These guidelines on inclusive language have been written on behalf of the University’s Equal Opportunities Committee by a Working Group on Language Use. The authors would like to thank all the people at Lancaster University who have supported and contributed to the writing of different sections of the guidelines.

A large print version,an audio-cassette and a braille version of these guidelines are available from the Special Needs Office, Extensions 2109/3292.

SOCIAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE.

As a working community, Lancaster University is increasingly characterised by social diversity. This is partly the result of some of the positive policies that have been adopted in recent years; policies such as the recruitment of mature students and the setting of staffing targets. The University is committed to promoting equal opportunities and aims to create an environment where people are encouraged to realise their potential, whether as employees or students.

One of the ways of working towards these aims is to foster a greater awareness of the role that language plays across all sectors of the university. Since this is an educational institution, we have a responsibility to use language in ways which make all members of the community feel included and to create a climate of equality, understanding and mutual respect.

However, language can also be used in ways which exclude or discriminate against particular social groups. In these guidelines, the Working Party have identified aspects of language use which can cause offence, regardless of the intentions of the speaker or writer. Three main aspects of language use are highlighted: language which excludes, language which defines people in stereotypical ways, and language which degrades.

In writing this document, we have tried to keep in mind different dimensions of language use: spoken communication, informal written language, publications and visual images (such as in university brochures)and non-verbal communication in face to face interaction. We have also tried to keep in mind language about people from different social groups as well as language addressed to them. In each section, we have also drawn attention to positive communicative strategies and inclusive uses of language.

This is not intended to be a fully comprehensive document. Some departments have already drawn up their own specific guidelines and some have incorporated recommendations on language use in recently drafted codes of practice. The purpose of this set of guidelines is to raise general principles and, wherever possible, to illustrate these with examples.

The equal opportunities representative in one department wrote the following after the draft version of these guidelines was discussed by her department:

Perhaps it is worth pointing out to both students and staff that these suggestions are not just the ideas of extremely correct people at Lancaster, but rather are expectations in the wider academic culture and across all areas of employment, including manual and technical occupations.

LANGUAGE AND AGE

Ageing is something which affects all of us, yet despite this there can be negative attitudes towards older people who are often seen as being rigid in their views, unable to learn new things, and in the case of the very old, a burden upon society. Attitudes towards age are, in part, conditioned by the rapid technological changes taking place in our society. Increasingly, people past the age of forty are deemed to be no longer employable. In reality, the vast majority of older people in our society are fit, active and independent and are just as capable of responding to the dictates of a technologically advanced society as those much younger than themselves.

Excluding or including older people?

All too often, older people are excluded in the images we see around us. Yet a significant number of older people are interested in the opportunities for personal development offered by universities whether as students or as employees. The images and the language of institutions of higher education such as ours need to reflect this dimension of social diversity.

The term preferred by most older people is older people. Terms such as elderly are no longer felt to be acceptable. Many object to being referred to as pensioners or senior citizens.

Challenging the stereotypes.

Verbal and non-verbal images which portray older people as inflexible, clumsy, frail or dependent can be avoided and positive images of ageing can be found. Fitness and health need not only be associated with youth. The best images portray older people as rounded individuals who have as valuable a role to play in society as anyone else. Careful use of language can go some way towards addressing the negative images of ageing which exist in our society.

Counteracting negative images of ageing

Language is a powerful means of structuring attitudes about age. Images of older people can be used in very derogatory ways. Take, for example, sexist comments such as "he’s behaving like an old woman"; or equally sexist remarks about older women such as "she looks like mutton dressed as lamb". Other examples of terms that are very likely to cause offence are: old dear, old fogey, old folks, silly old cow, the old dragon. Expressions such as these serve to create negative images of older people, and alternatives can be found.
 

LANGUAGE, CLASS AND INSTITUTIONAL POSITIONING

Lancaster University attracts students from different parts of the country with different social class backgrounds. The University is also a major employer in this area of the North West and currently has a large and diverse range of employees. Many University employees come from local rural or working class communities. It is important for staff and students of all social backgrounds to feel that they are afforded equality of treatment in their work and in their studies at Lancaster and to know that their particular contributions to university life are valued.

Exclusive or inclusive language values?

One member of the University teaching staff wrote the following to the Working Group on Language:

We do grade people according to criteria which are very largely class-based... we must make every effort to avoid classifying people in this discriminatory way.

