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"What DO I Call You People???"
Too often, through ignorance or bigotry, the use
of language can be hurtful and perpetuate long-held prejudices.
In our efforts to continue to become a more civilized society,
it is critical that we take the time to educate ourselves on the
power of language to either strain our relations or bring people
together. Here we begin to gather some resources.
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Websites
Writing for Change
- from
the authors "We had two reasons for structuring Writing for
Change with its strong focus on language and writing: First,
writing is a familiar learning procedure to most teachers and
students, with its emphasis on process as well as product, and
we wanted users to be able to integrate the exercises into their
teaching environments as effortlessly as possible.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, we recognize the unique
and paradoxical role of language in our lives. We use this
powerful tool to shape our thoughts and experiences, yet
patterns and structures in the language itself can shape us in
return. In the words of one activist, "Our words create our
world."
If language creates reality, we decided our best hope of shaping
the reality we would like to see is to examine the negative and
harmful underpinnings of this powerful but often invisible tool,
and refocus them to begin creating a language of equality and
inclusion."
Wikipedia.
Welcome to Wikipedia! We are building an open-content
encyclopedia in many languages. In the English version, started
in January 2001, we are now working on 287094 articles. Learn
how to edit pages, experiment in the sandbox, and visit our
Community Portal to find out how you can participate in the
development of Wikipedia.
Political correctness,
politically correct, and P.C. are terms that commonly refer,
sometimes mockingly, to a social idea, perhaps even a movement,
that is characterized by efforts to redress, primarily by the
use of language, real or alleged discrimination on the basis of
race, gender, disability or other criteria. One purpose behind
this is to prevent the exclusion or the offending of people
based upon differences or handicaps. Through repeated use of
politically correct terms, its advocates hope to change people's
thought processes from containing biases to being more tolerant
of differences. The new terms are often awkward substitutes for
the original stark language concerning race or ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation and disability status (physical or
mental). It is also used by some to refer to those who support
such political policies as affirmative action and multi-lingual
education.
The Evolving Language of Diversity by
Kathy Castania. Go to
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/diversity/definitionsandlanguage.htm
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Books
Maggio, R. (1992). The Bias-Free Word
Finder: A Dictionary of Nondiscriminatory Language.
Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Schwartz, M., and the Task Force on Bias-Free Language of the
Association of American University Press. (1995).
Guidelines of Bias-Free Writing.
Bloomington, IA: Indiana University Press.
"The
Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in
the United States,"
by Philip H. Herbst and published by Intercultural Press
Inc. The
Color of Words is about the shades of meaning in the English
language that capture and give voice to the multiethnic temper
of our times. It tells the stories of words used in the United
States to label ethnic groups or talk about the social landscape
of which they are a part
NOTE: Thanks to Maria J. Botelho, Collaborative Teacher
Education Program, School of Education at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst, Gina Boltz of
Native Village,
Linda Couchon of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension
Diversity Website and Ellen H. Bettmann for their help with sources. ...
Please send further resources to
bill@billhowe.org
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