Gender studies in comparative linguistics (Russian and Chinese languages)

In the last decade of the 20th century such categories as "gender", "ethnicity" and "age" gradually begin to move away from the single interpretation of "biologically determined" and begin to be interpreted differently, considered in a broader sense. In connection with this fact, in the scientific world, gender studies are one of the rapidly developing areas. The article is devoted not only to the analysis of existing developments in the field of gender research in comparative linguistics on the basis of the Russian and Chinese languages, but also to the subsequent comparison of the main trends observed in linguistic genderology. The authors analyzed and identified two main periods in the formation of gender studies - biological determinism and gender studies. The article also describes the transition period that served as the basis for modern gender studies. The main purpose of this article is to review research works on the study of gender in the Russian and Chinese languages for the purpose of comparison. Conducting the research, such general logical research methods as analysis and subsequent synthesis of material were used. The novelty of the research lies in the comparison of existing developments and methods of work in the field of gender studies in comparative linguistics on the basis of Russian and Chinese languages. The conclusions describe the main trends in the development of gender studies. The first trend is to identify the linguistic significance of the gender approach in linguistics as a whole. The second trend is devoted to establishing the role of the so-called extralinguistic reality in the process of forming gender itself. Gender studies in the Chinese language are aimed at studying gender in the theoretical aspect. Also, the works often compare the role and status of men and women in society for differences.