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Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

1990

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department / School

Speech

First Advisor

Harold Widvey

Abstract

Attention in this study will be drawn to the effects of the language of patriarchy on the power of Native American women. Their picture of the universe is very different from the two-valued, either-or thinking of the conquering patriarchal colonizing culture. Their ability to express themselves creatively in English, through the use of poetry and parables, may teach us something of their life, their language, and their world previously unexpressible [sic]. The study will suggest how understanding the Native American woman’s value system could aid feminists. It will exemplify Whorf’s cardinal hypothesis that the “structure of the language one habitually uses influences the manner in which one understand his environment” (Whorf, 1956, vi).

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Women -- Communication
Women in popular culture
Indian women -- North America

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

99

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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