texts

Blessing for Not Being Created a Woman?

Adding the Names of the Matriarchs

Alternative Names for God

Mentioning Women in Ceremonies

4 Gender in Modern Literature and Language

The First Women Writers in Hebrew

Special Female Genres and Style

Special Women’s Literature?

Women Writers in Israel

Hebrew Revitalization and Gender

Father Tongue or Mother Tongue?

Women Writers Entering the Canon

Gendered Language in Literature

Social Reasons for Linguistic Differences

Gender Distinctions in Hebrew

Gender in the Number System

Gender in Animal Names

Androcentric Generics

Gender Saliency and Discrepancy

Gender Perceptions in the Language

Gender and Metaphoric Uniqueness

Stereotypes Reflected in the Language

Popular Gendered Expressions

5 Gender Changes in the Language

Language Change or Social Change?

Different Types of Linguistic Changes

Applying Linguistic Changes

Changes in Constructed Languages

Grammatical Changes in Hebrew

Changes in Forms of Address

Morphological Changes

Lexical and Semantic Changes

Changes in Professional and Occupational Titles

Masculine Use for Female Occupations

Masculine Fixed Expressions in Hebrew

Gender Use in Proper Names

Gender Changes in Proper Names

Switching Linguistic Gender

Language, Gender and Sexuality

Hebrew Terms Referring to Homosexuality

6 Summary and Conclusions

The Problem of Language and Gender

The Gender Problem in Hebrew

Gender in Hebrew throughout History

Gender Representation in Judaism

Gender in Modern Language and Literature

Gender Changes in Modern Hebrew

Conclusions

References

Subject Index

Author Index