Political Correctness

Preface viii

Acknowledgments xii

Epigraphs xiii

Part I Political Correctness and its Origins 1

Chapter 1 Defining Political Correctness 3

Chapter 2 The Origins and the Debate 60

Part II The Semantic Aspect 85

Chapter 3 Words and Authorities: Dictionaries and Lexicographers
87

Chapter 4 The Evolution of the Word Field 106

Part III Zones of Controversy 113

Chapter 5 Issues of Race, Nationality, and Difference 115

Chapter 6 Agendas Old and New 178

Part IV Cultural and Historical Issues 215

Chapter 7 Political Correctness in the Past 217

Chapter 8 Culture 236

Conclusion: The Right Thing to Do? Progressive Orthodoxy, Empty
Convention or Double Standard? 283

Bibliography 298

Author and Subject Index 309

Word Index 317

"Prof. Hughes' Political Correctness deals with both its
history and its use at present. And he deals with both aspects in a
masterly fashion. Consequently, this book is highly recommendable
because of what it says as well as, what is probably more
important, because of the multitude of suggestions and questions it
inspires." (Australian Journal of Linguistics, February
2011)

"Some books are written to be read, and other books are reference
works. Political Correctness: A History of Semantics and
Culture is unusual in that it is both jam-packed with detailed
information and yet makes for a good read. Everyone should read
this book and also keep it on the shelf as an excellent reference
work. This informative and well written book covers more than just
the notion of political correctness (PC) in the narrow
sense. It encompasses far more than the problem of increased, PC
kinds of concerns, as discussed in Part I, Political Correctness
and Its Origins." (PsycCritiques, August 2010)

"Hughes ultimately comes down against artificiality, suggesting
that political correctness is a form of social engineering that
arises from good intentions coupled with Puritanism. A useful book
for anyone interested in language and culture." (CHOICE, June
2010)

"Hughes' book provides a wide-ranging examination of a
phenomenon that has had an immense influence on our culture, for
both good and ill. Political Correctness: A History of Semantics
and Culture is an entertaining, thought-provoking foray into an
interesting and important area. Hughes focuses mainly on the
effect of P.C. in contemporary Britain, America and South Africa,
but he looks at earlier historical periods (such as the
Reformation) too. This is the best book written on the
subject, and that by some distance. It is an essential study,
rigorous and critical and absolutely indispensable."
(Compulsive Reader, April 2010)

"Focusing on the historical, semantic, and cultural
aspects of political correctness, this brilliant and unique work
will intrigue anyone interested in this ongoing debate." (
Lavoisier, November 2009)

"One must maintain a sense of humour when entering this arena,
where voices of the global cultural elite sometimes present
themselves as brave and daring for taking potshots at the sidelined
or powerless. An emeritus 'historian of the English language',
Hughes knows a lot about dictionaries of every stripe, whether
orthodox or slang. He can provide the history of innumerable words,
enabling readers to follow semantic changes, neologisms and other
evolutions in the 'word field.'" (Times Higher
Education, November 2009)

New Scholarly Books Listing, (Chronicle of Higher
Education, January 2010)

"Geoffrey Hughes has brought together with great panache the very
many manifestations of political correctness, both absurd and
vicious, and shown how they express a single collective mind-set.
His book establishes beyond doubt that there is such a phenomenon,
that it has become dominant in our culture, and that it represents
a growing tendency to censor public debate and to prevent people
from questioning orthodoxies which we all know to be false."

--Roger Scruton, Adjunct Scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute

"What a joy this book is! Hughes' study traces, with unflagging
zest, the modern history of PC and its political, educational,
"gendered", behavioral and cultural themes. Sumptuous in data, in
judgment precise, this is the latest and fullest of Hughes' series
on the social history of language."

--Walter Nash

GEOFFREY HUGHES graduated from Oxford, was an Honorary Research Associate at Harvard, and is Emeritus Professor of the History of the English Language at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is the author of An Encyclopedia of Swearing (2006), A History of English Words (Wiley-Blackwell, 2000), Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English (1998), and Words in Time (1988). He is currently Honorary Research Associate at the University of Cape Town.

G. Hughes, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa