If you were called a ‘idiot’ or ‘moron’, or even ‘mentally retarded’ – would you be offended? If you answered “Yes” – then why are you offended? According to O’Neill (2011) these words are medical terms and began their existence as medical descriptors without implicit value judgement, or rudeness built into them. So, why are they now deemed offensive? Why is it not politically correct (PC) to use these medical terms like we would use ‘asthma’ or ‘cancer’? Is it because of the way the words are said, the context in which they are said, their connotations, or because the ‘playground’ bully once called you them?’ According to O’Neill (2011) it can be because of all of these reasons. What he calls the never ending ‘Euphemism Treadmill’ has tried to conquer this by creating and replacing certain words which seem to have taken on negative connotations and implicit suggestions; so, for instance, ‘retarded’ becomes ‘differently abled’. Therefore, when (or if!) ‘differently abled’ becomes negative, another word will need to enter the euphemism treadmill to replace it. Where does this stop and is this an example of PC going too far and becoming what Heywood describes as the straitjacket of language? (2015, p. 12).
The Oxford Reference defines PC as “the avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.” Applying this definition to our medical examples, it is understandable why those terms are no longer PC. They are being applied to somebody who is ‘marginalized’ and ‘disadvantaged’. However, is it the word placing the person in these ‘boxes’ or is it ‘society’? We can’t change words every time society decides that a word is now going to be used in a negative way. Pinker (1994) calls this the ‘word-replacement strategy’. Pinker describes how an orthophemism (a neutral term) gradually takes on a negative connotation and subsequently becomes a dysphemism (a malicious term) and is then replaced with a PC term (a euphemism). This process constantly repeats itself and Pinker concludes it is a ‘cyclical strategy’.
PC has different definitions and different levels of ‘correctness’. For example, would you be offended if somebody said “fireman” instead of “fireperson” or “fire officer”? Being PC is not just using the correct words, it’s also avoiding certain phrases or behaving in a certain way. The TV show Strictly Come Dancing came under scrutiny in 2013 for allowing suggestive sexual comments to be made from female dancers and contestants towards straight and homosexual dancers and contestants, but then acted offended when a heterosexual male made a similar, suggestive comment towards a heterosexual woman. Why did the audience (studio and viewers) suddenly decide the heterosexual comments were not PC? Why were the rules different? This led one viewer to describe political correctness as “hypocrisy” (Nanjiani, 2013). It is not uncommon for the term PC to be linked to sexuality. It also often gets linked to money, ethnicity and gender, and creates an intended sense of guilt amongst society (Johnson, Culpepper & Suhr, 2003).
Does PC go too far though? For example, is it really offensive if the teacher says ‘whiteboard’ or ‘blackboard’? How about ‘brainstorm’? According to Lee (2014) PC is working its way into nurseries where allegedly they can’t sing “Ba ba black sheep anymore” because it’s might be deemed racist (Lee, 2014).
O’Neil concludes by claiming that “[a]t the heart of politically correct language lies dishonestly, not civility” (2011). So, will the PC debate end soon? According to Eliza Doolittle it’s “not bloody likely” (as cited in Hughes, 1998, p. 184).
KERRY O’HARE, English Language undergraduate, University of Chester, UK
References
Nanjiani, S. (2013, 14 April). P-word isn’t ‘banter’…it’s a harmful jibe. The Sun.
Oxford Reference. (2020). Political correctness defined.
Pinker, S. (1994, 03rd April). The Game of the Name. New York Times.
Language Debates 