Publishing note: This article is an adaptation of the video The Euphemism Treadmill: Why Woke Ain’t Woke Enough. Hope you find it interesting!

“The Euphemism Treadmill” is one of the most eye-opening linguistic topics and it’s the reason why your grandpa keeps accidentally being racist.

This process is encapsulated perfectly by a scene from The Office, in which Michael asks his employee, Oscar (who is of Mexican descent) whether there’s a term “besides Mexican he prefers. Something less offensive”.

To understand exactly what’s happening, let’s get 2 important definitions out of the way:

  • Connotation
  • Euphemism

What’s a Connotation?

Any given word has a denotation, or literal meaning. But it also has various connotations. These are vague, abstract, at times hard-to-pin-down cultural or personal associations tied to a word. It’s the word’s vibe.

An example is the word vibe, itself which has been used since at least the 1960s with the definition of: “An atmosphere or aura felt to belong to a person, place or thing (nowadays, especially, a situation)”

While that’s been the denotation since the 60s, originally it was heavily associated with New Age/hippie culture. But as we can see, it’s had a dramatic rise in usage and nowadays it’s used by all sorts of people in New Age-y contexts, but also by people we wouldn’t think of as hippies.

In other words, it’s experienced a subtle shift in its connotations. The word “vibe” has had a vibe shift.

And the thing is these subtle shifts are happening all the time, both in the denotations of words and in their connotation

OK, and What’s a Euphemism?

When a word has negative connotations or associations, we tend to come up with a euphemism, which is a linguistic device where a mild or indirect word or expression is substituted for another. That may be because the original word sounds blunt or harsh or when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Essentially, it’s a way of softening the impact of words that might otherwise be jarring. As a warning, in this discussion, we’ll necessarily need to address some of these jarring, unpleasant or embarrassing topics. But, I’ll try to do it gently.

To take one example: there’s a particular room that you might refer to as a:

  • “bath”room – Even if there’s no bath
  • “rest”room – Like, what?
  • “wash”room – Unfortunately, not everyone washes
  • “lavatory” (which just means “washroom”, again)
  • “powder”room – C’mon

None of these actually refer directly to what the room is (mostly) actually for. Even the word toilet which seems very literal and direct to us, originally comes from a French word meaning dressing room (and before that, a little cloth)

Honestly, the more you dig into word etymologies, the more you realize it’s euphemisms and metaphors all the way down. Enough beating around the bush. Let’s get to the point.

The Euphemism Treadmill

Since the late 1980s, the term Political Correctness has been used to describe a preference for inclusive language and avoidance of language or behavior that can be seen as excluding, marginalizing, or insulting to groups of people disadvantaged or discriminated against, particularly groups defined by ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

According to the proponents of inclusive language: “The words you use, and the way in which you use them, have a huge impact on others, and, though they may seem small, using inclusive language is important; it can help build a better, safer work environment for you and your coworkers.”

Warning, the purpose of this video isn’t to say whether inclusive language is the way to achieve a safe work environment. What I’m interested in is how this topic relates to a linguistic concept called the euphemism treadmill.

When an idea is viewed negatively, words representing that idea tend to take on a pejorative or derogatory meaning. This will often lead to the creation of euphemisms to avoid referring directly to the topic. But the thing is, generally those underlying associations are still there. So, when a new term replaces one that’s come to be viewed as pejorative or demeaning, as long as the negative cultural associations about the thing that’s being referenced remains, the new word will inevitably acquire the same connotations.

The term “euphemism treadmill” that was coined by OG Linguistics Influencer Steven Pinker in 1994, and it describes the process by which a word or phrase that’s been introduced to replace an offensive term, itself becomes offensive.

Even earlier, Linguist Sharon Henderson Taylor in 1974 described a similar phenomenon in her paper “Terms for Low Intelligence”:

“In serious conversation about any unpleasant subject, speakers tend to choose softened terms over their blunter (and often crueler) alternatives. Thus, one will say passed away in preference to died and [r-word] or slow in preference to stupid”

This is a great demonstration of the process because 50 years later, the word that she considered to be “softened” is now considered so offensive I was better off referring to it as “the r-word”. Which brings us to the common complaint that “you can’t say anything these days”.

The Curious Case of Harry Reid

Let’s take a look at a semi-recent example of how the shifts caused by the Euphemism Treadmill can have serious consequences:

In 2010 a book entitled “Game Changer” was released, in which Senator Harry Reid was quoted as saying of Barak Obama (in 2008), that he was able to win because he was a “light-skinned negro” with “no negro dialect”, “unless he wanted to have one”.

Yikes.

So, those comments were obviously jarring, even in 2008. But 17 years later, it seems insane that a dude that looks like this would possibly use the term “Negro”.

But has that always been the case?

Interestingly, in a 1928 essay, Black historian, author and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois defends the word “Negro” over the term “colored”:

“But why seek to change the name? “Negro” is a fine word. Etymologically and phonetically, it is much better and more logical than “African” or “colored” or any of the various hyphenated circumlocutions.”

So, in the US, “colored” grew offensive and was replaced by “negro”, which was then accepted by basically everyone throughout the 20th century, including by Black artists and Civil Rights leaders. It was even still in use on official US census documents at the time that Harry Reid made his questionable comments.

But eventually the term was replaced by “Black” and “African-American”.

At the risk of overexplaining the metaphor, we can see how a treadmill serves as an appropriate representation of this process because while it gives the perception of moving forward, in reality things are fundamentally remaining the same.

In the same essay he describes the concept this way:

“Names are only conventional signs for identifying things. Things are the reality that counts. If a thing is despised, either because of ignorance or because it is despicable, you will not alter matters by changing its name.”

The Oldhead’s Dilemma

So, given that terms are constantly shifting and acquiring new connotations and the fact that well-meaning individuals and organizations are constantly generating new terms (either organically or systematically), it can, understandably, be hard to keep up. Does that mean that there’s no point in even trying to ever use politically correct language?

Well, as is always the case, language is about more than the content of what you say. The way we choose to say things is not only an expression of who we are, but it can also be a message to others.

Also, over time gradual changes in connotations result in concrete changes to actual meanings. For example, the word “idiot” comes from a Greek word that originally meant “a private citizen, someone without special training or knowledge” and “dumb” originally meant “mute, unable to speak”.

But nowadays, if someone calls you dumb or an idiot, you have the full right to be upset about that, as those words are now synonymous with “stupid”.

So while we all agree that words can change meanings and that a word that is inoffensive at one point, can later become insulting, unfortunately not everyone is on the same page as to when that happens with a given word.

And if you’re too late to get the memo, you run the risk of genuinely hurting others with your words. On the other hand, if you’re overly zealous in introducing or adopting new terms, you run the risk of being what scientists refer to as “super cringe”.

This is the part of the article where I should tell you what to do but like I said, that’s not my job. I just think it’s interesting.

But what I can say is that when deciding whether or not to participate in the Euphemism Treadmill, just know that your decision will influence how you’re perceived by others and by yourself. For better or for worse.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]