The strength of feeling expressed by this member of staff on this topic led us to include this section in the guidelines. His observation is not without foundation. Many students at Lancaster have regional accents and some say that they feel reluctant to speak up in seminars and in other types of teaching/learning activities. Some students of working class origin feel that judgements are made about their academic abilities primarily from the way they speak and some feel pressure to accommodate to a more ‘middle class voice’ in both speaking and writing.

Some staff from local rural or working class communities also say that they feel reluctant to speak up at meetings on campus. But everyone should be encouraged to participate. Since diversity enriches any academic community, we need to work to create a climate where different voices can be heard.

Language which defines and classifies.

The nature of the work being undertaken by most staff at the University has changed dramatically in recent years, yet long established practices for describing and classifying staff have still not changed. Some job titles are now outmoded and need rethinking. Unnecessary linguistic distinctions still remain in place, such as the distinction between those who receive wages and those who receive salaries; between professional, semi-skilled and unskilled; between lecturers and tutors; or between departments and sections. Labels such as these are obstacles to the creation of an equal opportunities culture.

From exclusive to inclusive thinking.

The term staff should be used to include all staff but there is still considerable variation on campus in the ways in which the term is used. In a recent memo sent to the Equal Opportunities Committee, one member of staff wrote the following:

Frequently, it seems that references to ‘staff’ are meant to apply to academic staff only, although this is not always explicitly stated. This leads to a feeling of exclusion.

It is important that when staff handbooks are prepared, when services to staff are offered by the University or when circulars are mailed out, the aim should be to be as inclusive as possible.

Terms of address: respecting preferences

Many staff in the University are on a first name basis with their immediate colleagues, and are happy to be addressed by their first name by students. Most students also prefer to be addressed by their first name.

However, when being approached by a member of staff or a student they have not yet met, many members of staff prefer to be addressed by their first and last name, in speaking or writing. It is important that there should be equal treatment and mutual respect in this regard across different categories of staff: cleaners, porters, librarians, people involved in administrative work, teacher or researchers.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Lancaster University is a multicultural community: this is partly a reflection of the cultural diversity of contemporary British society and partly a reflection of the fact that the University has staff and students from all over the world. The university now recruits a growing number of students from minority ethnic groups in Britain and other European countries and more than a sixth of our students are from countries outside the European Community.

Participating in day to day life in a multicultural community brings positive benefits: it gives greater knowledge and awareness of the world; it puts people in tune with what others think and believe is important.

However, we are all aware that racism and ethnocentrism can find expression in any culturally diverse community. In our own educational establishment, we have a responsibility for challenging racist beliefs and practices whenever we encounter them and we should aim to promote equality by providing positive images and role models and by encouraging staff and students of different cultural backgrounds to realise their potential. This is not always easy: it requires effort and commitment.

We are particularly concerned here with uses of language which can be interpreted as racist or ethnocentric regardless of the intentions of the speaker or writer. There are several ways in which language use can cause offence in cross-cultural contexts. We discuss these with examples below:

Exclusive or inclusive use of language?

When the norms of one particular cultural group are imposed in speech and in written texts, the implicit message to other groups is that their values and cultural practices are not respected. In a multicultural community such as ours, we should aim to be inclusive and ensure that, as far as possible, we should take account of the cultural diversity in the university population and in the wider society when we make linguistic choices and select visual images.

It is, for example, often assumed that the norm on campus is observance of Christian festivals such as Christmas, Lent and Easter. Yet, there are people who have other religious affiliations and there are also people who have no religion. It is useful to acknowledge and take account of diversity in religious beliefs because they can for example affect dietary requirements. The timing of religious worship also needs to be considered when planning academic, administrative and social events.

Names are a very important aspect of people’s identity and they are presented in different ways in different societies. Some societies use one name while others use two or more. The way in which names are ordered, that is which comes first and which comes last, also varies across societies. Given, therefore, the variety of ways in which names can be presented, it is easy to understand how mistakes can be made. It is, however, important to try and get names right as people do get upset if they see their name being misspelled time and time again and it is embarrassing to be called by the wrong name. A common avoidable error is asking for someone’s Christian name or surname when the more neutral term given name could be used.

Taking a more global view.

Eurocentrism is evident is the use of terms such as: ‘the Far East’. The choice of a geographical label such as ‘East Asia’. gets around this particular problem. But the use of geographic labels also needs to be fairly precise: for example, the term ‘America’ is sometimes employed to refer to the United States and this can cause offence to South Americans.

