Banned Words
Words can be banned for various reasons. Let’s examine examples from France, the U.K. and the U.S.
Among various efforts to eliminate gender discrimination, the feminists in France managed to ban the word “mademoiselle” from official documentation a few months ago; it has been replaced by a generic “madame”. Last year, France banned the words “Facebook” and “Twitter” from TV and radio, dictating that general terms such as “social networking sites” be used instead as the latter do not advertise for specific companies. Years earlier, the culture ministry in Paris had published a list of 500 English words, such as “email”, “blog”, and “podcast”, recommending that certain French equivalents be used instead. Besides gender equality, national pride is clearly an issue for the French.
In the U.K this month, Scotland Yard banned the terms “whitelist” and “blacklist” in an effort to reduce racism in the police force. Staff have been advised to use the equivalent “green list” and “red list”. Some police officers are not convinced that this will change anything, but following repeated allegations of racism, senior officials at Scotland Yard will go to any length to reduce sensitivities (“Blacklist Is Blacklisted”). Generally, though, the U.K. may be moving in the opposite direction – that of eliminating a 2006 law that bans “insulting” words but does not clearly define them. The BBC recently reported on the opposition to the law in “Law Banning Insulting Words and Behaviour 'Has to End'”.
In educational contexts some expressions may be avoided if considered distracting for students. New York City’s Department of Education recently banned over fifty such items from the city’s standardized tests. Most of the words, such as “Halloween” and “dinosaurs”, appear innocuous on the surface, so no wonder the list has sparked controversy. Valerie Strauss, reporting on the ban for The Washington Post, says, “Why Halloween? Its pagan roots could offend the religious. Dinosaurs? Evokes evolution, which could upset creationists. You get the point” (“50-plus Banned Words on Standardized Tests”).
Watch your words. While some word bans may appear silly, others are clearly justified. It’s good to stay up-to-date on these matters in order to adapt to different contexts, both synchronically and diachronically.
Posted by May Mikati on 24 May 2012, 11:56 PM
Words can be banned for various reasons. Let’s examine examples from France, the U.K. and the U.S.
Among various efforts to eliminate gender discrimination, the feminists in France managed to ban the word “mademoiselle” from official documentation a few months ago; it has been replaced by a generic “madame”. Last year, France banned the words “Facebook” and “Twitter” from TV and radio, dictating that general terms such as “social networking sites” be used instead as the latter do not advertise for specific companies. Years earlier, the culture ministry in Paris had published a list of 500 English words, such as “email”, “blog”, and “podcast”, recommending that certain French equivalents be used instead. Besides gender equality, national pride is clearly an issue for the French.
In the U.K this month, Scotland Yard banned the terms “whitelist” and “blacklist” in an effort to reduce racism in the police force. Staff have been advised to use the equivalent “green list” and “red list”. Some police officers are not convinced that this will change anything, but following repeated allegations of racism, senior officials at Scotland Yard will go to any length to reduce sensitivities (“Blacklist Is Blacklisted”). Generally, though, the U.K. may be moving in the opposite direction – that of eliminating a 2006 law that bans “insulting” words but does not clearly define them. The BBC recently reported on the opposition to the law in “Law Banning Insulting Words and Behaviour 'Has to End'”.
In educational contexts some expressions may be avoided if considered distracting for students. New York City’s Department of Education recently banned over fifty such items from the city’s standardized tests. Most of the words, such as “Halloween” and “dinosaurs”, appear innocuous on the surface, so no wonder the list has sparked controversy. Valerie Strauss, reporting on the ban for The Washington Post, says, “Why Halloween? Its pagan roots could offend the religious. Dinosaurs? Evokes evolution, which could upset creationists. You get the point” (“50-plus Banned Words on Standardized Tests”).
Watch your words. While some word bans may appear silly, others are clearly justified. It’s good to stay up-to-date on these matters in order to adapt to different contexts, both synchronically and diachronically.
Posted by May Mikati on 24 May 2012, 11:56 PM
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