Political Correctness | Learn English | Vocabulary

EXTRAS: http://linguaspectrum.com/quizzes/do_the_quiz.php?id=43

A term that has become increasingly popular in English since the 1970s has been political correctness or PC.
In simple terms, this means avoiding the use of words or phrases that might upset someone's sensibilities.
In more complex terms, this means being afraid to say what you think because it just might be deemed offensive by the PC Brigade. It is a curtailing of our freedom of speech.
We can't call someone short anymore; we must call them vertically challenged. Nor can we call someone bald. Bald people are now follicular challenged. That is, according to the PC Brigade.
When I was a young boy and someone called me names, I would tell my mother. She would say, "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you."
On a purely physical level, she was right. On a psychological level, however, she was a little off the mark. Calling people names can hurt them.
Name calling is a favourite technique of the bully.
Calling the child who wears glasses, four-eyes, or the child who is not as tall as his peers, shorty or squirt is bullying, plain and simple.
Children are natural bullies, but most mature and grow out of the tendency to bully others.
Those sad people who fail to mature and take their bullying behaviour into the workplace are to be pitied as inadequate excuses for human beings.
Bullies bully in order to achieve a sense of self-worth that is otherwise lacking in their sad and sorry little lives.
As a way of stamping out the bullies of this world, political correctness has its place and should be applauded.
Unfortunately, things have gone a bit too far, and hitherto harmless words now carry pejorative overtones.

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[Peppi94]

I find that you have excellent linguistic skills, wonderful pronunciation, great breathing, and a lyrical voice. But your arguments are full of hot air. Say "Christmas". Say "Merry Christmas". Go on. See? It doesn't hurt! I'm not a Christian, but I find this whole "happy holidays" crap so ridiculous! Say "Merry Christmas" and just let it make you feel good!!!

[Linguaspectrum]

@Peppi94 Exactly! Wasn't that the point I was trying to make?

Thanks for watching and for commenting.

Best wishes,

Richard

[ctnuvola]

Very current, indeed :-)). Tks, Richard!

[executer1989]

3:35 Are You serious to ask this question?? Whether it is necessary to explain that the West world lived at Patriarchy for ages:)) Surnames, titles, statuses in a society passed by right of succession from the fathers. Yes, we can use a word "ancestors" ..but why it's not would be enough to use "grandparents" to narrow сoncept to a family value. Cause "ancestors" has always been much more wider concept for calling our personal "forefathers and foremothers":)

[executer1989]

If You can notice there are many surnames in English ending by "man". "Man" is a Jewish roots word designating accessory to a "humanity population" who have a souls without dependence about an accessory to any of gender. So don't mind about this word, the meaning is already includes two gender- feminine and masculine;) Otherwise at one moment comes the time when you'll be сompelled to change your surnames also))

[MuhammadEgypt]

I really enjoyed the video. Some stand-up comedians made fun of things being politically correct and they went further to say " financially challenged" to refer to a poor person. lol , yeah

[yangqinks]

Instead of using words like " obese", "overweight", "fat", "skinny", "scrawny" to describe the physical appearance of a person, I wonder if one can say "physically-challenged"?

[hka7]

thanks for teaching!!!!!!

[TheAfgmusic]

very helpful for me :)

[spmichel]

thank you for the great lesson