Further bias-free language
Many subjects in academic research papers and theses present challenges to the writer of Thai English. Sometimes the basic terms to describe people’s origins or where they come from can be a matter of controversy. It is important to use the most widely accepted, up to date terms because it is polite to the people we are discussing. Also, using currently approved terms means that we are informed about the most recent literature in any field. If we use old fashioned or no longer accepted terms, it may appear as if our research is out of date. At worst, we can offend some readers. Certain terms have evolved over the years. In the United States of America, black or African American people are referred to as black or African American. They are no longer called, as they once were, colored or negro. These older terms were used in the past disrespectfully, so the newer terms are preferred. Some North American people will also refer to themselves as people of color, if they have family origins as Asian/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, Latinos, or Hispanic. Even if we are writing a thesis on a historical subject, where original texts refer to colored people or negroes, it is better to use the term black or African American, since we are writing today.
Other terms are not offensive but confusing if we do not use them exactly. For example, if we write in a research paper that someone is American, do we mean the person is from North or South America? It is best to write North American or South American or U.S. citizen or resident of the U.S. In the same way, it is best to be as specific as possible when we refer to the countries where people were born. If we write in our research that someone is African, that does not tell us much precisely, since there are 54 countries in the African continent:
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic (CAR)
- Chad
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Republic of the Congo
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Swaziland (renamed to Eswatini)
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
The same issue arises if we write in our research or thesis about Arabs. 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa are commonly considered part of the Arab world. They include:
Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Note that Iran is a Persian country, and is not considered part of the Arab world. If we refer to people from Iran as Arabs, we may offend readers. For this reason, it is also good to be as detailed as we can in describing where people are from, or what their national origins are. It is acceptable to write that people are from Northern Africa, since that is a geographical location. If we are writing about White people or European-Americans, we should avoid using the term Caucasian people. The word Caucasian, like some other terms already discussed, has a racist history of people classifying human beings in past centuries. To avoid all this possibly offensive tradition, it is safer just to write white people or people of European American origin. Thai people have no trouble about writing about Asian people or Asian Americans, but it might be helpful to know that in past generations, the word Orientals was used, often by people who did not like Asians. To get past that history of racism, instead of the old term Orientals, we always use the term Asians or Asian Americans. In the United Kingdom, the term Asians often refers to Pakistani or Indian people, while in the United States, Asians mostly means East Asian people. Here again, if we write very specifically, referring to either South Asians or East Asians, we can avoid confusion or controversy. In the United States, the term Latino refers to people culturally associated with Latin America. The term Hispanic is used for people from Spain and other Spanish-language speakers. Outside of the United States, Spanish-speaking people refer to themselves by their country of origin, such as Mexico, Colombia, or Peru. If we write in our research about Spanish people, this can only mean people from Spain. If we mean to refer to other Spanish-speaking people, then it is best to use to name of the country they are from. Most Thais know that in recent years, Native Americans prefer to be called Native Americans instead of American Indians or Indians, since if we use the word Indians, it would be easy for readers to confuse Native Americans with people from India.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)