Political Correctness, Racism, and Language: An In-Depth Essay

This essay delves into the intricate relationship between political correctness and racism, focusing on how language is used as a tool for marginalization and the perpetuation of societal biases. It examines the evolution and impact of derogatory terms, such as the word "nigger," and explores the differing perspectives on its usage within the African American community. The essay also discusses the criticisms leveled against political correctness, including the debate over free speech and the potential for it to stifle important conversations. By analyzing the historical context and contemporary implications of language, the essay highlights the complex interplay of power, identity, and social dynamics in shaping our understanding of race and the ongoing efforts to navigate these sensitive issues. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding the broader significance of words and their role in reflecting and influencing social structures.

Running head: POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND RACISM
Political Correctness and Racism
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND RACISM
Political correctness is a term that is used to elaborate on the avoiding of such language
or any action that will insult people who belong to the marginalized class. It also means
refraining from such language that will insult a race or a gender (Paris, 2017). This essay will
discuss at length how the words in a language have wider association with ideas and concepts.
Language is used as a tool to derogate others and make them feel inferior.
The word “nigger” is considered the most offensive racial slang in the words of the
Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. Currently it is used rarely because of its racist implications
in the wider society. The word “nigger” has become a taboo and is considered a very obscene
word in English language. At one point of time, it had a neutral connotation that was used by
whites. The racist form that is contemporary consists of same sequence phonetically as the
previous form nigger and the present form is homographic. The second variant “nigga” exists in
the community of African American and this word is different phonologically due to its ending
which is pronounced as “nigga”. The word “nigger’ is considered derogative as it refers to the
slavish form (Winkelman, 2017). The word “nigger” refers to a dangerous animal that makes us
go back to the early age when the Africans were viewed with derision. The African American
community wants to ban the word “nigga” altogether. Much effort has been made in order to
erase the word “nigga” from the dictionary of the African Americans. It is still used and is used
mainly as a self-reference term. There is a lot of confusion regarding why they continue to use
the term irrespective of the fact that it still continues to have negative implications associated
with it. Terms like brother and sister can easily be used as an alternative but it does not have
epithetic quality that is associated with the word “nigger” (Bible.ca, 2017). The whites do not
have such explicit terms by which they refer to themselves. The word “nigga” has associations
with the concept of survival and they were active recipients of diaspora experience. It involves

2POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND RACISM
taking a stance and then a person would be evaluated and placed in the social structure based on
its connotations. There can be a positive or negative association coming with it. The word may
perform an illocutionary function that that can either show approval and is a form of self-
empowerment.
Political correctness in the current decade has been blamed from issues ranging from
helping terrorist to spoiling the Oscars. Miranda Devine has criticized Australian Year Award as
a joke that is politically correct. According to Devine, an award should reflect a great nation
however it has become an arena of social engineering with inclinations of the leftist party. An
essential feature of Australian politics is their informal way of talking and direct mannerisms.
One has to be extremely careful while using pejorative terms like Islam and ISIS (Smh.com.au,
2017). Political correctness is a major issue of contention that started from 1990’s which mainly
came out of the conservative quarters. According to them, the leftists control what other people
say. Term like witch that is used for women is now held to be offensive. Women have right to do
work without inviting any kind of ridicule from their male counterpart. Language is not just
comprised of inconsequential letters (David, 2014). The words in a particular language have
sinister associations and a joke that is harmless to a person can be a cause of acute mental agony
for other people. Words are packed with meaning and the way they have been used has wider
meaning beyond its surface structure. Focus on protest and understanding rhetorical mechanisms
will utterly help in facing the problem of double standardness (Hughey & Daniels 2013).
Political correctness refers to manipulating language that is aimed at changing manner of speech,
feeling, acting and thinking. There is an ingrained psychological urge to consider one’s group in
a superior position. Human beings have a tendency of fitting in and this is what gives rise to the
issue of manipulation of language to serve their own purpose. Emotions have to be controlled to

3POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND RACISM
a great extent so that one’s language does not harm the sentiments and feelings of others (Ajsic
& McGroarty, 2015).
It can hence be concluded that one’s language is indicative of one’s opinions and it is
replete with deeper significance beyond its apparent meaning (Magnani 2016). Words have also
the stamping of political parties and in the wider sphere, it is indicative of superiority, inferiority
and contempt. It reveals how words have meaning beyond its surface and have deeper
significance in the context of social structure, class and gender.

4POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND RACISM
References:
Ajsic, A., & McGroarty, M. (2015). Mapping language ideologies. Research methods in
language policy and planning: A practical guide, 181-192.
Bible.ca. (2017). Matthew 11:28-30 - Come Unto Me. Bible.ca. Retrieved 2 September 2017,
from http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-matthew-11-28-30(2).htm
David, M. K. (2014). Language, power and manipulation: The use of rhetoric in maintaining
political influence. Frontiers of Language and Teaching, 5(1), 164-170.
Hughey, M. W., & Daniels, J. (2013). Racist comments at online news sites: a methodological
dilemma for discourse analysis. Media, Culture & Society, 35(3), 332-347.
Magnani, L. (2016). Political Correctness between Wise Stoicism and Violent
Hypocrisy. Philosophies, 1(3), 261-274.
Paris, D. C. (2017). Political Correctness.
Smh.com.au, J. (2017). Political correctness – a great term to dismiss issues that become too
hard or inconvenient. The Sydney Morning Herald.
Winkelman, J. W. (2017). Discursive Responses to Black Lives Matter: White Fragility, Political
Correctness, and Respectability Politics.