Henrietta Hay's Column

If I had it to do over, I might consider majoring in linguistics. I am fascinated by the way language has developed and by the thousands of different languages there are around the world. I have always wondered what the first cave men said to each other. Probably it was something like, "Ugh," meaning "Hey, watch your back. There's a woolly mammoth coming." Or maybe Adam said "No thank you," in perfect English.

Now we have another addition to English. It is called PC or Politically Correct. Most social movements start out with high goals and good intentions. And always there are some who take it to extremes on both sides. So it is with PC. The goal of PC is sensitivity to the feelings of other people. The results vary from funny to dangerous.

Efforts to find the origin of what we now call PC turned out to be so confusing that I must consider myself PC impaired. But apparently the modern movement started with the Civil Rights movement.

The "N" word has long been absolutely forbidden in civilized discourse. It was followed by "negro" which in the 1960 s became "black" and now "African American" or "people of color" is preferred,

I wasn't sure about the right word to use for people from south of the border, so I consulted my Hispanic expert, Luis Lopez. He prefers "Latino" or "Latina" and that is what I now use. People from most Asian countries seem to prefer the general term, "Asian." The use of these words is simply a matter of courtesy and respect and is widely accepted.

What we call PC first received widespread publicity in the 1970s when NOW, the National Organization for Women, proposed such language revisions as "Chair" or "Chairperson" instead of "Chairman'" and the form "Ms" instead of "Mrs." or "Miss." In 1988 a judge in Pittsburgh actually threatened to jail an attorney because she insisted in being addressed as Ms. Wolvovitz. Now women are free to use whichever title they prefer.

But there are those who would re-write literature to conform, and PC has gotten mixed up with censorship. Andrew Greeley got quite incensed recently when he thought Harper Collins, sniffing the winds created by the overwhelming success of Harry Potter, was about to re-issue the C. S. Lewis Narnia series and take out the Christian imagery. I could feel my friend the philosopher shudder over the Internet when she read that. She spent much of her teen years with the imagery of Tolkein and the Tales of Narnia; She said that if you were not aware of the Christian mythology you probably would not know they were filled with symbolism. Father Greeley was quite right in calling it censorship. He was wrong, however, in his accusation. The original Narnia stories will not be bowdlerized or changed, but re-issued as they were written. Harper Collins does plan to produce some sequels, which will be less Christian and mystical than the original stories.

Mark Twain is one of the most often challenged authors in libraries and schools, because of his use of the "N" word. At the time his books were written, the word was accepted and used universally. So what do we do? Deprive today's kids of a classic that most of us grew up on? I suggest that it is a wonderful opportunity for parents to discuss tolerance and sensitivity with their children.

Certain words have come under fire. "Niggardly" is one. But its origin is medieval English, probably 'Scandinavian and has nothing whatsoever to do with PC. Shall we re-write the language?

The National Federation of the Blind got tired of euphemisms designed to make them feel better, and issued this statement in 1993. "We believe that it is respectable to be blind, and although we have no particular pride in the fact of our blindness, neither do we have any shame in it. To the extent that euphemisms are used to convey any other concept or image, we deplore such use. We can make our own way in the world on equal terms with others, and we intend to do it.

PC was intended to add courtesy and consideration to communication. Maybe it has gone far enough. But please call me Ms.