Not making assumptions and challenging stereotypes.

Stereotyping in speaking and writing means attributing particular characteristics - temperament, academic potential, linguistic abilities, cultural practices - to all members of an assumed group. Stereotyping of students is particularly misleading and detrimental to their learning: stereotypes may also set up expectations about their performance and may affect the way in which their work is assessed. Consider the following examples:

"Muslim women are passive and will not take part in seminars"

This may be benign stereotyping but it is misleading. Statements like this could be countered with suggestions that different strategies, such as pair work, might be adopted in seminars.

"English is not his first language so I do not know how he will fare in this course"

The Institute for English Language Education (IELE) offers an Academic Support Programme free of charge. Information should always be provided by departments about this provision. However, it should not just be assumed that a student needs language support. Many people for whom English is a second or third language are quite comfortable with the use of English for academic and other purposes.

Avoiding wordings which can offend.

It is unlikely that overtly racist or degrading language will be used on the University campus. However, it is important to ensure that all members of this University community are aware of terms that can cause considerable offence. Take, for example, terms like ‘coloured’ which allude specifically to skin colour. This implies deviation from a ‘norm’ which excludes people of African, Caribbean or Asian heritage. An alternative approach would be to emphasise geographical origin or cultural background, if and when necessary, and to use terms such as Afro-Caribbean, of South Asian origin or of African origin.
 

The term ‘immigrant’ is sometimes used inappropriately in Britain to refer to people of African, Caribbean or Asian heritage who have British nationality or who were actually born in Britain. Expressions such as member of a minority ethnic group are more accurate. The term West Indian is also inappropriate for the same reasons. The term Afro-Caribbean is preferred.

Being aware of variation and changes over time.

The term Black People has for some time been used to refer to people of African, Afro/African-American, Afro-Caribbean and peole of South Asian origin. But preferences are changing and now, increasingly, the term Black is being used to refer only to those of African, Afro/African-American or Afro-Caribbean origin. Following this trend, the Commission for Racial Equality and other organisations representing the interests of minority ethnic groups now employ the terms Black and Asian.

A further issue is that the term Asian does not take account of the cultural differences between people of South, East and South East Asian origin. So, in this case, the most widely acceptable solution is to refer to a person’s geographical origins or linguistic and cultural heritage. Here are some examples:

Cathy Chen grew up in the Chinese community in Manchester. Her parents are Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong.

People of South Asian origin in Lancashire speak a range of languages

Have you ever met anyone from the Gujarati community in Lancaster?

The term ethnic group is quite commonly used in public discourse, but often to refer only to people from minority groups. Ethnicity refers to the sense of identity which derives from membership of a group with a shared history, language, religion, geographical location (or, at least, some combination of these characteristics). By this definition, everyone is associated with an ethnic group, whether they are members of the ethnic majority or ethnic minority. To stress this point, the term minority ethnic group now tends to be used in preference to ethnic minority group. Putting minority first foregrounds the fact that the majority group is also an ethnic group with its own characteristics.

LANGUAGE AND DISABILITY

Avoiding stereotypes and language which can cause offence.

Over 14% (6 million) of the population in Britain have some form of disability although not all disabilities are readily observable. For any audience or readership, there is therefore a strong chance that some may be disabled and will thus be offended by the use of insensitive and outmoded statements such as handicapped or sub-normal. Of the 6 million people with disabilities, only some 4% are wheelchair users but it is all too easy to structure attempts to improve facilities, services and language use around the stereotypical assumption that disabled means wheelchair user. This can lead to other disabilities being ignored. It is important to remember that people are more disabled by society's attitude than by their actual condition.

When speaking or writing to or about people with disabilities, positive attributes are all too often overlooked. Words and phrases such as handicapped, mentally deficient or slow learner tend to predominate. Descriptions such as spastic, epileptic and the disabled group people together into artificial categories and encourage stereotyping by recognising only a single characteristic. Also, people diagnosed as HIV-positive are often grouped together with people who have AIDS. Comments like polio sufferer and wheelchair bound are seen as patronising and condescending. People with disabilities do not necessarily suffer except as a result of society's approach to them: For example, a wheelchair user is not confined to or bound to their wheelchair, it is an aid to their mobility and freedom.

The following suggestions, made by several national organisations of disabled people, may assist in avoiding terms that are likely to cause offence to people with disabilities:
 

It is worth noting, too, that profoundly deaf people who use British Sign Language as their preferred means of communication regard themselves as a cultural and linguistic minority, as members of the Deaf Community.

