B. How to Use Language
that is Non-Discriminatory on Racial or Ethnic Grounds
1. The in-group is portrayed as the norm, the
out-group as the deviation
Often the majority or in-group's racial and ethnic features
are not mentioned, but those of the minority group are.
This establishes the majority as the norm, or superior group,
against which the minority groups are judged. Some Australian
examples:
- Italian youth ambushed in backyard (newspaper headline)
- Turk, 39, denies murder charge (newspaper report).
Australia's population comprises people from different
ethnic and racial backgrounds, some of whom are indigenous
to the country. Some groups have come to Australia over
the past 200 years.
Groups sometimes may feel that the presence of other groups
is a threat to their own status, power or stability. They
may fear a breakdown in group boundaries, which they consider
undesirable.
Language plays a major role in expressing group relations
and conflicts. Derogatory labels and names are used in reference
to the undesirable out-groups. In their assessment of one
another, groups often stress their differences rather than
their similarities with reference to allegedly salient features
such as race (skin colour and other physical attributes)
and ethnicity (eg., culture, language and religion). This
assessment, mainly based on ethnocentric and unknowledgeable
views of other groups, is generally made through language.
Language can be powerful, either in fuelling ethnic and
racial conflict, or in toning down differences between groups.
2. Members of the in-group are portrayed as individuals;
those of the out-group in terms of group characteristics
The diversity within minority groups is not acknowledged;
for example, groups as different as the Chinese, Japanese,
Lebanese, Indians and Turks are all lumped under the label
of "Asians". this practice reinforces the impression that
Asian immigration is some sort of threat or invasion.
Terms for religious groups should not be equated to certain
ethnic groups; for example, not all Lebanese people in Australia
are Muslims, not all Muslims are Arabs and not all Arabs
are Muslims.
3. Out-groups are more likely to be described
in stereotypical or negative terms
Immigrant minorities in Australia, especially those from
a non-English speaking background, tend to be either invisible
in language or to be portrayed in stereotypical terms. Often
their racial or ethnic characteristics are emphasised to
the exclusion of other, often more relevant features (occupation,
education, skills). Some examples are:
- Turks in insurance rip "off" (newspaper headline, 1987)
- An Arab-looking suspect (newspaper report, 1986).
Expressions such as "slant-eyed", "Jewish-looking" and
so on should be avoided since they often serve discriminatory
purposes.
An example in a primary school textbook on South-East
Asia describes the Indo-Chinese as a "pyjama-clad people".
Ethnic and racial slurs are expressions of verbal conflict
and aggression; these include derogatory terms and nicknames,
such as "wog", "coon", "nigger", "refo", "slope", "abo"
and "boong". The main function of these aggressive slurs
is to represent the groups as exotic, eccentric or undesirable.
4. Describing Australia's population as a whole
An "Australian" is a person who is native to, or living
permanently in Australia, or both. It is inappropriate and
divisive to limit the use of this term to a person of Anglo/Celtic
or English-speaking background.
If it is important to specify the descent or ethnicity
of a person or group, or distinguish between them and people
born in Australia, one can use a qualifying adjective in
conjunction with "Australia", eg. "a Vietnamese-born Australian"
or "Arabic-speaking Australians" or "Jewish Australians"
or "Italo-Australian". Alternatively, hyphenation can be
used, as in: "Anglo-Australians" or "Italo-Australians".
Some Australians prefer not to be identified through origin
or descent, and this preference should be respected.
5. Titles of address on official documents
In a society where a sizeable proportion of the population
holds religious beliefs other than Christian ones or none
at all, it is recommended that the term Christian name
be replace in official documents by given name or
personal name. The term first name is not
suited to the naming procedures of various cultural and
ethnic groups living in Australia (for example, immigrants
from some Asian countries).
6. Fair representation of Indigenous minorities
in Australia
Linguistic discrimination against the indigenous people
of Australia has been practised for many years. The written
and spoken portrayal of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders
in textbooks, the electronic and print media, and in public
and official documents is and has been mainly negative and
stereotypical. They need to be reminded that Aborigine has
a capital "A". The indigenous people of Australia, who were
the first Australians, are still often portrayed as primitive,
ignorant people who "cling" to ancient traditions and cultural
practices that reinforce their inferior status. They are
described primarily in racial groups terms, for example
"blacks" or "Aborigines" and almost never as individuals
with personal names.
Below are some typical examples of this discriminatory
language:
- It is however, difficult to assimilate numbers of a
backward race who tend to cling tenaciously to past habits....
They were lazy individuals, apparently devoid of morals,
and always prepared to lie, cheat or steal (History textbook).
- They are still living today in Arnhemland people who
know almost no history... they have not only no accurate
knowledge of past events, but no aeroplanes, motor cars
or picture shows; not even any books, houses or clothes...
their lives are almost as hard and dangerous as those
of the animals... (Popular textbook).
- Two dangerous escapees have been caught; they were with
an Aboriginal woman (TV News report, 1986).
In many descriptions it is totally irrelevant to specify
the fact that a person is an Aborigine or a Torres Strait
Islander, yet this feature is often the only description
given of an indigenous person, especially when some crime
has been committed. The media do not tend to say "a non-Aborigine,
(or white) was arrested for robbery". This is similar to
the irrelevance, in most cases, of describing a woman as
a "mother" or "attractive blonde" when the story, for example,
is about an achievement of hers. Some journalists defend
usage on the grounds of "newsworthiness", overlooking the
fact that the values that have defined what is newsworthy
are themselves discriminatory, racist or sexist.
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