Cultural Pluralism - The Role of Language in Cultural and Ethnic Diversity

Language, culture, and ethnic differences are intimately connected, reflecting society’s norms and how we perceive people. There is a case when many terms that were once used as perfectly normal have become viewed as insensitive or even abusive due to the development of language. Such evolution means development towards the understanding of the cultural and ethnic minorities and their concerns. Speaking of words, we must remember that they are not only a description of the reality we live in but also form the way we think and communicate with other people.

Terms and Sensitivities in Transition

They include the changes in racial and ethnic terms as one of the most prominent examples of such linguistic change. For example, such terms as ‘Oriental’ were popular up to the recent past in referring to Asians in America. But this term has nowadays a problematic meaning since it refers to something considered ‘oriental,’ which is colonial and exotic in its approach to Asia. In response, terms like Asian or Asian American are commonplace instead of the previously used Oriental because it sounds more appropriate and honors the Asian people. This is a shift from the previous general negative overtones associated specifically with ethnic identifiers and a society-imposed appreciation for burgeoning concerns with accuracy and courtesy (McGregor et al., 2019).

In the same way, references such as “Negro,” or “colored” are likewise regarded as proper when referring to Black Americans but are now regarded as stereotypical. The terms had been replaced by “Black” or “African American” because of the cultural and historical emphasis on the black community of African origin. Such cases prove the development of the shifts in language in relation to cultural and political change in the struggle for racial justice. In this way, language is a part of broad social processes that aim to regard the values and personalities of deprived people (Smith, 2021).

Terms related to race and ethnicity have also been parsed and reparsed similarly as has disability. Thus, for a long time, the term “retarded” was traditional in clinical practice and the lay population. It has become considered degrading, while the recommended term today is “intellectually disabled” or, more broadly, “neurodiverse.” This change, together with the use of people’s first language like ‘a person with disability’, shows the media is emphasizing the person as a person rather than the disability. Terms like these are bound to enhance respect, which is justified as they lead to enhanced understanding (McGregor et al., 2019).

The Influence of Language on Perceptions

The use of particular terms when referring to certain people categorizes particular societies’ perceptions of such people. If words used in a language reflect prejudice or sexual, racial, or other form of prejudice, then it becomes easy to create or fuel prejudice. For example, ‘illegals,’ or ‘illegal aliens,’ – are terms which strip mentioned individuals of their humanity by defining them as criminals and not people who fear for their social, economical, and political status. In the present, it is more popular to use the term ”undocumented immigrant,” which includes no bias as it does not refer to anyone as a criminal. This shift also illustrates how language can both bloat the gap or open up an area of emotionality (McGregor et al., 2019).

Likewise, referring to Asian Americans as the ‘model minority’, while it may seem harmless, is actually detrimental again because it removes the diversity of their population. They can also force a person into stereotypical ideas of how Asians should be without considering problems that various Asian populations have to deal with. The second in apathetic phase is “Islamic terrorists” that provoke prejudice against Muslim people because of their extremism. Such terms prejudice whole ‘kinds’ of people and thus cause discrimination. On the other hand, language that must be measured and chosen to the minimum necessary incisively overthrows such misconceptions (Smith, 2021).

Conclusion

Language plays a vital role in managing perceptions or managing to alter opinions, perceptions, and attitudes of a society. This is due to its method of changing progressively within succeeding years as the culture and society alter towards tolerance, courtesy, and acceptance of various cultural and ethnic differences. That change in the decision to name serves to show that human beings are becoming more sensitive towards the people they are interacting with, thus creating a need for the subject to be treated with dignity. It is important, with the ever-increasing diversity in society, to remain sensitive to our choice of words when having these conversations so as to avoid exclusion. Language should always be redefined to deal with issues of diversity because the concept is degenerating.