Inclusive Language
anguage has always fascinated David. Having speech and English tutors till freshmen year in high school brought a different kind of observation about language. David was label with Specific Language Impairment [SLI] because of not developing language on average childhood schedule due to his childhood deafness. When David did start to speak, as with SLI cases, he had difficulty articulating his words. With SLI, he made many grammatical errors, mainly with past and present tenses.
f all the foreign languages David has tried to learn [Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and Assyrian], English is the hardest to understand, as well as the most wacky. While not being able to speak a foreign language, he does know some rules about these languages. Such as, in French, when a word ends with the letter “e”, you pronoun the consonant that preceding it. If there is no letter “e”, then the consonant is not pronounced. Or how Spanish words are almost always pronounced the way the words are spelled. Unlike English’s rules of short and long vowels or the word “phone” not being spelled “fone” or “fon” because “ph” sounds like the letter “f”. Writer George Bernard Shaw found English very weird that he felt the word “fish” should be spelled “ghoti” [gh as in tough, o as in women, ti as in nation]. Then, there is the silent “e” rule. Many English words have two or more meanings, or sound the same. For example: most common are to, two, and too, and read, read, and red. Also, there is the word vet. Is one referring to a war veteran or an animal veterinary? Why do we drive our car on the parkway and park our car in the driveway?
ther examples: As a flight attendant, I flew home from San Diego. Since my house was cold, I open the flue in the fireplace to start a warm fire. The fire’s warmth did not stop me from getting the flu. I felt so weak; I was in bed for a week. While in bed, I read a red covered book about an American idol written in idyll format with lots of idylls of pastors, shepherds and animals in countryside settings. But my staying idle in bed, I did not attend to the dying fire. In my saw’s reflection, I saw there was a board of wood under my bed. As I got out of bed to put the board into the fire, I ripped my dyed tee-shirt that had tea stains on it. The shirt was from my boor friend who seemed to dislike everything. After a while, I became bored watching the fire. After looking at my watch, I saw that it was dinnertime. I ate a torte while reading about a tort that my lawyer was involved in suing Sue’s understanding of English and its many same pronounced words with different spellings and meanings.
veryone know that language is being part of this world. The animal realm communicates. Every culture, every group, every tribe has a language. There has never been found a group of people who did not have some sort of language. It is like never finding a community of people eating with their feet. Everyone eats with their hands. It is all in the makeup of our DNA. It is even conclude that pre-historical cave dwellers had a spoken language. Just like breathing, we need to communicate. Susan Schaller’s book, A Man Without Words, tells her story about meeting Ildenfonso, a Mexican Indian, who lived in total isolation. Ildenfonso was born deaf and never learned to communicate. [1 More Information] There were no other deaf folks in his world and he was set apart from his community of hearing persons. Most label Ildenfonso as mute, deaf, and dumb – and dumb being the foremost label. It was not until a twenty-four year old graduate student, Susan Schaller, met Ildenfonso that their world changed. When teaching Ildenfonso the sign for cat, he wanted more. He wanted to learn everything. He needed to communicate. He was not dumb. He was an obviously intelligent and sharply observant man. The main point of the Schaller story: We need to communicate.
t has been proven that the brain is hardwired for language and its grammar. Studies have shown that we speak our sentences in a certain way because the brain requires this form of language structure. For example: David’s father was a professor in linguistics specializing in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. Spanish speaking folks knew from David’s father’s accent that he was not from their homeland. Although, they all did think that Spanish was his first language. It would be thought that David had his father’s great command of language to follow. Yet, David spoke as with difficulty throughout his childhood. He spoke in English’s fragmented structure. Instead of “We are going to a movie tonight,” David would say, “Movie you me tonight.”
ords are very powerful tools. They bring images to one’s mind. They can evoke strong emotions. However, communication can be limiting. For some, it is difficult to articulate. Keep in mind that people do not think in English, Spanish, or Chinese, they think in only a language of thought. When Native America Indians first sighted a European ship sailing towards their shores, what must they have thought? They had never seen something so enormous in their sea. They had no word for ship. Their words used to describe this large thing in the water must have brought an image of a terror. Would they have called it a sea monster? Thought is larger and more powerful than language.
avid has two friends that are doctors who worked at Evanston Hospital. Now, the city of Evanston, the host City of Northwestern University, and its hospital are progressive. Both of David’s doctor friends saw on their first day working two doors, one marked “Nurses,” and the other “Doctors.” Being a doctor, they walked through the door marked “Doctors” thinking they will find a lounge and locker room to store their outer coats and lab jacket. Instead they walked into the men’s bathroom. David’s two doctor friends, who are female, were embarrassed.
