[Ads-l] diverse-owned Re: ADS-L Digest - 8 Sep 2022 to 10 Sep 2022 (#2022-225)

[Laurence Horn]

I'd say "diverse" used in this way is indeed a euphemism, since it
substitutes something (assumed to be) more anodyne for something the
speaker/writer would prefer to avoid saying directly.  Another one much
commented on is "urban", which sometimes denotes 'urban' and
sometimes...er, diverse.  Or, to cite an older example, "cosmopolitan" for
'Jewish'.

LH

On Mon, Sep 12, 2022 at 10:11 AM Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

> On 9/11/22 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> > Date:    Sat, 10 Sep 2022 09:10:25 +0200
> > From:    Z Sohna<zrice3714 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject: Re: ADS-L Digest - 7 Sep 2022 to 8 Sep 2022 (#2022-224)
> >
> > "diverse-owned"??
>
> Eeeyup. I see this as another instance of the use of "diverse" for
> "minority" or whatever euphemism is being used to stand for "a group
> that has been oppressed, marginalized, or underprivileged" (and
> "underprivileged" right there is similarly problematic).
>
> You've no doubt heard things like "this neighborhood is very diverse,"
> which sometimes means that yep, there's a lot of different types of
> folks who live here, and other times is being used to mean that there
> are a lot of folks from "minority" groups living here. (And "minority"
> is problematic.)
>
> The only thing that makes me crazier is the use of "ethnic" as a
> euphemism, also: "My, this neighborhood is so . . . ethnic." And I
> apologize for using the term "euphemism," which isn't quite right
> either. Perhaps what I really should be saying is "shorthand." It's a
> stand-in, a replacement for . . . . I don't want to say "code," but
> maybe I should?
>
> ---Amy West
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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