Political Correction
I used to write here a lot more about language. This was back when I lived in Asia, mainly, and I came to appreciate the fact that while language is a great tool for communication, grammar, spelling, and the other conventions that sit alongside language only serve to clarify and codify communication that can happen perfectly well without them. A prime example of this would have been conversations overheard in India between two people, both of whom spoke different languages and so communicated through their second language. This was English, but it was a version of English that I really couldn't understand myself without a hell of a lot of effort.
I've always avoided political correctness. Partly because I think it's anodyne and iniquitous, but also because it changes regularly, and it's virtually impossible to keep up to date. And it changes from individual to individual. A word that one person finds to be a perfectly acceptable description of them may be offensive to another. It's a mine field. That said, I've never gone out of my way to be particularly politically incorrect.
Example! At last I've come up with an example. I've made up an imaginary friend, Nicola, who works in a restaurant. Her job is to take orders from customers, and deliver food. Apparently the politically correct term for her job is a Wait person. She thinks this is silly. She's a waiter. She describes herself as a waiter. But her colleague, Diane, describes herself as a waitress. Because to call herself a waiter would be to deny the fact that she's a woman. She finds the term offensive. Personally, I call them Nicola and Diane. Or I would, if they existed.
The point of this, I guess, is that the word itself isn't offensive. It's the interpretation of the word that's offensive. So if a word is used with the intention of causing offence, the listener (or listenress) would have every right to be offended. If a word is used with no such intention, it's up to the listener to decide whether to explain to the speaker that they find the word offensive, or just to let it drop.
26 March, 2003
