>>>
>>> SHE
>>> SHE KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT WORDS.
ABOUT WORDS. SHE IS THE CEO OF " WRITER"
WHICH PROVIDES QUALITY CONTENT.
IT'S TRYING TO SHIFT THE WAY IN
WHICH WE USE WORDS.
SHE'S SHARING INSIGHT AS TO WHY
AND WHAT ARE THE TOP 10 WORDS
TO AVOID.
TO AVOID.
TO AVOID. WE ARE GLAD THAT YOU ARE TAKING
THE TIME WITH US, MAY. YOU HAVE
A HARVARD BACKGROUND AND YOU
KNOW THE WORDS.
WORDS ARE YOUR THING.
ANYBODY WHO LOVES WORDS WOULD
JUST HATE THAT I USED THE WORD
SAYING. EXPLAIN WHAT YOU DO.
>> CELL IT IS SOMETHING THAT
HELPS YOU MAKE SURE THAT THE
WORDS THAT YOU ARE USING ARE
APPROPRIATE FOR THE CONTEXT AND
THE COMPANY THAT YOU ARE
WRITING ON BEHALF OF.
ALSO THAT IT IS CLEAR,
CONSISTENT, AND EASY TO
UNDERSTAND.
UNDERSTAND. IN THIS CLIMATE, ONE OF THE
FEATURES THAT HAS BECOME REALLY
USEFUL IS OUR SENSITIVITY AND
INCLUSIVITY FEATURE THAT HELPS
FOR WORDS AND LANGUAGES THAT
MAY NOT EXACTLY COME ACROSS AS
A WAY TO TALK.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. SO IT IS TIME TO DIG IN ON THE
TOP 10 WORDS THAT YOU SAY WE
SHOULD STOP USING.
I KNOW THAT WE COULD TAKE UP AN
ENTIRE, FORGET IT, MAYBE AN
HOUR OF GREAT DAY LIVE.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS FOR A
WEEK.
WEEK.
WEEK. IT
WEEK. IT IS FASCINATING.
I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT
WE NEED TO START TALKING ABOUT.
WORDS DO MATTER.
GOING TO START WITH THIS ONE.
THIS IS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER.
ALCOHOLIC.
ALCOHOLIC. WHY DO YOU SAY THAT WE SHOULD
STOP USING THE WORD ALCOHOLIC?
>> STO, THE PREFERRED
TERMINOLOGY BY THE COMMUNITY
FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM
SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS AS A
PERSON WITH A SUBSTANCE ABUSE
DISORDER.
DISORDER.
DISORDER. WE USE THAT LANGUAGE TO
DESCRIBE A DISABILITY.
SO WE WOULD USE A NEUTRAL
LANGUAGE.
LANGUAGE.
LANGUAGE. AVOID, WHEN POSSIBLE, USING
TURNING DISABILITIES INTO
NOUNS, ASSOCIATING THEM WITH
WORDS THAT IMPLY VICTIMHOOD,
SUFFERING FROM DAMAGE, THINGS
LIKE THIS.
LIKE THIS. JUST THINKING ABOUT THE WORD
ADDICT OR ALCOHOLIC.
THINK ABOUT REPLACING THAT WITH
THE LANGUAGE THAT IS MORE
NEUTRAL THAT TALKS ABOUT THE
PERSON FIRST AND NOT THE
DISEASE FIRST.
DISEASE FIRST. THAT IS REALLY WHAT IS BEHIND A
LOT OF THE NEW GUIDELINES.
>> SO, THAT'S REALLY LENDS
ITSELF TO HOMELESS.
THAT IS A POPULATION THAT MY
FAMILY AND I SINCE I WAS YOUNG,
PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS.
WE HAVE WRAPPED OUR ARMS
AROUND.
AROUND.
AROUND. BECAUSE YOUR HOME IS SACRED.
STOP USING HOMELESS.
ARE YOU PREFERRING THAT PEOPLE
USE THE TERM HOUSE LAST?
>> THAT IS ONE OPTION.
PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING
HOMELESSNESS.
HOMELESSNESS. FOR MOST PEOPLE IT IS A
TEMPORARY STATE.
TEMPORARY STATE. MAKING THAT IDENTITY IS
CONSIDERED INSENSITIVE.
CONSIDERED INSENSITIVE. IT IS INSENSITIVE.
IT'S MUCH MORE RESPECTFUL TO
SAY PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING
HOMELESSNESS OR PEOPLE WHO ARE
HOMELESS OR HELPLESS.
>> WHAT ABOUT ELDERLY?
WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT THAT?
HOW YOU REFERRED TO OUR SENIOR
CITIZENS?
CITIZENS?
CITIZENS? >> SENIOR IS PERFECT.
YOU DON'T EVEN NEED THE CITIZEN.
ELDERLY HAS A LOT OF NEGATIVE
CONNOTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH
FRAILTY OR INABILITY.
SENIOR IS A MUCH MORE NEUTRAL
TIME.
TIME.
TIME. NATURALLY WHAT YOU WANT TO GO
FOR AND TRY TO HELP PEOPLE DO
IS NEUTRAL LANGUAGE.
YOU USE PEOPLE FIRST LANGUAGE.
DO NOT USE DESCRIPTIVE WORDS
AROUND IT.
AROUND IT. MAKE IT AS NEUTRAL AND
STRAIGHTFORWARD AS POSSIBLE.
>> IT IS FUNNY.
AT A CERTAIN POINT IN YOUR LIFE
WHEN YOU REACH A CERTAIN AGE,
YOU START TO UNDERSTAND THINGS
LIKE THAT.
LIKE THAT. OUT OF ALL OF THE WORDS THAT
WAS ONE OF THEM THAT REALLY
SPOKE TO ME.
I JUST THOUGHT YOU KNOW, I'M
GOING TO GET OLDER AND BETTER.
YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT.
IT JUST IMPLIES SO MUCH.
OKAY.
OKAY.
OKAY. SO
OKAY. SO EXPLAIN HOW SOMEBODY MAY USE
WHITELIST AND THEN WHAT THE
ALTERNATIVE IS.
ALTERNATIVE IS. >> THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WORDS
THAT HAVE SOME RACIST
CONNOTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH
THEM.
THEM.
THEM. COLOR CODING GOOD OR BAD.
LIKE BLACKLIST DEFINITELY FALLS
IN THAT CATEGORY.
THE WAY THAT YOU WOULD USE IT
IS, IT'S ACTUALLY EMBARRASSING.
IT WAS SOMETHING IN OUR OWN
PRODUCT THAT WE REVIEWED.
THINGS THAT ARE ALLOWED,
FUNCTIONS THAT ARE ALLOWED, OR
FUNCTIONALITIES THAT YOUR
SOFTWARE ENABLES.
SOFTWARE ENABLES. IT CAN BE WHITE LISTED ARE
BLACKLISTED.
BLACKLISTED. THAT TERMINOLOGY HAS BEEN
REPLACED BY A LOT OF SOFTWARE
COMPANIES.
COMPANIES. THINGS THAT ARE MUCH MORE
DESCRIPTIVE LIKE ALLOWED AND
NOT SUBMITTED.
NOT SUBMITTED. IT'S A MUCH MORE CLEAR WAY OF
SAYING IT ANYWAY.
SOFTWARE ALSO IN THE SERVICES
THERE'S THIS CONCEPT OF WHETHER
IT'S CODE OR SERVERS AND THAT'S
ALSO BEEN APPROPRIATE.
>> AS SOMEBODY WHO USES
TECHNOLOGY, AS WE ARE RIGHT
NOW, I HAVE HAD TO LOOK THAT
UP.
UP.
UP. BUT
UP. BUT YOU WOULD KNOW THAT.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY
THAT IS CONTINUING TO GROW.
NOW, WE'VE GONE OVER ALCOHOLIC,
HOMELESS, ELDERLY AND WHITE