Should we have Guidelines surrounding the Type of Language we use to represent Different Groups?

Guidelines exist to ensure the Language used to represent minority groups will not offend such groups or make them clearly inferior to majority groups. These guidelines, often in the form of political correctness, were created as a means of controlling thought and unifying society. The earliest usage of political usage occurred in the US in 1970, and in the 1980s it became a way of making people aware of the language they used to represent minorities, because of the effects language had on them. It was hoped such awareness would change attitudes towards minority groups.

As with any guidelines, language guidelines have their good and bad points. A good reason for language guidelines is that they have, and still do, change society and make people aware of how language affects others. Language guidelines do mean that minority groups (those of a certain ethnicity, gender, age group, etc.) are less likely to be offended by language. For example, instead of saying someone is wheelchair bound, language guidelines have made it more acceptable to say someone is in a wheelchair, therefore letting that person knowing they are seen before their wheelchair. Yet, just because someone has changed order of precedence in saying someone is in a wheelchair, does not mean they did not see the wheelchair first. This is the first criticism of political correctness I will raise, it does not necessarily control thought. Even if people follow language guidelines, they may still stereotype people and view minorities in negative ways, without showing it. Whether this is enough to change society is debatable.

Some people (notably those whose thoughts are not affected by language guidelines) also argue that political correctness prevents freedom of speech, and that their opinions are being disregarded and/or kept back.

Political correctness is probably more effective on the futures generations, those ahead of when the guidelines are set. This is because those generations will be socialised into a society where language guidelines are more than often met, therefore meaning the children grow to not think of the minority groups in certain ways. Once again, this cannot be ensured as an infallible system as different subcultures and institutions ...

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Although political correctness and guidelines are effective and have helped to make language much more neutral in representing different groups, it has recently gone too far. When political correctness was established, it was in order to control the use of language but now it is almost attacking the English language, and making it seem more emotional than it is. A recent example of this is to do with the colour ‘black’. When making tea, it has been common to ask if a person drinks their tea without milk by asking “black or white?” This is in no way racist, but it was still replaced with “milk or no milk?” This suggests an over emotional approach to looking at language. The fact that this guideline turned a general question into a racist question could be an indication of the political correctness becoming over sensitive and maybe even in favour of minority groups. The English language is becoming bias towards the minority groups, leaving the majorities as the offended, therefore ruining the balance language guidelines were set to create.

This bias towards the minorities is making the language guidelines also seem a little less clear. For example, the word ‘poof’ was for a long time used to offend homosexual males, but now it is becoming a term used by homosexual men when talking to each other. This raises a question of if the majority can also use this word, therefore questioning how effective the language guidelines really are. This occurrence of offensive words being used in non-offensive situations, by the once offended minority, is becoming common among many minority groups and therefore raising many questions.

Political correctness and the other language guidelines have started to give the minorities a power, language is becoming their tool of defense against the majorities.

The media is another factor in this recent blurring of language guidelines, especially of political correctness. Most possibly because political correctness affects the media’s freedom of speech, it is often mocked by the [tabloid] newspapers. If an article is written to mock political correctness and come up with a new [fake] guideline, it is most possible a certain fraction of the public will believe the article, due to the fact the British society is media absorbed. This means mockery is taken seriously and what is true of language guidelines can be lost.

In conclusion, language guidelines can be a good idea and do help to create harmony, but in many ways it has gone too far. The English language has evolved highly with the help of the numerous guidelines, and society has also changed but it may be time for the language guidelines to no longer interfere with the English language, as it is obvious damage is being done and the balance has been passed on by. It could be an idea for language guidelines to make the minorities more aware of how the majorities are now being affected, to go back to the balance created before this language guideline craze.

Sandeep Sond