Drop the hyphen in dual heritage identity
You should no longer write “Asian-American,” or place a hyphen between compound nationalities or ethnicities. Leave the hyphen out of such terms, and use, for example, “African American” to indicate dual heritage identities. The AP Stylebook editors made this change, as reported by Columbia Journalism Review, because “it reflects a growing acknowledgment among news organizations that racial and ethnic identities are individual.” The hyphen suggests bias, because it gives equal weight to the word on either side, according to Journal-isms. The hyphen creates an identity that may not reflect the individual.
Don’t use “black” or “white” as nouns
The latest AP Stylebook changes take into account progressive cultural changes in awareness and sensitivity and are guided by input from people of colour. Race descriptors like “black” or “white” should never be used unless they are relevant or crucial in some way, such as to describe a missing person. You should also never use a term like “blacks” as a plural stand-in because it erases the sense of human identity. Instead, use “black people,” but only with the descriptor “black” if it’s necessary and relevant.
Don’t use “Indian” when you mean Native American
The term “Indian” refers to people from South Asia or India. “American Indian” is sometimes used to refer to someone who is Native American, but it’s becoming less common. Use “Native Americans” and, whenever possible, use the specific name of the person’s tribe. Referring to them as “Indians” sounds just plain outdated.
Find out some more words and phrases that can make you sound stupid.
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Source: RD.com
