An analysis of the verbal collocations of the lemmas Man and Woman in spanish in the now corpus

Resumen

This study uses corpus linguistics techniques to investigate how men and women are represented in online news in Spanish. The research explores the collocational patterns of verbs with the lemmas MAN and WOMAN within the NOW corpus. The findings indicate that certain verbs, like “to argue,” “ to lie,” “to threaten,” and “to yell,” are more closely associated with men, while verbs like “to protest,” “to be silent,” and “to argue” are more linked to women. These patterns reflect gender dynamics in language and align with research in English that shows a stronger association between men and violent actions. On the other hand, the verb “to die” appears more frequently with MAN, and WOMAN is more commonly paired with “to pass away,” which, unlike “to die,” carries emotional and respectful nuances. Additionally, the study reveals the exclusive collocation of “to fail” with MAN and “to succeed” with WOMAN, shedding light on achievement expectations for both genders. Notably, verbs like “to deal with” and “to face” occur uniquely with WOMAN, suggesting a connection between women and handling difficult situations. This lexical analysis underscores the intricate interplay between language, gender, and societal perceptions, emphasizing the need for ongoing study and research to uncover and challenge gender stereotypes and power dynamics embedded in language.