Рolitical correctness in the english and ukrainian mass media discourse

Abstract

Introduction. There are a lot of sensitive subjects, which should be spoken politically correct. «Political correctness» is defined as a strategy for combating discrimination, and its focus is language. To be politically correct is to choose words that avoid disparaging, insulting or offending people because they belong to oppressed groups. Oppressed groups are those subject to prejudice, disrespect or discrimination on the basis of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or physical disability.

Purpose. The aim of the article is to analyze ethnolinguistic and ethnocultural peculiarities of pragmalinguistic category of political correctness in the English and Ukrainian mass media discourse.

Methods. The key research method is the method of comparative analysis which, based on the theoretical data about political correctness in the English and Ukrainian languages, helped us to single out the cases of the use of euphemisms in modern English and Ukrainian online periodicals and compare the types of politically correct euphemisms in the two languages.

Results. Driven by the culture wars, the phrase «political correctness» (PC) has become contentious in recent years. Political correctness taken to an extreme stifles communication and has created a new class of victims. Many believe that the avoidance of words that may offend, marginalize, or insult a group of people – political correctness – has gone too far. According to PC critics, PC promotes a society of victimhood and endangers the public at large by limiting discussion about controversial subjects. At the end of the 1990s many situations branded as «political correctness gone mad». Anti-political correctness has become a badge of honor to many in the English-speaking countries. Suspicious of carefully crafted rhetoric, they claim to «tell it like it is».

The study reveals the influence of «political correctness» on the development of the English and Ukrainian lexis. The evolution and features of the connotation of the category of political correctness in pragmalinguistic and culturological aspects are studied. The results of the study found that, compared to Ukrainian online newspapers and magazines, modern English online periodicals are characterized by a wider use of politically correct lexemes. The number of lexical means depicting sensitive topics in the English mass media is considerably larger than in the Ukrainian mass-media discourse, which proves the topicality of the issue in the English-speaking world.

Conclusion. English-speaking countries and Ukraine have common problems in the field of political correctness. In English public discourse and the media, the term «political correctness» is generally used as a pejorative, implying that these policies are excessive. In Ukraine people use the term in different ways but it is mainly used with neutral connotation to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society.

The paper findings may be useful for researches who deal with political discourse, comparative analysis, the use of euphemisms within the framework of the theory of political correctness.