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Is your English Politically Correct?

As we progress in the 21st century, more and more everyday English terms are considered offensive. Are you worried that you might unwittingly offend your friends or colleagues by saying the wrong thing? Here’s some advice to help you choose your words wisely and survive in a sensitive and politically correct world.

What’s he/she like?

There was a time when you could say a person was old, short, fat, or blind - easy to say, but truly insensitive! 

The next time you want to describe someone, think carefully and be creative! People aren’t old anymore – they’re elderly. Someone short has become vertically challenged. A person once fat is now obese or horizontally gifted. Additionally,visually impaired is now the most respected term for saying someone is blind. Just remember that name-calling, in whatever form, is always insensitive and insulting.

What’s his/her race?

North America once was home to blacks, whites, Indians andOrientals. Have they all disappeared? Of course not! These days, however, there are more politically correct ways to refer to a person’s ethnicity. Blacks are now called African-Americans/Canadians, whites are Caucasians, Indians are referred to as a Native Americans, and Orientals have been replaced with Asians.

What does he/she do?

Men and women once had different titles for the same job. Not anymore! Referring to a certain gender is now considered sexist, so instead ofman or woman, the word personis used in job titles. For example, we use chairperson as opposed to chairman,businessperson instead ofbusinessman, and salespersonin place of salesman.

Other jobs have a whole new name! Where have all the air hostesses and stewardesses gone? They have been replaced with flight attendants. Andwaitresses and waiters are now called eitherservers or waitrons.

What about those jobs that don’t sound very prestigious? Don’t worry! If you are a janitor, you can call yourself a sanitation engineer. Housewivesare now domestic engineers. And if you don’t have a job, you’re not unemployed anymore, you’re actually just involuntarily leisured!Regards;

Top 5 mistakes in business English

In the competitive world of business, you need every advantage you can get. And flawless English can put you way ahead of the competition. You think it’s too hard to achieve? Not at all! Check out our list of business English mistakes your competitors make and get the edge immediately:

Personal vs. Personnel

Pay close attention to the spelling and stress on these! “Personnel” is a noun meaning a company’s staff. E.g. “Our company has the best personnel in the industry.” The stress is placed at the end of the word. “Personal” is an adjective meaning private or individual. “I’m requesting a day of annual leave for personal reasons.” The stress is placed at the beginning. If you’re not careful, you could call for a “personal meeting” rather than a “personnel meeting.”

Executive

An “executive” is someone in company management. If you’re introducing your company’s top executives to visitors or customers, watch your pronunciation! If you place the stress over the “u”, then “executive” suddenly sounds more like “execute” – to kill or put to death.

Present? Presentate? Presentation?

You present information when you give a presentation. Present is a verb meaning to introduce something or bring something to someone’s attention. A presentation is a format often used in business to introduce new information. Many people – even some native English speakers – think “presentate” is the verb form of “presentation.” Don’t make the same mistake!

“I look forward to hearing from you.”

This phrase is commonly used to end business letters. But English learners frequently write, “I look forward to hear from you.” This isn’t correct and sounds funny to native English speakers. The verb “hear” always has to have the “ing” in this phrase.

Headquarters and Information

Many English learners leave the “s” off “headquarters” and add an “s” to “information.” Both are wrong. Headquarters is a singular noun and means a company’s main office: “I’m going to headquarters this weekend to meet with the CEO.” Headquarters is tricky because it ends with an “s.” It seems like a plural noun! But leaving the “s” turns headquarters into a verb, “to headquarter.”


On the other hand, many learners add an “s” to information. Most people reason that if they need a lot of information, they need to make it plural, e.g., “I need informations on overseas study programs.” But information is an uncountable noun (it doesn’t have a plural form). All you have to say is, “I need some information.”