Gender stereotypes in the German language: synchronic-diachronic perspective

The article examines the peculiarities of objectification of the universal opposition «man – woman» in the German language based on lexicographic sources from different chronological periods. German language is interesting for studying this opposition because of its expanded nature, which is particularly evident within the «woman» component: «Mann – Frau / Weib». The analysis of interpretations of the concepts «man» and «woman» in German dictionaries reveals the processes of gender stereotyping reflected in them during different periods of language development. This allows us to understand the development of ideas about these concepts in a specific linguistic culture. The leading characteristics of men and women, as reflected in the semantics of key lexemes such as Mann, Frau and Weib, as well as adjectives derived from these words, are determined. Their cultural and historical context is explored. It is found that during the XVIII and XIX centuries, the concepts of «man» and «woman» consistently reflected the processes of gender stereotyping. However, gender stereotypes regarding women were more varied and complex. Starting in the XX century and especially in the XXI century, stereotypes have been presented to a lesser degree, with a noted neutralization of social oppositions within the considered opposition. It is observed that the opposition between man and woman in German initially had a dual nature, both socially and naturally. It is concluded that at present, in lexicographic sources, naturally oriented traits are the leading features of objectification in the «man-woman» opposition. The issue of the level of accuracy with which different concepts are reflected in explanatory dictionaries of the German language has been identified.