hen David was eight years old, his Sunday School teacher asked the class to draw a picture of God. David saw God as an unknown image. Drawing with his crayons, he drew black all over his paper. Many different colors popped here and there where the black crayon did not cover. David hid his drawing when he saw the other children’s portraits. All their portrayals of God were the same; A white old man, in a white robe, with a long white beard, sitting on a golden chair. David thought he misunderstood the teacher’s assignment. When it was his turn to display his artwork, some children laughed, but the teacher was overwhelmed by David’s drawing. There was a half hour break between Sunday School and the church service. For that half hour duration, the teacher told everyone she came in contact with about David’s illustration of God. While David’s mother was full of pride that she had an artistic son, David thought he had done something foolish and wrong. Later at home, David’s father explained to him how amazed he was at his drawing. He enlighten that when you define a word it becomes that image in people’s mind. When you put God into a box, it is hard for people to see God being bigger than the box. This limits God. This concept was difficult for an eight year old to comprehend, but he knew it was good because both of his parents were thrilled. David’s father kept that drawing for many years. On David’s 40th birthday, he gave the drawing he had held for some many years to David.
here did these children get the idea that God was male? Or for that matter, that God is white, old, and wealthy [gold chair]. David’s doctor friends were doctors, not nurses, entered the door marked “Doctors.” Are doctors only male? Is doctor a gender specific word? Where we may call a male “Postman” or “Fireman,” and a woman “Post-woman” or “Firewoman,” we have made these titles non gender specific with “Mail Carrier” or “Fire Fighter.” And so is the word “Doctor.” Yet, the word “Doctor” most people think of a male doctor foremost than a female doctor.
ords can bring strong emotions. For an example: explaining that copulation between two people is a private affair. Change the word “copulation” to "fuck" and it brings an outrage or negative demeanor. The word “fuck” brings on an emotion. “Negro” is another response emotional word. To David, the word “Funnel” brought depressing emotions to him. He used to be teased about his last name by his classmates: “Gunnell the Funnel.” “ Gunnell is a funnel.” “Funnel Gunnell.” “ David Funnel.” Words are potent tools. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Funnel to anyone else would be used to pour something through a small opening. To the child David, it brought sorrow.
anguage can be restrictive. It is interesting asking people how they know that they are in love with someone. What is love? Most people cannot articulate what love is. Usually it is describe as “butterflies in my stomach,” or “a feeling in my heart.” Heart this. Heart that. When one could answer with facts? Such as: “I’m more myself when I’m with my partner than I’m with anybody else.” Or, “I have a profound respect towards my partner.” Another way is the lack of punctuations in writings. For an example:
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
And a duplicate of the same sentence but with different punctuation:
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
This sentence has the same exact words, but two very different meanings.
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
And a duplicate of the same sentence but with different punctuation:
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
This sentence has the same exact words, but two very different meanings.
avid’s first introduction to the concept of Inclusive Language was at his childhood church, where a gay man named Michael Troyer started to attend. Knowing nothing about Michael except that he would sit with his arm on the back of pew and his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder, “So that’s what a homosexual looks like. And this couple is in my church,” David said to himself the first time he saw Michael. It was during the “Lord’s Prayer” that it was noticeable to David
his traditional prayer starts with: “Our Father, who art in heaven. Hollow be thy name.” The congregations usually join in the prayer in unison. The minister would start in prelude to the prayer in one fashion or another, mostly by saying, “Join me in the Lord’s Prayer.” Then the minister would start, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” Now for some unknown reasons, congregations don’t chime in till, “Who art in heaven…” making it not a call out, but into a question. “Who art in heaven?” Is it “hallow be thy name?” Nevertheless, during this start of the prayer where the congregation should be speaking, but only the minister is vocal, Michael was always there on time, saying in a loud voice, “Our PARENT! Who art in heaven.” Michael’s voice overpowered the minister’s “Father.” This just annoyed David. It happened every Sunday fuming David more and more.
fter a time getting to know Michael, David asked what he was saying at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Parent,” he answered. Michael then asked, “Is not God parent to us all? Isn’t God like a mother’s love to her child? Isn’t God more than just male or female?” Those questions did start David to ponder. In his own life, where David’s parents did not match the traditional parental roles, might not make his parents seems outside the norm. It also made David somewhat understand that there might be something to how he understood God. While David associated better with woman than with men, his relationship with God would be better in terms that worked for him.
ichael also asked, “Did not mainstream Americans, the majority, once believed that slavery in the United States as an acceptable institution? It was only a few vocal radical fringe minority groups who were claiming it was wrong. But they were right; it was wrong.” David did learn that repeatedly throughout history came change because a few, or one, spoke up against the traditions. Would the sun and all the planets still be circling earth if Galileo had not spoken against the church’s leaders? [2 More Information] Where would the Catholic Church be today if Luther had not spoken? [3 More Information] Many times the minority is right and the majority is wrong.