Welcome + A note from the lead

WELCOME.

People sometimes refer to “bigoted” or “prejudiced” language, but in fact, language itself is neutral, a vehicle for conveying the attitudes of its users; it has no agenda or bias of its own, but rather reflects (and reinforces) those of the people who use it.

Deborah Schaffer, Ph.D., & Rachel Schaffer, Ph.D.

How are social constructions like gender, race, and class reinforced through language? What psychological impact do certain words hold in society and in turn have an effect on an individual’s actions? What role does language play in preserving power for a select group of people? How is language used to desensitise us from inequalities?

The way in which we use language can be an instrument to firstly understanding our own conscious or subconscious prejudices regarding racial, gender and class inequality and how that is stemmed in a much wider universal problem which we are then able to recognise through specific cultures. Understanding the framing of these social constructions is essential to understanding how language is used to reinforce a concentration of power; the disadvantage of poor people and ethnic minorities; the demonisation of the “other”; and neutralisation of human rights violations.

‘In an oppressive set-up, where language is used as a tool of instruction, emotions remain subdued, leading to psychological and emotional oppression.’ Elliot Ziwira, 2016

By starting to interrogate the use of language through various social institutions (educational, political, economic, family and religious) and media outlets, there then leaves space to analyse how the normalities of the use of language as an oppressive tool are intrinsically present through everyday instances.

This Terms of Reference will aim to explore and shed light on the different ways in which language contributes to real-life power disparities from the evolvement through etymology of certain words to how language functions through various social institutions. It will also address how it can be used in various ways to challenge some of the injustices that are embedded in everyday communication. It will address the different symbolisms of language through mainstream culture and the various ways that individuals and groups use communication to empower and call claims to justice.

A note frome the lead:

I’ve always struggled with communicating my thoughts and ideas verbally and also through writing, especially academic writing. I always wondered why it was such a difficult and emotionally draining task for me to do. If most of my peers could easily pull together a short essay without too much strain then why was it such a problem for me? It was only while preparing my dissertation as part of my BA degree that I really started to understand and learn how to “properly” structure an essay and make sure that the content is engaging and consistent.

I still have trouble with it now, but I understand that part of the reason is because academic discourse is an exclusive way of communicating and sharing information – something that wasn’t familiar to me. Although language creates understanding and a way to exchange information, it also acts as a symbolic system that functions to enable pockets of power and hierarchy to exist. It can be used explicitly through discriminatory slurs and rhetoric, but these are also embedded into language in a much more subtle way. I’ve always tried to be wary of my own use of communication, whether that is written, spoken or body language when engaging in sensitive topics but I’ve sometimes found myself slipping into toxic narratives which seems to be an intrinsic part of culture and therefore, language.

It is the unnoticed or unquestioned uses of words that interest and also worry me most about the way we communicate that reinforce arbitrary power and prejudices. It is rooted in household sayings like: ‘the black sheep of the family’ and ‘white lies’, socially used statements like: ‘don’t be a pussy’ and ‘man up’, and on a more globalised scale, like the terms: ‘black money’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’. There is also a lot of concern around how other systems are replicating this bias language through the use of the internet and more importantly through Artificial Intelligence. There have already been a number of cases where AI has reproduced these notions, for example, how search algorithms have associated images of black and brown people with negative words and images of white people with more positive words. I find that a lot of terminology upholds existing racial, class and gender stereotypes that - in a world where we’re consciously trying to move away from discriminatory associations - should be considered a little more closely.

With this said, there are currently many individuals and groups that aim to tackle this complex issue and challenge the status quo in various ways, such as the use of poetry, music and art, the creation and use of drag language, and through non-verbal communication like sign language. This Terms of Reference aims to explore some of the wide and complicated issues surrounding language in its many forms, and how we can rearticulate a more inclusive idea of the world.

- Sahar

Key questions

1. What do certain words represent in society?

2. How does language reinforce power disparities?

3. How do you/others challenge the boundaries of language?

4. What are your personal experiences of racial, gender or class profiling through language?

5. How are you trying to challenge the normalities of the use of certain words?

6. Are you involved in any spaces that reimagine different ways of using language?

7. How does an individual’s actions play in enforcing the biases of language?

8. How has technology interpreted biases in language? (e.g. through speech recognition, social media, artificial intelligence etc.)

9. How is language used to desensitise inequality/human right issues?

10. What role does media and political communication play in contributing to hateful rhetoric?