Barriers of Communication and Sexist Language - Essay Example

Significantly, to a particular extent, a significant percentage of sexist language entails the depiction of women: a good example is the words ‘a blonde’ –such words used in a statement act as a representation of women hence belittling their lives and place an extra level of personal judgment on them. This makes it very hard for people of the female gender to communicate or even open up, especially to people who use sexist language; moreover, it creates hatred leading to a lack of respect, especially between the youth and their elders.

Racist Language
Over the years, language has played a significant role in race relations with some words being used offensively and others honorably; shockingly, it is through this that up to date that people still argue as to whether the ’N word’, popularly used to describe people of the African American background should be used. Most people are of the idea that using inoffensive language is all about political correctness whereas it’s not; it’s about valuing others and creating strong relationships with people from diverse ethnic backgrounds which automatically enhances communication (Kareem 1).

Racist language is all about language and culture which is why different words have dissimilar meanings to some people from diverse ethnic backgrounds i.e. the word ‘loaded’ doesn’t have the same meaning to Native Americans and Africans. Racist language is one of the core barriers to communication; for instance, the ‘N word’ has created rivalry and mystification between African Americans and white people in American society, making it hard for the two to address each other, especially in public. This might be due to some people finding the word offensive hence loathing those that use it to refer to them or possibly because some people use it deliberately to offend and humiliate African Americans.

Homophobic Language
Typically, homophobic language is used as a form of insult against the gay and most people find it difficult and time-consuming to campaign against; since it's most common to the young people in schools and colleges full of uninformed youth. Some people are of the idea that not all the times that the language is used is meant to be hurtful; however, this depends on one’s perspective on the subject (Nelson 1). Over the years, there have been situations where children in schools have committed suicide due to being bullied using homophobic language; this may have been due to the idea of them feeling out of place or told apart from the rest of society.

Reflectively, such children may have found it difficult to communicate with their elders or parents and felt the only rational solution was taking their own lives. Homophobic language has become so common to the extent of people say it in public or even on international television; however, most people argue that the reason for using the language is not necessary to discriminate against homosexuals but as slang i.e. telling your close friend ‘that’s gay’ and after that laugh about it. Read More