Language of Poverty

[Grant Barrett]

Interesting article regarding language and definitions of poverty used by bureaucrats, aid agencies and the poor themselves when discussing their conditions and solutions. It is not specifically dialect-related, but interesting in a Noam Chomsky thinking-is-language kind of way.


http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/1999/09/?c=06poverty


The precis:

Poverty as a blot on society has been eclipsed by other priorities, especially the need to determine a financially acceptable level of social welfare cover. The swings in public opinion between concern and indifference reflect an ongoing controversy about the nature of poverty. The issue is a political football. And the argument cannot be solved by a straightforward appeal to the "facts" because the statistics are open to interpretation by those who set out to define the characteristics of the poor.


--
Grant Barrett

World New York
http://www.worldnewyork.com/