846
noun in number and gender.
'gender
bender noun (informal) a
person who dresses and behaves like a member of the opposite sex % fr ^
JtfcJMSiWA;
'gender dysphoria noun [U] (medical IS)
a condition in which sb feels that they were born with the wrong sex
,gender reas'signment noun [u] the act of changing
a person’s sex by a medical operation in which parts of their body are changed
so that they become like a person of the opposite sex
'gender-specific.adj. connected with women
only or with men only £ ( s&M ) if
fft : The report was
redrafted to remove gender-specific language. Sgfj&^fc'HIKir,
gene /d3i:n/ noun (biology
*fe.) a unit inside a cell which controls a particular quality in a living
thing that has been passed on from its parents lg: a dominant/ recessive
gene H'I4 / fiti43i0 0 genes that code for the colour of the eyes
AIR jgfjft M fe Wi & tfy # 0 — see also genetic IBIBI be in the 'genes to be a quality that
your parents have passed on to you IS 0 {A M {$: I’ve always enjoyed music—it’s
in the genes. ft A
ge neal ogist /,d3i:ni‘aelad3ist/ noun a
person who studies family history
MORE ABOUT % $$
gender
Ways
of talking about men and women J§
fj'/k
When
you are writing or speaking English it is important to use language that
includes both men and women equally. Some people may be very offended if you do
not.
The
human race Ail!
■
Man and mankind have traditionally been used to mean ‘all men and women’. Many people
now prefer to use humanity, the human
race, human beings or people. * man ffl mankind f££jE±ffllM$!t$r#l!tt^£
SI
ft iA A All/A ffl humanity, the human race, human
beings people0
Jobs
■
The suffix -ess in names of occupations
such as
actress, hostess and waitress shows that the person doing the job is a
woman. Many people now avoid these. Instead you can use actor or host, (although actress and hostess are still very common) or a neutral word,
such as server for waiter and waitress.
J0HE -ess actress, hostess fP waitress
Sfi,
•iiTlIo actor j$ host ( JUf
actress f1l
hostess JE ) B^ffl ffliiis] server waiter fn
waitress*,
■
Neutral words like assistant, worker,
person or
officer are now often used instead of -man
or-woman in the names of jobs. For example, you can use police officer instead of policeman
or policewoman, and spokesperson instead of spokesman
or spokeswoman. Neutral words are very common in newspapers, on
television and radio and in official writing, in both BrE and NAmE.
Slft%Hi'f$f&#ffl ff’t-feii assistant, worker, person
officer Jjyft -man -woman*, $|#P hfffl police officer ft# policeman git policewoman,
ffl spokesperson ft# spokesman bJ
spokeswoman 0 /EM.
rmp^i+,
When
talking about jobs that are traditionally done by
ge-neal-ogy /.dsiini'aeladsi/ noun {pi. -ies) 1 [u] the study of family history,
including the study of who the ancestors
of a particular person were M it ^^ it ^ ; 2 [C] a particular person’s line of ancestors;
a diagram that shows this ® ( HU ) ; %
it ( S ) ►
ge-nea-logic-al /.dsimia'lodsikl;
NAmE -'la:d3-/ adj. [only before noun]:
a genealogical chart/table/tree (= a chart with branches that
shows a person’s ancestors)^®; mm-,
'gene pool noun (biology 4) all of the genes that are available within
breeding populations of a particular species
of animal or plant # (tfj 4*: h|S IS
0 )
gen-era pi. of genus
gen eral o-w /'d3enr9l/ adj., noun
m adj.
■
AFFECTING ALL 1 affecting all or most people,
places or things /k # ;
# jit
(tfj; &
69 : The general
opinion is that the
conference was a success. # ilst iA
f]&
0 the general belief/consensus # )§! fftflf ASiM 0 books of general interest (= of interest to most people) f 0 The bad weather
has been fairly general (= has affected most areas), A
■
USUAL il # 2 [usually before noun] normal; usual IE #
fltfj; — ; # ffl :
There is one exception to this
general principle, it'tin M14jf^ll#—o 0 As a general rule (=
usually) he did what he could to be helpful. — $£1f 0 This opinion is
the other sex, some people
say: a male secretary/ nurse/model (NOT man) or a woman/female doctor/ barrister/driver. However this is now not
usually used unless you need to emphasize which sex the person is, or it is still unusual for the job to be done by a man/
woman. ffAffl
male secretary/nurse/model (
7 ffl man ) b£ woman/ female
doctor/barrister/driver ^.m0 ^MSI'fEj&ff'fflfA
»Mai*JltAW&W,
DcMttS'JAlfcX if-iJffi/ADi: My daughter prefers to see a woman doctor. 0 They
have a
male nanny for their kids. ftMl'7
W'M? A0,
o a female racing
driver AH77
Pronounsfti§]
m He used to be considered to cover both men
and women; * he Everyone
needs to feel he is loved. AASIfflilfiif.
but this is not now acceptable, TollS j£jitffl ?A7f£iA |HJ0 Instead, after everybody, everyone, anybody, anyone, somebody,
someone, etc.
ope of the plural pronouns they, them, and their is often used. Jfcifiift everybody,
everyone, anybody, anyone, somebody, someone they,
them
ffl their: Does
everybody know what they want? AA 0 Somebody’s left their coat here.
#Affi#i^4ikjLTo 0 / hope nobody’s
forgotten to bring their passport with them. #S1^AS
timm±.pm0
■
Some people prefer to use he or she, his or her, or
him or her in speech and writing.
WA&Piifflffliffi io AllTAff] he or she, his or her
M him or her:
Everyone knows what’s best for him or herself. AAitft He/she or js)he can
also be used in writing. * he/she «£ (s)he ill'of ffl 7
fVifif If in doubt, ask your doctor. He/she can
give you more information. it link
zH« ifcSo (You may find that some
writers just use ‘she’. ffllARffl she0 )
These uses can seem awkward when they are used a lot. It is better to try to
change the sentence, using a plural noun. j&f^ffl/AA
Instead
of saying MUzitt: A baby cries when he or she is tired, you can say
nflMift: Babies cry when they are tired.