Bettina Wilpert is not the only one to criticise the authoritarian language policy of the current US government. Because when terms disappear, many things can no longer be named. Sometimes, on the other hand, it is good when words are replaced. And where is it said that you can't invent new words?
Authoritarian governments are on the rise around the world, be it in Europe, South America or the USA. The social battle for discourse sovereignty is also being waged through language: US President Donald Trump, for example, had entire words deleted in March 2025. Ministries, authorities and state-funded institutions were instructed by memos to stop using certain terms. Diversity and inclusion in particular are a thorn in the side of the Trump administration. Terms such as “racism” or “Native American”, for example, have fallen out of favour. If the term racism is no longer used, will it disappear from the world?Campaign Against Language
The same applies to words that refer to the rights of trans and queer people. Terms such as “pregnant person”, non-binary or gender identity should no longer be used. The acronym LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) will sometimes be replaced by LGB on websites. For the Trump government, there are only two genders. But trans women are still women, even if the Republicans are working to abolish their rights by hijacking the language.The US government has not yet completely banned any words. The situation is different in Russia, where it is a criminal offence to refer to the war in Ukraine as such.
But can words really be banned? We can think what we want at any time, but language is powerful. Language makes our world. Language influences how we think and what we can imagine. If we don't have the words to name something, a problem arises.
Current Look at Old Children's Books
I don't want to ban any words myself, but there are some words that I really don't want to hear any more. Here are a few examples: At a BSG Chemie Leipzig football match, the fans called the losing team “sons of bitches” at the end of the winning game. Or: When I was at my mum's house at Christmas and read to my child from The Children from Krachmacherstraße by Astrid Lindgren, I stumbled across the chapter “Lotta is an N-word slave”. I skipped it while reading aloud. My mum still had an old edition of the book, but the Oetinger publishing house has since deleted the whole chapter. For years, Pippi Longstocking's father, who was also invented by Astrid Lindgren, has also been a South Sea king.Racist words have no place in children's books today. However, the problem remains despite the deletions and renaming: Just because a word is banned from our language doesn't mean the concept has disappeared. So Pippi's father remains a colonialist exploiter also in the new editions.
Positive reinterpretation
As it is difficult to completely ban words from the language, left-wing and feminist movements are constantly appropriating them: Formerly negative terms are then given positive connotations. The word “queer” originally meant “weird” or “strange” in English. It has since become a self-designation. The same happened to “slut”. In 2011, a Canadian police officer said that women should not dress like sluts to avoid being victimised. The result: worldwide “Slut Walks” – demonstrations against rape myths.Appropriations do not always succeed. The hip-hop duo SXTN proclaimed “The cunts are back” back in 2017 and the rapper Ikkimel describes herself as the “biggest cunt in town”. In both cases, however, the use of the word degenerates into mere posturing, as it lacks the political embedding in larger social contexts that took place in the queer movement or at the slut marches.
Rather new
What would it be like if words were reinvented instead of simply appropriating expressions with negative connotations? The sons of bitches would then be the sons of dogs. Instead of cunt, it would be vulvina. Penetration would be called circlusion. You can't ban words. But you can use them to pursue an agenda and shape new perspectives.Word! The Language Column
Our column “Word!” appears every two weeks. Itis dedicated to language – as a cultural and social phenomenon. How does language develop, what attitude do authors have towards “their” language, how does language shape a society? – Changing columnists – people with a professional or other connection to language – follow their personal topics for six consecutive issues.
Our column “Word!” appears every two weeks. Itis dedicated to language – as a cultural and social phenomenon. How does language develop, what attitude do authors have towards “their” language, how does language shape a society? – Changing columnists – people with a professional or other connection to language – follow their personal topics for six consecutive issues.
May 2025