Discrimination In The English Language

Language is never a neutral medium; embedded within the vocabulary and idioms of any language are the historical residues of conflict, conquest, and prejudice that shaped the communities which spoke it. National and racial discrimination exists in the English language, reflected in words, expressions, and proverbs. This linguistic phenomenon has a profound historical and cultural background, reflecting national bias, conflicts, and hatred, and thus provides information about historical relationships among nations. This paper analyses the causes and connotations of national and racial slurs, and shows the potential negative effects of the slurs on international contacts. It also deals with the current state of linguistic discrimination in modern society and the efforts people make to eliminate the phenomenon.

Language primarily functions as a communication tool and information transmitter, and is closely linked to ethnicity. Every ethnic group in this world has its own language which may be either slightly or totally different from other groups. Language is the carrier of ethnic history and social culture, and evolves together with the society where it is used. The development of the ethnic community is the fundamental cause and basic condition of the development of the language. Since language and ethnic identity are so profoundly interrelated, it is no wonder that language is influenced by ethnic feelings and the latter are fully embodied in the former.

1.2 National and racial discrimination in the English language

As a common social phenomenon, national and racial discrimination against other ethnic groups would inevitably exert influence on languages. Thus, slurs come into being in almost every language in the world. Among these languages, English is a particularly striking example which contains many national and racial slurs.

It is clearly seen that in the English language, part of its large vocabulary is concerned with nations and races, and unpleasantly, this part often carries a connotation of national and racial discrimination. We can readily find slurs with various forms such as vocabulary, phrase, address, proverb, etc. Take the “Dutch” idioms for example: if a person says to you, “you do beat the Dutch” (Liu, 2003:131), he intends to mean that you are doing something remarkable. When people use the “Dutch” idioms, they may wonder how those idioms originate. In fact, the slurs in the English language have a profound historical background. Among the complex causes, ethnocentrism, wars, and racial differences are the most important ones.

1.3 Objectives of the study

The study focuses on the phenomenon of national and racial discrimination in the English language. We will look into the reasons why the slurs come into being and the connotations that they carry. Once we get a better idea of their connotations, we can know whether it is proper to use them in public. Hence, we can try to avoid misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication and improve our competence in this area.

2. Causes of national and racial slurs in the English language

2.1 Obsession of ethnocentrism in the United Kingdom and United States

In the Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, ethnocentrism is defined as “based on the ideas and beliefs of one particular culture and using these to judge other cultures” (Hornby & Wehmeier, 2004:580). A strong sense of national pride is one of the main causes of national discrimination. A nation with ethnocentrism believes in the superiority of its own culture including values, norms, and languages, and considers other nations as inferior to it. Since national feelings are closely interlinked with national language, national discrimination finds expression in the latter.

The USA and the UK are considered to be very proud nations. The USA is short for the United States of America; despite the fact that the word “America” stands for the whole continent including Canada and Mexico, the USA employs it as a component of its country name. The British used to claim their country to be “the empire on which the sun never sets” and “the mistress of the seas” (Mao, 2003:141). The full name of its nation is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the British prefer to call their country “Great Britain,” making it the only country around the world that uses “great” in its country’s name.

Some proverbs in English are the authentic portrayal of the excessively proud mind of the British. For instance, “the English are a nation of shop-keepers; all countries stand in need of Britain, and Britain of none; one Englishman can beat three Frenchmen” (Mao, 2003:143). From these proverbs, we can see this island country is completely indulged in self-admiration. Even two of the world’s major powers, Russia and the United States, cannot escape the fate of being derided. As the proverb says, “An American will go to hell for a bag of coffee.” Ethnocentrism endows the English language with a predilection towards the UK and the USA, and a bias against other nations or races. In reality, any ethnic group in the world is likely to show undue pride of nationalism to varying degrees, consciously or not. Nevertheless, ethnocentrism negatively affects international relations and goes against peaceful coexistence.

2.2 National resentment caused by wars

Historical events have undoubtedly made their contribution to the development of English lexicology. New expressions often emerge from times of war when national emotion is running high, and in most cases, they continue to stay in the language in the process of social development even if hundreds of years have passed. The “French” and “Dutch” expressions and proverbs are the classic examples.

From a geographical perspective, France faces the United Kingdom across the English Channel. From 1377 to 1453, France and England were engaged in wars over territory and economic benefit (Dai, 2003). The Hundred Years’ War ended in a victory for France, which certainly gave rise to resentment from Englishmen toward France. English people found expression for their hatred in the English vocabulary. Even today, we can still see “French” expressions usually used as pejorative. Some “French” phrases are connected with sex and eroticism: a “French postcard” is a pornographic photo, while “French gout” (Hou, 2009:64) is a historical euphemism for syphilis.

