Soft Language and Ethics

Soft Language and Ethics

Language can distort reality by negating it or misrepresenting it. An excellent explanation of this is seen in this video by George Carlin, who is making fun of some of the familiar soft languages that are popular in society today. His main idea is to demonstrate how the increased emphasis or desire to use gentle language distorts reality and confuses the truth. According to him, people use words such as 90 years young, guest room dining, and people with special needs (Carlin, 2008). Using these words only turns reality into something else that may not be what it is. According to Budiarta et al. (2021), polite language is used to avoid sounding harsh, creating shame, and appearing to discriminate against others. Therefore, even though there is a need to communicate politely, this trend only worsens the situation and affects reality by distorting it or making it confusing through misinterpretation. There is evidence that the words used to create polite language do not mean what they are intended if verified through the dictionary. According to Budiarta et al. (2021), language can make one act ethically or not since language has an impact on the moral decision-making of an individual. In this research that was carried out to examine the impact of culture and language on ethical decision-making, the researchers uncovered that people who were speaking English as their second language were more likely to end up in a moral dilemma, mainly when they used foreign language than when they used their mother tongue or their cultural language. This research showed that language can affect ethics and ethical decision-making. When for instance, a person uses a term like “mentally retarded” to refer to a person who has psychological illnesses is considered unethical in certain communities. Therefore, even though this is a grammatically valid language, it is unethical.

Awareness of soft language can make one exceptionally careful about what they say to the extent that it can affect how they communicate. For instance, when one is aware of soft language during therapy, they will only be careful to adhere to it and fail to consider what they intend to say. The result of this is that the communication process will be affected. As such, this awareness of soft language can affect the communication process between the client and the therapist. Winskel and Bhatt (2020) stated that communication between the therapist and the client is most valuable for treatment and rapport. Ultimately, the therapist might be afraid to ask questions that may be very important to the treatment. Awareness of soft language can also cause conflict between the therapist and the client. If the therapist uses a word that the client considers derogative, then the client may respond negatively. The result can also be resentment. In the worst-case scenario, if the therapist fails to use soft language, the client might feel discriminated against. Koocher (2016) cautions that language is essential in therapy since it is a significant part of ethics within the therapy field. Therefore, with this in mind, it is evident that mild language can ruin and build a client-therapist relationship. The soft tongue can ruin this relationship if the soft language is given too much priority to the extent that the therapist finds it difficult to flow and even ask questions that may be important to the treatment. On the other hand, soft language can be very effective in building the client-therapist relationship since it can be used to show respect and avoid offending the client. The overall lesson, however, is that soft language is encouraged in society, and many people are making it a trend even though there is evidence in this discussion that soft language also has serious negative outcomes.

References

Budiarta, T., Nurkamto, J., Sumarlam, S., & Purnanto, D. (2021). Expressive speech acts of politeness in the counseling process. Langkawi: Journal of The Association for Arabic and English, 7(2), 212. https://doi.org/10.31332/lkw.v7i2.2961

Carlin, G. (2008). George Carlin on Soft Language. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h67k9eEw9AY

Koocher, G. P. (2016). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions: standards and cases. Oxford University Press.

Winskel, H., & Bhatt, D. (2020). The Role of Culture and Language in moral decision-making. Cult. Brain 8, pp. 207–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40167-019-00085-y

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Soft Language and Ethics

PROMPT:
View the clip on soft language by comedian George Carlin. Comment on how language can distort reality and how language can affect ethics and ethical decision-making.

Discuss how awareness of soft language can impact your communication with clients and assess the ethical implications of soft language for the client-therapist relationship.