UK: linguistic hygiene for Police outlawing 'fenians and huns'

[Harold Schiffman]

Police outlaw 'fenians and huns'

Fenian, hun, taig and jaffa are among the terms outlawed for police
officers in a pamphlet which outlines to them how to avoid causing
offence. The Guide to Appropriate Language has various categories of
words and suggests acceptable alternatives. Religion, minority ethnic
communities, gay people, women and transsexuals are among the
linguistic issues covered. Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde says in his
foreword that using the right language "sends an important message".

"It is essential that we take a lead in using language that does not
exclude colleagues or members of the community, does not stereotype
and always shows a wholehearted commitment to supporting our Equal
Opportunities Policy," said Sir Hugh. Catholics should not be called
fenians, taigs, chucks or spongers, while Protestants should not be
referred to as huns, black, prods or jaffas, the booklet says.  It is
intended to help avoid the unintentional offence caused by unthinking
use of language and to improve relationships between officers, staff
and across the whole community

PSNI Guide to Appropriate Language

There is one exception to the use of fenian, but it is probably rarely
used. "It may be perfectly acceptable to use it in an appropriate
historical context, for example, if referring to the Fenian
Brotherhood," it says. Officers are advised that if a witness uses
language which is not politically correct, they should use speech
marks to attribute this when taking a statement. Terms which could be
used by Life on Mars' 1970s old-school cop DCI Gene Hunt are also
banned when referring to the gay community. When it comes to older
members of the population, police should not call them geriatric, old
codgers or say someone is "just like an aul' woman".

"Old can carry connotations of being worn-out and of little further
use. It can also be used as a term of abuse," says the booklet.
The booklet is "intended to help avoid the unintentional offence
caused by unthinking use of language and to improve relationships
between officers, staff and across the whole community".

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7206891.stm

Published: 2008/01/24 16:37:34 GMT

(c) BBC MMVIII


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