The “language police” have struck again: instead of African Americans, it is now called “black”, and people who come from the US are not Americans but citizens of the United States – at least when it comes to the elite Stanford University in California. With its “Harmful language list” (German: list of offensive words), it recently caused such a high pulse in the population that it had to be withdrawn.
The aftershocks of outrage are still palpable. The national pride of “Americans” suffers from the sensibilities of political correctness. There are also similar language guides in Austria: the University of Vienna teaches students, not students. In the social sector, there has been an obligation for years to replace the word “handicapped” with “people with a disability”.
“The language is constantly changing”
Even in Austria, no one is safe from the “language police”. Debates about the political correctness of old-fashioned terms and new-fangled pronouns such as Xier and Xies twist tongues in this country. Exaggerated sensitivity in society or necessity of the new age?
According to the linguist Hannes Fellner of the University of Vienna (see interview on the right), only one thing is certain in linguistics: “Language is constantly changing, but sensitive language alone does not change reality.”
No end to gender madness in sight
The younger generation say tomato instead of tomato and “cringe” when something is embarrassing. “Language reflects the world as we perceive it, but cannot change it,” confirms linguist Heinz-Dieter Pohl. In other words, even if gender-specific language is well-intentioned, it does not guarantee gender equality.
Is there an end to the gender craze in sight? Probably not for now. Expert Fellner emphasizes: as a role model, language is important to initiate change. Binnen-I, Gendersternchen and Xiers will remain for now – at least until the next trend emerges.
Source: Krone
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