After suggestions that terms like ‘pet’ could be patronising, it was suggested that the term should be excluded from our vocabulary. According to the guide, which is downloadable from the University website and accessible to the public, this is to avoid patronising or gendered terms.
"It is good to practice referring to colleagues by their name. If referring to a group, call them friends or colleagues. Avoid patronising or gendered terms, such as girls, pet, or ladies."
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"Our researchers asked for advice on using inclusive language in a professional capacity, and the guide was created to help them do that."
Duck, sugar, love, darling, sweetheart, dear, hun and petal are just some of the other terms of endearment that can be heard across the country, so what makes ‘pet’ so different? Newcastle arguably has one of the country’s most recognisable and well-received regional dialects, with Geordie topping many lists as the UK’s friendliest accent.
The university has previously been vocal about its identity as a north-east institution and what that means to the institution, its student body and its staff, including a recently published ‘10 Geordie Phrases you need to know if you study in Newcastle’ and various guides on history and sociology of the area.
As a student not from the North East, my friends and I will often add Geordie dialect words into our conversations. We’ve been made to feel like Honorary Geordies, embraced by a community of people proud of their region and wanting to share that with us. Our use of the language comes from a place of love for a city that has been so kind to let us call it home, but it feels wrong and contradictory that the institution that accommodates our main purpose here over the next couple of years is trying to dampen the Geordie spirit.
"Newcastle arguably has one of the country’s most recognisable and well-received regional dialects"
The UK is renowned for its incredible range of regional dialects, although it is no secret that our language as a nation is becoming more homogenised. There should be an active effort to preserve dying dialects for future generations, as they form the foundation of a regional culture. There can be lots of reasons for diversion from regional accents and dialects, including exposure to different technologies (social media particularly amongst younger generations) and emigration of people from across the British Isles and further afield.
Geordie regionalisms were traditionally preserved because of the North East’s geographical distance from London, but this has significantly changed through technological and social shifts during the last century. Surely a world which is perpetually at risk of losing regional character should be celebrating and preserving the diversity of British dialects and the language of our ancestors?
Realistically, it all melts down to the context of an interaction. There is not a single doubt in my mind that we need to be more mindful and inclusive with the language that we use on a day-to-day basis in order to create a more conscious community. Whilst I agree that we should be moving away from language that actively patronises women, we have to ask ourselves where we draw the line.
Society as a whole needs to get better at having uncomfortable conversations about language and how we treat one another, but I don’t think that- with all things considered- Newcastle’s decision is just. What we should be focusing on is stopping the entrenched chauvinism and demeaning social interactions which are ever present in cities all over the UK. We should all be able to feel pride regarding our regionalisms and be able to use them to express ourselves around others. At the end of the day, the diversity of students from all over the UK and the world is one of the pillars of Newcastle University.
