UN company employees instructed ‘do not say Englishman’ in language crackdown
A United Nations agency has been branded ‘Orwellian’ after it told staff not to use the term ‘Englishman’ in the latest crackdown on ‘gendered’ language.
The Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation – which protects trademarks and patents globally – has also vetoed masculine terms including ‘forefathers’ and ‘brotherhood of man’.
Even ‘man’s best friend’ has been blacklisted – with ‘a faithful dog’ to be used instead. And ‘birth attendant’ is suggested as an alternative to ‘midwife’.
The move comes after the British Red Cross was accused of having been ‘hijacked by political extremists’ after clamping down on phrases such as ‘ladies and gentlemen’ and ‘maiden name’.
According to the ‘Guidelines on inclusive language’ published by the UN agency – known as WIPO – using ‘masculine-specific’ terms risks giving the impression that ‘women are not represented in certain groups or do not possess certain skills’.
File photo. ‘Englishman’ is the latest term to stay avoid, according to the World IP Organisation
Among the terms staff should not use are Englishman – with ‘English person’ or ‘English national’ given as alternatives.
‘Man in the street’ should be replaced by ‘ordinary citizen’ or ‘typical person’, while the word ‘sportsmanlike’ is to be avoided in favour of ‘fair’ or ‘sporting’.
Caveman or cavewoman are both frowned upon, with the guide suggesting ‘cave dweller’ or ‘prehistoric people’, while ‘humanity’ is preferred to ‘the brotherhood of man’.
A separate list of gender-neutral terms for occupations advises replacing ‘lumberjack’ with ‘wood chopper’ or ‘logger’ and waiter/waitress with ‘wait staff’ or, ‘server’.
Another on the list is ‘midwife’, with the suggested alternative given as ‘birth attendant’ – although the guide does concede that midwife ‘may still be the preferable term, depending on the context’.
Last night Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, said: ‘This is precisely what George Orwell warned us about.
‘Banning certain words and phrases to advance a dogmatic political ideology is a hallmark of totalitarianism.’
File photo. The United Nations agency came under criticism for its policing of certain terms
Last month the Daily Mail revealed how staff at the British Red Cross were being told that ‘people who are not women’ can get pregnant and have periods.
Meanwhile NHS trusts have instructed employees to use gender-neutral language, with midwives told to refer to ‘mothers or birthing parents’, and ‘chestmilk’ as an alternative to breastmilk.
Signed off by WIPO director general Daren Tang, the guidelines are ‘not prescriptive and common sense and clarity of text should always prevail’.
WIPO said the document was ‘designed to be a straightforward awareness-raising exercise for our colleagues on how to use
language that resonates with the widest possible audience, which may include avoiding terms that are linked to one specific gender when other neutral, more-inclusive words are available.’