Many people when they start to think about the use of language in the presence of disabled people find that common phrases are potentially offensive, but phrases such as blind spot, see you soon, deaf to all pleas are also commonly used by people with disabilities. If you are concerned about using expressions such as these, ask a disabled person or persons if they find it offensive. They live with their disability and with this sort of language every day of their lives. They are unlikely to be offended by your interest or concern.
 

Equal access?

Often there is no consideration of the needs of disabled people in spoken communication and in written material eg. for teaching purposes or for general information on campus. The result is that access is denied. Disabled students can get assistance at lectures (eg. there are volunteers who take notes for them). Lectures can also be audio or video-recorded. Those who are producing written material should consider the impact of the physical presentation on people with disabilities. For example, it is possible to reproduce written texts in Braille or on audio cassette for those with visual impairments. Video tapes can be provided with sub-titles for people with hearing impairments. Bulky publications can be broken down into smaller more manageable units for ease of handling. Texts can be better arranged for people with dyslexia.

The Special Needs Office Staff (Rosemary Turner/David Filmer - Extensions 2109/3292) will be glad to give further advice in relation to appropriate language and alternative media facilities or on any other matter relevant to people with disabilities. A booklet entitled Guidance notes for staff teaching students with special needs is available in each department. The information contained in this booklet will soon be duplicated on the Special Needs Office’s pages on the World Wide Web.

LANGUAGE AND GENDER

There are as many women students as men students at Lancaster. Women also make up a substantial proportion of the staff. It is important to ensure that women students and staff receive equality of treatment in all aspects of university life. This includes equality of treatment in language used about women or in language addressed to women. As in the case of other social groups already discussed, three aspects of language use can cause offence: exclusion, definition or degradation. This may happen regardless of a speaker's or writer's intention. The first two are probably the greatest areas of concern in any organisation. In the following sections we identify possible ways in which exclusion, definition and degradation of women may occur within the University, and suggest alternatives.

Exclusive or inclusive language?

The so-called generic terms he and man (along with men, and -man) are still heard and read across a range of workplace settings: 'all businessmen ...'; 'Man ...'. In academic circles, they may be more characteristic of certain disciplines than others. They can rarely, if ever, be fully generic. Use of such terms also excludes by allowing a writer or speaker to slip from generalisations about people into generalisations about men. There is now ample evidence from research which shows that terms such as he and man are often not interpreted generically.

Alternatives are available: people or human beings instead of man; he or she, s/he (in writing) or ‘singular’ they instead of 'generic' he. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (1985) notes that ‘singular’ they is part of current usage. The use of they has always been common in speech but is now also becoming common in writing, including academic writing. Another way to avoid the 'generic'he is to re-write the sentence in the plural.

Language which defines

Gender stereotyping

It is not usually necessary to specify the gender of a person in a particular role. To do so is, in effect, to define them in a particular way and run the risk of reinforcing gender stereotypes. It is often worth testing the effect of specifying a role by gender: eg. man doctor as compared with woman doctor? In the university most occupations are not gender-defined, e.g. administrative assistant, lecturer. A few roles, however, still are: chairman, cleaning lady. Alternatives to these terms are chair or chairperson and cleaner, respectively. There may occasionally be a good reason to specify gender, for example in an Equal Opportunities statement on a job advertisement, like 'Women [Men] are currently under-represented in... and are particularly encouraged to apply.' In addition, everyone should feel free to request a woman doctor or a man doctor at the Health Centre.

Asymmetric use of titles and gender terms.

Many young women are happy to be referred to as girls - even in situations where the term boys would not be used for their male counterparts. Many, however, are not. The term woman denotes an adult female and, unless the individuals concerned are known to prefer the term girls, the use of the term woman would seem more appropriate. The term colleague can be used about staff by other staff. Again if people's wishes are to be respected it is a good idea to discuss what people want to be called.

Avoiding language which defines by gender does not mean saying one lives in Personchester or that work is being done down a person-hole. Such ‘words’ are largely the creation of individuals who wish to trivialise the use of inclusive language. They are not used by those in favour of inclusive language.

Avoiding language which degrades or offends.

