OF WOMEN AND MEN: ANDROCENTRISM IN AMBIGUITY

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to present an analysis on two Spanish words, both characterized for being ambiguous and very commonly used: hombre and mujer. This study takes as its starting point the relation between society and language and, specifically, the relation between patriarchal society and Spanish language. On this basis, the analysis of hombre/mujer is carried out, paying special attention to the component of ambiguity present in these nouns. Interpretation from native Spanish speakers and lexicographical information are provided. All this data shows that (i) this pair of nouns forms an asymmetric pair in terms of their meaning and (ii) their ambiguity gives a lot of information about the prevailing androcentrism in our society.