Does the English language contribute to structural racism and inequality?

“Is just a matter of language and points of views” - Bravatravels

The Research question:

Does the English language contribute to structural racism and inequality?

The idea of language influencing our daily lives is somehow uncanny and unexpected.  From regular conversations, television, radio, to social media to name a few, language is what shapes our ideas of the world and how we see people.  The language people speak is usually the language that determines their beliefs, choices, personalities, and entire life.  

A vivid example is an English language that affects people’s behavior and definitions tend to favor one group of the population while giving an unfair disadvantage to all minority groups.  When words in the English language are used to describe a person, a group, or a situation, there is always a history for that word that will impact such a description.  A simple look to frequently-used words such as “light” & “dark” anything that is light is positive, good, angelical; anything dark is negative, bad, devil-like.  

In a recent study “Dr. Agwu Okali, a Harvard lawyer and a member of the UN's International Criminal Tribunal who helped to organize the war crimes trials in the Rwandan genocide, explains that embedded racism in language can be as simple as black and white — literally. "Everyone knows that in English bad things are 'black,' and 'black' things are not good (e.g. black spot, black day, and blackmail)," he tells Bustle. "By the same token, good things are 'white,' and 'white' things are not bad (white knight, white magic, white lie)." (Thorpe, 2017). 

Our minds have been conditioned to distinguish between good and evil and usually those choices of words may have a structural state of racism and inequality in them.

The research method:

Ethnographic Method

To understand such a complicated and controversial research question, the best method needed to get a better understanding is long-term research that will allow a full time recorded observation, interviews, focus groups, surveys, and the search for previous data or studies.  

The researcher needs to select a sample group that is diverse and with a clear understanding of their role, specifically the culture setting, historical context, and frame of reference from all participants.  

Furthermore, the study should focus on participant observation while providing current words that are used in the English language and that have a history of racism and inequality.  

The purpose of the research is to create a conversation about such an important topic and to determine if there is any correlation between racism, inequality, and the English language. 

Key Words for the research:

Thug, sassy, ghetto, nappy, sketchy, urban, articulate, ethnic, n*gger, wetback, exotic, girlie, spick, white, black, dark, light, weak, strong, them, us, fine, ugly, leader, noble, glorious, wicked, primitive, savage, immigrants, Latinos, wetbacks, invaders, great,  

"Life is the result of our choices" - Brava