The Words are Dynamic for Meaning

With the focus on inequality

There has been a new shift in the media to place a lot of emphasis on how people use words. Responses to Islam, ISIS, and the Muslim migration subject, in general, are subjects that are discussed with apprehension as a result of the change of focus to ensure that minority communities are respected (Fox and Stallworth 2005). The tendency is what is known as political correctness, which encompasses the languages, laws, and measures that have now been implemented to ensure that the use of derogatory language to members of other ethnic and minority groups is limited (Fairclough 2003).

The rise of The Apprentice

Meanwhile, there has been a rise in the group termed The Apprentice in the US of later whose operating is based on the advocacies against the idea of political correctness with some observers asserting that it is the next leader in the free world. The fact that The Apprentice is winning fans has created the impression that many people are finding is irrelevant to adhere to the strict moral guidelines that are meant to respect the ethnic minorities. The debate over what constitutes racism in the context of political correctness is a classic outcome of the dynamism of the word and which has resulted in diverse opinions regarding its meaning.

The dynamic nature of words and racism

One of the primary factors that ought to be the guiding principle in the understanding of how racism ended up as a contentious issue is that words are often dynamic. A quick assessment of the use language would create the impression that language is inert because it appears that each word is static yet in reality, they are often dynamic. It is undisputed that words often change their meaning based on the context in which is applied and the nature of its use. Among the varied topics that this idea applies, it is a sensitive case when it is perceived in the context of racism following the rise in the calls for equality. The effect has been that words that would previously have been used to refer to typical human lifestyle are now perceived in the context of racism and are thought to be offensive. In fact, it is upon this basis that The Apprentice emanated because of the limits to language use that society is focusing on so that people are no longer free to use words as they please (Ireland 2016). It is thus affirmed that the origin of the problem has been from the thought of language as inert when it is more dynamic and susceptible to change.

The evolving understanding of racism

To illustrate how critical of an issue the subject has been of late, it is noted that some words that were considered fine in the past are no longer permitted to be used. Interestingly, the variations sometimes tend to be specific to a given geographical location, creating the feeling that there are variations in the understanding of language in the context of racism across different countries. Australia's case is an example of a situation where racism is perceived to be defined on how one uses language. For example, it is noted that words such as "boong", "retard", and "nigger" are no longer accepted in a typical conversation in the common parlance because they are said to be inappropriate (Ireland 2016). Often, advocates of human rights tend to focus on the words with the belief that in so doing, they would be prompting a society where all members are treated with respect (Ireland 2016). Such standpoints fail to realize that the words have been used in the past and continue to be used in other political contexts without necessarily intended to be offensive. The examples above thus typify a scenario where the use of language is discontinued because of the perception that the words used have an inert meaning and are meant to be offensive when in reality it is not the case.

Theories and analyses on the perception of racism

The reality of the sensitive nature of the subject of racism and political correctness has prompted investigation into the origin of the divided perceptions. It is noted that the way someone thinks is defined primarily by the social behavior that is applicable in the given scenario. The result, as explained in the context of the lay theories of racism, is that there was a rise in the situational mitigation counternormative behavior (Norton et al. 2006). Scholars have realized that the prediction that lay theories of racism are indicative of function that are not limited to social understanding and perception means that there are distinct reasons why people often tend to become sensitive on what constitutes racist remarks. One of the multiple components that exist to describe the foundation of political correctness is that the theories include ambiguous forms of bias that often attribute racism to intrinsic antecedent such as the political ideology that is implied (Sommers and Norton 2006). An alternative approach in explaining the reason for the differences in perception is from Welfare analyses is how social words are meant to be in a given setting. It follows that reputational concerns, in this case, the focus on racism, often leads to the loss of social valuable information. Three functions are described including the discipline effect, the sorting effect, and most importantly, the political correctness effect (Morris 2001). The attention to reputational updating means, therefore, that the decision-maker is likely to perceive a statement as biased depending on the perception that the decision-maker takes.

The future of language and social context

In summary, it is affirmed that the emergence of political correctness and consequently, the rise in the attention to what constitutes racism is down to the understanding of the use of language. It is common to find that words are used in a dynamic way, but advocates against racism often make it look like language is inert. The effect is that many words have been discontinued from particular social contexts on grounds that they are inappropriate. The lay theories and welfare analyses prove that the ambiguity often depends on the situation in which the language use it applied. With the growing effect of globalization and communities embracing multiculturalism, it will be interesting to see how the use of language will change and the implication it will have on the social context.

References

Fairclough, N. 2003. “`Political Correctness’: the Politics of Culture and Language.” Discourse & Society 14 (1): 17–28. doi:10.1177/0957926503014001927.

Fox, Suzy, and Lamont E. Stallworth. 2005. “Racial/ethnic Bullying: Exploring Links between Bullying and Racism in the US Workplace.” Journal of Vocational Behavior 66 (3): 438–56. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2004.01.002.

Ireland, Judith. 2016. “Political Correctness – a Great Term to Dismiss Issues That Become Too Hard or Inconvenient.” The Sydney Morning Herald, January 29. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/political-correctness--a-great-term-to-dismiss-issues-that-become-too-hard-or-inconvenient-20160127-gmflgo.

Morris, Stephen. 2001. “Political Correctness.” Journal of Political Economy 109 (2).

Norton, Michael I., Samuel R. Sommers, Evan P. Apfelbaum, Natassia Pura, and Dan Ariely. 2006. “Color Blindness and Interracial Interaction: Playing the Political Correctness Game.” Psychological Science 17 (11): 949–53. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01810.x.

Sommers, Samuel R., and Michael I. Norton. 2006. “Lay Theories About White Racists: What Constitutes Racism (and What Doesn’t).” Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 9 (1): 117–38. doi:10.1177/1368430206059881.