The Use of Politically Correct Language in Hungarian and Transylvanian Online Journalism Cover Image

A politikailag korrekt nyelv használata a magyarországi és erdélyi online sajtóban
The Use of Politically Correct Language in Hungarian and Transylvanian Online Journalism

Author(s): Blanka Barabás
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Media studies, Communication studies
Published by: UArtPress - Editura Universității de Arte din Tîrgu Mureş - A Marosvásárhelyi Művészeti Egyetem Kiadója
Keywords: political correctness; language use; online journalism; PC-language; minority

Summary/Abstract: Political correctness means that one should not offend the members of groups living in minority. Since language is one of the most basic ways to take a stand, to transmit values, the ideology of political correctness first tries to eliminate the use of pejorative elements from language. Although print media is slowly moving to the online sphere, the authors of articles are still journalists, who through their work can shape society. Consequently, language use in online journalism can motivate readers to be politically correct. In my paper, I first examined situations in which the use of politically correct language is reasonable in Hungarian-speaking areas, and what conditions these imply. Thereafter, I examined two Hungarian and two Transylvanian news-portals, in which I analyzed the proper use of politically correct terms. Furthermore, I was curious to see how often these topics occur, because that also reflects the transmitted attitude.

  • Issue Year: XVI/2015
  • Issue No: 28
  • Page Range: 95-104
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Hungarian