Language and Ethics: A Better Way to Treat "Derogatory Terms" and Corresponding Punishments

Abstract

Language and words are mostly considered to have consistent semantics, so many scholars classify phrases that generally appear to be associated with harm or undesirable consequences as "derogatory terms" and strictly prohibit their usage in order to establish a more ethical social environment. However, the question of whether the origin of the harm comes exclusively from a word and whether the word itself has a negative nature still needs to be discussed further. This paper will analyze and criticize traditional theories and conclude that there is no constant negative nature to a single word based on the research of historical changes and examples of semantic plurality in different geographical areas. It is only necessary to make people aware that language and semantics are dependent on the intentions of the speaker and the rational analysis of the listener, and that too much ethical criticism will only make the communication more unethical or counterproductive.