Not only the term “French” but also “Dutch” falls into this category. England had been friendly with the Netherlands in the 16th century, but it was not until the 17th century that the Netherlands became a strong competitor for maritime trade (Dai, 2003). There were three Anglo-Dutch Wars fought in the 17th century. Due to the wars, hostility persisted for years between the two countries. Many “Dutch” expressions represent English feelings toward the Dutch: “Dutch comfort” means no comfort at all, and if something is “double Dutch” to a person, he can hardly understand it.

2.3 Racial differences

The majority of native English speakers are white people. White racists consider their ancestry sacred and of higher quality than others, and this kind of emotion is reflected in the English language. People can name racial slurs, many of which are related to African Americans, Native Americans, and Asians. Expressions and proverbs containing words such as “Negro,” “nigger,” and “Indian” often carry a connotation of contempt.

Particularly in American English, racial discrimination can be recognised clearly. The United States is described as “a big melting pot,” into which immigrants from all around the world have come together. Yet this predominantly white country has been faced with racial contradictions and conflicts throughout its history, which has resulted in racism in the English language and led to a rapid increase in discriminatory vocabulary.

3. Words, expressions and proverbs mirroring ethnic prejudice

3.1 Reflection of national discrimination

3.1.1 The “Dutch” idioms: “Dutch” is explained by the unpleasant associations of the Anglo-Dutch wars and rivalry at sea in the seventeenth century. British people used “Dutch” to refer to something bad. Now, of course, the British and the Dutch have a friendly relationship, but the word “Dutch” is still used in almost the same pejorative way. “Dutch courage” is a slang term for courage gained after drinking alcohol. A “Dutch treat” referred to a dinner at which invited guests should pay for their own share. “To talk like a Dutch uncle” means to speak to someone in a very severe way.

3.1.2 The “French” idioms: “French leave” is an abrupt and unannounced departure without saying farewell to the host, traceable to 18th-century customs (Wang, 1999:45). The proverb “when the Ethiopian is white, the French will love the English” implies that the state of hostility between the two countries would not end.

3.1.3 The “Chinaman/Chinese” idioms: “Chinaman’s chance” essentially means an extremely slim chance or no chance at all, with historical context dating from the gold rush days of California in the middle of the 19th century when many Chinese came to work as labourers (Jiao, 2009:58). Their job was demanding and dangerous but lower-paying, and the Chinese faced higher taxes and denial of citizenship equal to that of white men.

3.1.4 The “Irishman” and “Irish” idioms: “Irishman’s promotion” represents demotion. “Irish evidence” is seen as perjury. “Irish compliment” is a backhanded compliment.

3.2 Reflection of racial discrimination against African-American: In American history, African Americans were subject to discrimination, and their lives were sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation. Racial slurs are to be found everywhere. “Nigger,” “niggra,” and “Negro” are common slavery-imposed epithets with evident insult to Black people. Even in literature, we can see racial slurs in world-famous works such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, which has been the subject of ongoing controversy among African-American communities. In 1999, David Howard, the aide of Washington, DC mayor Anthony Williams, resigned after being accused of using a racial slur; he had used the word “niggardly,” which has no racial meaning, but its phonetic similarity to a slur caused a political firestorm — an important lesson about how language perception can diverge from etymological fact.

4. Negative effects and current state of linguistic discrimination

Linguistic discrimination in English would surely result in verbal attack from countries that have been insulted by English-speaking countries. In the French language, “les sombikes” (Liu, 1999:81), meaning “son of a bitch,” is used as a disparaging term for an American, dating from the First World War when American soldiers liked to shout the expletive. As long as inter-ethnic inequality and contradictions exist in human society, they will find expression in language. Conversely, linguistic discrimination triggers hostility and conflict between ethnic groups, creating a vicious cycle.

Fortunately, there have been signs of improvement. In September 2001, the mountain “Chink’s Peak” in Idaho got its new official name “Chinese Peak” from the United States Board of Geographic Names, deemed offensive and racist. Such name changes, while symbolic, reflect a growing awareness of the harm embedded in discriminatory language.

As Fairclough (2010) argues in his analysis of language and power, discriminatory language does not merely reflect existing social hierarchies but actively reproduces them; every time a slur is used unreflectively, it reinscribes the contempt that generated it. For students of English linguistics, cross-cultural communication, and intercultural education, understanding the historical origins and current persistence of ethnic slurs in English is essential preparation for navigating a multilingual and multicultural professional environment with sensitivity and precision.

References

Fairclough, N. (2010). Language and Power (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808661

Hornby, A. S., & Wehmeier, S. (2004). Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary. Oxford University Press.

Lippi-Green, R. (2012). English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203348802

Mao, F. (2003). On National Prejudice in Language. Guangdong Education Press.