[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Peter Reitzes
Date: 14 Oct 2006
Time: 09:19:54 -0500
Remote Name: 69.22.238.4
Thanks for writing J.Z. I must confess that I doubt very seriously that we can get “everyone” using positive language. And of course, the folks who strongly encourage people first language are unable to get everyone aboard their ship. I believe in leading by example. I know that in New York, several of us were using such positive language about ten years ago and I could see it start to spread. There were some self-help meetings and workshops where “stuttering well” and “good stuttering” were bantered about and during the next meetings, more people were using it and more people were considering it. Over the years, I have seen many folks in the New York area use positive language. My experience has been that positive language catches on because people want to be positive about themselves. And of course, teaching graduate students about positive language and making it part of the curriculum in place of politically correct language would also help.