Degrading labels like bimbo, slag or old bag and verbs like henpecked, are more likely to occur in casual conversation than in meetings or lectures (unless they are used to illustrate degrading language use!). Again, a speaker may use such terms without intending to degrade. It should be remembered, however, that regardless of intention many people are offended by such language. It would seem best to assume they might be offended and not to use such terms.

LANGUAGE AND LESBIANS, GAY MEN AND BISEXUALS

Lesbians, gay men and bisexuals come from different backgrounds and have a range of jobs, with a wide variety of opinions. The percentage of non-heterosexual people in the population is debatable, but by any standards it is a significant minority. In many cases, the only shared characteristic is sexual preference.

Even today, many people who have some understanding of other forms of discrimination still do not realise the extent of bias against people because of their ‘sexual preference’. In fact, the very use of the term ‘sexual preference’ can be a problem; compared to the phrase, lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, it is rather euphemistic. Both the general lack of awareness of homophobia and a reluctance to discuss it openly mean that this type of discrimination is sometimes not taken as seriously as other types. Yet the extreme end result of this discrimination, both in society and at the university, can be the same as with other forms - isolation, verbal harassment and physical attacks. It is especially important for universities to aim to provide an environment in which homophobia is not manifested; many younger people are learning to discover and accept their sexuality and are particularly vulnerable to hostility and victimisation.

Exclusive or inclusive language?

Language use can reinforce the exclusion of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from the mainstream. Most reference to families or to personal relationships assume that everyone is heterosexual - so does most conversation when on the topic of social activities. There may also be an underlying assumption that heterosexuality is ‘natural’ and that any other orientation is by definition ‘unnatural’.

To avoid marginalising the contributions and talents of so many people, on the grounds of their sexual preference alone, we can consider using language that is not based on these assumptions. In speaking and in writing we can aim to be inclusive. It is both fair and accurate to include lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.

Here are examples of everyday language which exclude lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Alternatives are also suggested.

"There 'll be lots of chances to meet the opposite sex at the party."

Not much chance there for anyone who prefers people of the same sex! What about just saying "There’ll be lots of chances to meet other people at the party?"

"Any husbands or boyfriends are welcome to come too."

Be careful with such words, if you are speaking to a group of women. Lesbians obviously do not have boyfriends. "Partners are welcome to come too" is a good solution.

Avoiding sterotypes

Avoiding offence also means paying attention to the assumptions that lie behind what gets said or written. Take, for example, the common assumption that most of society is made up of nuclear families. In a discussion about child care, one might hear the following:

"The wishes of both the child's mother and father should be considered".

Not all children live with their biological parents, or with a heterosexual parent. The statement quoted above excludes children raised by a lone mother or father and, at the same time, children raised by lesbians and by gay men. This view of child-rearing is a highly emotive issue for some, and there is often an assumption that non-heterosexual parents are ‘unfit’ parents, although research does not support this view. The exclusion of same-sex parents from examples does not help the case of those who are trying to challenge such views. An alternative to the words cited above would be: The wishes of those caring for the child should be considered.

Avoiding language which can offend or degrade.

In casual conversations around the university campus, labels such as ‘dyke’, ‘queer’ or ‘fairy’ are less likely to be used to deliberately cause offence than in other circles. However, working to create a climate where discrimination is not manifested means encouraging the use of terms such as ‘lesbians’ and ‘gay men’ instead of negative and degrading language.
 

LANGUAGE USE AND OTHER DIMENSIONS OF DISCRIMINATION.

The purpose of these guidelines is to raise awareness of the ways in which the language use can discriminate against particular social groups and affect the quality of the working relationships we are building with one another in our daily lives on campus. However, our main message is that people should be seen as individuals in their own right and valued beyond considerations such as their age, disability or gender.

We do acknowledge that there is considerable variation among language users in terms of values, preferences and practices and we need to be sensitive to those differences. One member of staff responded to a draft version of these guidelines with the words:

People’s own views on how they would like to be referred to should be uppermost.

In fact, this is one of the main principles embodied in these guidelines.

Other dimensions of discrimination and exclusion are continuing to be addressed by The University’s Joint Equal Opportunities Committee. For instance, there is now a well established complaints procedure for sexual and racial harrassment. In addition, one university department has taken the initiative to increase staff awareness of ‘race’ issues and has set up a working party to look at curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and publicity material with specific attention to cultural diversity. Appointments have also been made in the Equal Opportunities area: there is now a special needs team on campus and a new member of staff has been appointed to Personnel Services with a special remit to oversee Equal Opportunities issues.