Teaching Political Correctness

Teaching Political Correctness

Blančić, Bisera

Political correctness is a term that describes language or behavior used when we do not want to offend someone, or to be insensitive to the feelings of another person or a group of people. The language may refer to someone’s religion, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, looks, sexual preferences, political views and the like. Its widespread usage started with emergence of the civil rights movements back in the middle of the 20th century. The intention was to contribute to the fair and benevolent society that most people want to live in. This phenomenon started in English and spread to many other languages always reflecting the changes in modern society, and the need to protect the rights of various minority and underprivileged groups. Over the years it gained supporters and opponents because initially neutral words and expressions become devalued over time turning into euphemisms, and they needed to be replaced by new neutral terms. Opponents see it as censorship and a danger to free speech while supporters still perceive political correctness as an unavoidable part of any civilized society. The authors believe that such an important issue cannot be ignored and that it is their obligation as EFL teachers to make their students familiar with it. Although in English and American society the term is often satirized, it is important for students to understand what all the sarcasm and irony are about. The ignorance on the subject may lead to expressing unintentional bias and offence regarding various groups of people. Making students aware of this, as well as of other important social issues, all leads to developing their communication skills and better understanding the cultural settings and background of the language they chose to study.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2012-05-04

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