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What is implied by Pinker’s euphemism treadmill?
Politicians and marketers certainly believe that language
influences our thoughts and values. One political party
may refer to an inheritance tax as the ‘estate tax’, while
an opposing party refers to it as the ‘death tax’. The
terminology reflects different ideologies, but the choice
of expression is primarily intended to have an impact
on public opinion. Politically correct language also
reflects the idea that language can influence thought to
a great extent. Many people believe that by changing
the way we talk, we can change the way we think; that if
we eliminate racist and sexist terms from our language,
we will become a less racist and sexist society.
However, language itself is not sexist or racist, but
people can be, which is why particular words acquire
negative meanings over time and become taboo words.
The psychologist Steven Pinker uses the expression
euphemism treadmill to describe this process. For
example, handicapped was once a euphemism for the
offensive term crippled, and when handicapped became
politically incorrect, it was replaced by the euphemism
disabled. And yet, disabled is falling into disrepute and
is often replaced by another euphemism, challenged.
Nonetheless, in all such cases, changing language has
not resulted in a new worldview for the speakers.