Слайд 2Language, or behavior, which is claimed to be calculated to provide a
minimum of offense, particularly to the racial, cultural, or other identity groups being described
Слайд 3Term “PC” is hotly contested
Identity politics (gay rights, feminism, multiculturalism, disability rights)
“gender-neutral”
job titles: lineworker vs lineman, chairperson vs chairman, differently abled vs disabled, Native American vs Indian
Слайд 4Modern concept arose in 1970’s-80’s: socially acceptable for women and non-Caucasians to
pursue lifestyles that had been previously been held (nearly) exclusively by Caucasian men, such as senior management position within a large corporation.
Слайд 5English language must change its male-centered nouns such as “chairman” to more
inclusive terms such as “chairperson”
Слайд 6Using “person with a disability” or preferably “differently abled” in preference to
“handicapped” or “crippled”; “mentally ill” in preference to “crazy”
Слайд 7Belief based on Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: language’s grammatical categories shape its speakers’ ideas
and action
Слайд 8The objective was (and remains) to bring peoples’ unconscious biases into awareness,
allowing them to make more informed choices about their language and making them aware of things different people might find offensive
Слайд 9Goal of changing language
Certain people have their rights, opportunities, or freedoms restricted
due to their categorization as members of a group with a derogatory stereotype
Слайд 10Goal of changing language
This categorization is largely implicit and unconscious, and is
facilitated by the easy availability of labeling terminology
Слайд 11Goal of changing language
By making the labeling terminology problematic, people are made
to think consciously about how they describe someone
Слайд 12Goal of changing language
Once labeling is a conscious activity, individual merits of
a person, rather than their perceived membership in a group, become more apparent
Слайд 13Language’s grammatical categories control its speakers’ possible thoughts
Ways in which we see
the world may be influenced by the kind of language we use
Sexist language promotes sexist thought
Слайд 14Members of identity groups sometime embrace terms that others seek to change
Deaf
culture has always considered the label “Deaf” as an affirming statement of group membership and not insulting
Слайд 15Term now substituted for term “deaf” is “hearing impaired”
Developed to include people
with hearing loss due to aging, accidents, and other causes
Considered highly derogatory by many deaf people
Слайд 16Term “Hard of Hearing” however, is considered an acceptable descriptive term for
a person who has limited to no hearing
Слайд 17New terms are often awkward
Substitutes for the original stark language concerning differences
such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, and political views
Слайд 18Some argue that political correctness amounts to censorship and endangers free speech
Politically
correct terminology can be used to soften concepts that would be unacceptable in normal language
Слайд 19Conservatives often view many politically correct terms as being linguistic cover for
an evasion of personal responsibility
“juvenile delinquents” become “children at risk”
“Illegal aliens” become “undocumented workers”
Слайд 20Political correctness can often detect offensive language when there is none
“herstory” instead
of “history”
Слайд 21Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Newspeak
“bad” replaced by “ungood” and the concept
of “freedom” has been eliminated over time
Слайд 22If humans cannot form the words to express the ideas underlying a
revolution, then they cannot revolt