Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, you are able to:

1. explain what is verbal hygiene;

2. cite examples of language situation where
there is used of verbal hygiene;
3. explain how people can change the way we
talk; and
4. explain how language use influence our daily
living.
what is verbal
hygiene?

Are you
ready?
 verbal The phrase “verbal hygiene” comes from a
1995 book of that name by linguist Deborah
hygiene Cameron.
Verbal hygiene describes any intentional
attempts to change language. Or, to use Cameron’s
words, it’s the “discourses and practices through
which people attempt to ‘clean up’ language and
make its structure or its use conform more closely to
their ideals of beauty, truth, efficiency, logic,
correctness and civility.”
Why is there a need to "clean up" a language?
Language can be changed by
governments enforcing their
will, newspapers using
different terminology, large
groups of people deciding to
stop using certain words or
any number of other causes.
Verbal hygiene is pretty common, though
it’s not the primary way language changes.

Left to its own devices, language evolves

completely randomly.

Random features of languages are picked

up and dropped indiscriminately by
speakers.

Language is not improving or simplifying

over time, it’s just changing with the
people who speak it.
Verbal hygiene refers to any occasion
when humans intervene in this evolution.
What Are Some
More Examples?

Changing Terminology:
The change from “fireman” to
“firefighter,” along with the slow
eradication of related terms like
“chairman,” “policeman” and
“spokesman,” has marked the
success of gender-neutral terms in
mainstream conversation.
Changing The Language Spoken:
Esperanto is a language that was
created to make communication
between people easier. The creator of
the language encouraged everyone to
learn it as a second language so that
anyone from anywhere can
communicate without having to
sacrifice their mother tongue.
Changing Word Meaning:
The word “queer” has gone through a
number of permutations in meaning over
the years. It was originally a slur, but then it
was reclaimed by punks in the ‘80s and
‘90s, and then it became a slur again, but
now it’s kind of in a weird limbo. People
disagree on what group of people “queer”
refers to, whether it’s positive or negative,
and how it fits into LGBTQ+ identity.
Enforcing Ideology:
In a lecture, Cameron went to the darkest
iteration of verbal hygiene: the Nazis.
Because Nazism was a nationalist 7

movement, the government enforced the

idea that the German language was
“better” than any other language. If you
were speaking another language, you were
seen as lowering yourself.
Failing To Change:
In the movie Mean Girls, there’s a scene
where one character, Gretchen, uses the
phrase “That’s so fetch” to try to make it
catch on. Then comes the famous
response from Regina George: “Gretchen,
stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen. It’s
not going to happen.” As this example
makes clear, not all attempts at verbal
hygiene are successful. You can’t change
language unless other people are willing
to adopt the change, too.
Does Changing the Language Matter?
Verbal hygiene is sometimes merely
a surface change. Calling something
by a different name doesn’t change
what that thing is, nor does it
necessarily change our attitudes
toward something.
The language that we use to
describe objects and ideas matters.
It’s hard to say the extent to which it
matters, however, and language is
certainly not the only factor involved
in societal change. Still, it’s useful to
think about the language we use
every day.
A typo in an American newspaper read
“back in the African American” instead of
“back in the black” This suggests a find and
replace tool has been used to remove the
deemed unpolitically correct ‘black’ and
replace it with ‘african-american’. The story
of the newpapers error made bigger news
than the original story which shows how
negativity surround PC is a big focus for the
media.
A euphemism is a
substitution of an agreeable
or less offensive expression
in place of one that may
offend or suggest something
unpleasant to the listener.
The school is for people who are physically challenged.
“physically challenged” means
_____________________________.

The school is for people who are physically challenged.

“physically challenged” means
people with a physical disability
_____________________________.

He was only 14 years old and was already a juvenile delinquent.

He would spend his next 10 years in prison.
“A juvenile delinquent” means
_______________________________________.

He was only 14 years old and was already a juvenile delinquent.

He would spend his next 10 years in prison.
“A juvenile delinquent” means
_______________________________________.
a young person who has a crime

The sanitary workers cleaned the hospital. “Sanitary worker”

means _____________________________.

The sanitary workers cleaned the hospital. “Sanitary worker”

means _____________________________.
janitor

My father has a lot of free time because he is between jobs at

the moment.
“Between jobs” means ___________.

The murderer would spend the rest of his life in the city’s
correctional facility.
“Correctional facility” means _______.

1. The student is sure to go far if he can

use his resources fully.
The student is ________.
2. The boy is a bit slow for his age.
The boy is stupid.
3. She is a little overweight.
She is ______.
You are becoming a little thin on top (Bald)
That man is a little bit tipsy already (almost drunk)
He is a special child (mentally challenged or disabled)
Beating the bush (avoiding the main topic)
Hitting the hay (going to bed)
 References
Cameron, D. (1995).Verbal Hygiene. Retrieved from: (PDF) Deborah Cameron-Verbal Hygiene
(Politics of Language) (1995) | Ncl Ancheta - Academia.edu

Devlin, T. 2018.Verbal Hygiene: How People Can Change The Way We Talk. Retrieved
from:www.babbel.com//en/magazine/verbal-hygiene

Burridge, K. (2021). Euphemism and Language Change: The Sixth and Seventh Ages. Retrieved from:
www. from:journals.openedition.org/lexis/355