Show notes for Episode 5

Here are the show notes for Episode 5 where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about language change and some of the arguments around banning and censoring language

- the word game, Scrabble ‘banning’ racial slurs

- slaves and masters, master bedrooms and nitty gritty: words that are being challenged and reviewed

- political correctness, cancel culture and wokeness

And we talk to Dr Ian Cushing about language in schools, the policing of language and the role, politics and importance of Standard English in education. 

You can find the links to the stories and research we’ve mentioned in this programme, below.

Ian Cushing’s work on language in schools:

Teachers' slang bans 'likely to cause long-term damage'

Should schools be allowed to ban slang words like 'peng'?

The Policy and Policing of Language in Schools: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/policy-and-policing-of-language-in-schools/6C4BC80399E27747D34819060E186A62#fndtn-information

Comment on Ian’s article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/comment-on-the-policy-and-policing-of-language-in-schools-by-ian-cushing/780222C30D0C8C011B8ACEB0FD8EC964

Ian’s response:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/power-policing-and-language-policy-mechanisms-in-schools-a-response-to-hudson/ACEE15C4A9A3BDC555B1DFCCF0446E5C

Ian Cushing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ian_cushing

Language in the News

Scrabble ‘bans’ slurs: US Scrabble bans racist and LGBTQ slurs from tournaments

Scrabble community mulls banning racial and homophobic slurs

Slaves and masters: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53050955

Master bedroom ‘banned’: Estate agents banned from saying 'master bedroom' due to concerns over slavery and sexism links

Nitty gritty - is it a racist term?

'Nitty gritty' on Sky Sports' banned list of words due to supposed links to slavery

Where does the phrase nitty gritty come from - and why has Sky Sports banned it?

It's not just the n-word in the woodpile - from 'no can do' to 'hooligan' we reveal English's hidden racism

Police forbid politically incorrect phrases | UK news

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Contributors

Matthew Butler 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy

Lisa Casey 

blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)

Dan Clayton 

blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)

Jacky Glancey 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey

Music: Freenotes