Non English-speaking posters: Does language policing happen in other languages?

[Flats the Flounder]

By language policing, I mean designating a certain word as offensive and trying to come up with a more politically correct replacement for it. This happens a fair bit in English-speaking circles, and I'm wondering if it's because English vocabulary is so broad compared to most other languages.

Based on my very limited understanding of linguistics, I could see language policing happening in some languages like German, but others have much more rigid rules regarding vocabulary, so I wonder how any language policing could actually be feasible.

For what it's worth, my views on political correctness are heavily contextual. I think it's fine in more formal spaces like in business meetings, but it shouldn't necessarily be imposed into more informal situations.

[25 Abril/Aprile Sempre!]

Yes obviously Italian has words that are offensive and considered slurs (e.g. "frocio" - equivalent to f****t) including words that used to be acceptable but are not anymore (e.g. "negro" which I don't think I need to translate). I fail to see what lexical quirks would make this impossible in whatever other languages.

[President Johnson]

I'd say even more so in German than English.

An issue is wording that relate to gender ("genderism", does that word even exist in English?). In English there are just few nouns with a male and female form, like actor and actress. In German, it's de facto every noun. For example, a female president remains "president" in English. Female German nouns usually end with -in. So there's Präsident (male) and Präsidentin (female). Or Kunde (customer) and Kundin, employees are called Mitarbeiter und Mitarbeiterinnen. Even though it has become more mainstream to use both terms lately, some folks are annoyed by it. I've even heard from lots of women they don't necessarily care for it. There are also multiple options to address both of them in writing, like MitarbeiterInnen (plural), Mitarbeiter/in or Mitarbeiter*in (singular). Later is known as "gender star", which has become a negative term.

Sometimes journalists also choose neutral plural nouns to avoid the -in at the end, though these often sound weird as they're rarely used in casual language. For example instead of Studenten and Studentinnen (male and female students), you can use Studierende (neutral plural, best translation would be "studying people"). The same with Forscher/innen (scientists or researches) and Forschende.

[Flats the Flounder]

Yes obviously Italian has words that are offensive and considered slurs (e.g. "frocio" - equivalent to f****t) including words that used to be acceptable but are not anymore (e.g. "negro" which I don't think I need to translate). I fail to see what lexical quirks would make this impossible in whatever other languages.

I think I meant less in terms of slurs and more in the sense of words that start out as innocuous, but then are eventually deemed to be offensive/outdated and most importantly replaced. A recent example in English is the the word "homeless," which some groups state is offensive, preferring the term "unhoused."

My assumption was that this might be an exclusively Anglophone phenomenon since English is one of the few languages that has multiple terms for essentially every concept. (Mainly due to history, Romance-derived words tend to be more formal versions of Germanic-derived words)

[25 Abril/Aprile Sempre!]

Yes obviously Italian has words that are offensive and considered slurs (e.g. "frocio" - equivalent to f****t) including words that used to be acceptable but are not anymore (e.g. "negro" which I don't think I need to translate). I fail to see what lexical quirks would make this impossible in whatever other languages.

I think I meant less in terms of slurs and more in the sense of words that start out as innocuous, but then are eventually deemed to be offensive/outdated and most importantly replaced. A recent example in English is the the word "homeless," which some groups state is offensive, preferring the term "unhoused."

My assumption was that this might be an exclusively Anglophone phenomenon since English is one of the few languages that has multiple terms for essentially every concept. (Mainly due to history, Romance-derived words tend to be more formal versions of Germanic-derived words)

I think what you are trying to describe is the phenomenon known as euphemism treadmill, and it definitely happens in other languages. I have never heard before of "homeless" being deemed offensive though.

To the extent that this might be uniquely prominent in English, I would attribute that to certain characteristics of the USA and American culture (large country, global cultural influence, extremely diverse, founded on individual liberty and so on).

[Flats the Flounder]

Yes obviously Italian has words that are offensive and considered slurs (e.g. "frocio" - equivalent to f****t) including words that used to be acceptable but are not anymore (e.g. "negro" which I don't think I need to translate). I fail to see what lexical quirks would make this impossible in whatever other languages.

I think I meant less in terms of slurs and more in the sense of words that start out as innocuous, but then are eventually deemed to be offensive/outdated and most importantly replaced. A recent example in English is the the word "homeless," which some groups state is offensive, preferring the term "unhoused."

My assumption was that this might be an exclusively Anglophone phenomenon since English is one of the few languages that has multiple terms for essentially every concept. (Mainly due to history, Romance-derived words tend to be more formal versions of Germanic-derived words)

I think what you are trying to describe is the phenomenon known as euphemism treadmill, and it definitely happens in other languages. I have never heard before of "homeless" being deemed offensive though.

Most people in the US still say "homeless," it's really more of an academic/social justice thing at this point. Frankly, I think the euphemism treadmill can get a bit silly, especially when the concept that's getting euphemized inherently has a negative connotation behind it. The new term is inevitably going to become offensive, too, so I don't really see the point in changing it all that much.

To the extent that this might be uniquely prominent in English, I would attribute that to certain characteristics of the USA and American culture (large country, global cultural influence, extremely diverse, founded on individual liberty and so on).

That may very well be true, I unfortunately don't speak any other languages (although I have been trying to learn) so I wouldn't really know myself.

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

In Japanese the euphemism treadmill is rife.

[buritobr]

Concerning gender neutral language, I believe language policing happen more in other language, since most of the modern English is already a natural gender neutral language.

In Brazil, I see much more an activism of the right against gender neutral Portuguese than an activism of the left for gender neutral Portuguese.
In Portuguese, male friends is "amigos" and female friends is "amigas". The gender neutral version of this word is "amigues" in the spoken language and "amigxs" or "amig@s" in written language. I see much more the right speaking "amigues" in a ironic way than the left speaking "amigues" in a serious way.

I really don't care about gender neutral language. I see no problem in using the masculine to refer to a generic human being or to a group of people which include men, women and non-binary. But I am a man and I will not fight against women who dislike this use of the masculine.

I think that conservative people who consider the activism against gender-neutral language a big issue don't have more important issues to worry about.

[dead0man]

I've always kind of assumed most were worse and more "official"/heavy handed about it.

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

In Urdu sources, I really haven't seen any such cases of this occuring.

Most likely because it's seen back home as another example of "Western insanity"

[Fascism Must Be Defeated]

By language policing, I mean designating a certain word as offensive and trying to come up with a more politically correct replacement for it. This happens a fair bit in English-speaking circles, and I'm wondering if it's because English vocabulary is so broad compared to most other languages.

Variations on this happen on in most languages I'm aware of, usually around whatever topics are culturally sensitive. It's the same kind of phenomenon that gives us a ton of different words for toilet (bathroom, washroom, lavatory, loo, etc.), or results in taboos on naming the dead, as is common among Australian Aborigines. Languages are filled with all kinds of euphemism and avoidance terminology.

It's hard to imagine this sort of thing not happening, unless we lived in a society where various bigotries were eradicated totally or completely taken for granted.