Anything that has been found to impede the flow of communication is considered a barrier to the process. There have been clearly identified barriers to communication that result to varied negative effects. The barriers could be categorized according to physical barriers, social barriers or psychological barriers . Sexist, racist or homophobic language, for instance, are considered social barriers to communication.
Sexist language is a language that apparently discriminates against gender. For instance, instance in asserting nouns such as fireman or housewife, reference affirm that all firefighters are men and all who remain to tend the responsibilities in the house are women. As such, the use of these terms could be misleading and could cause misunderstandings in the communication process.
Concurrently, racist language is a language that reportedly discriminates against race or ethnic backgrounds. An example of racist language is common reference to African Americans as Negroes or the term ‘gyp’ which was noted to be understood as “cheating someone” . Thus, it is a barrier to communication in terms of the potential hurt and prejudice inflicted to referred people.
Furthermore, homophonic language allegedly discriminates against homosexuals or someone rated as inferior. The examples of this kind of language are terms such as ‘you are so gay’, ‘lezzer’ or ‘poof’ . This kind of language could be asserted as unintentional; but nevertheless, the use of these terms are considered prejudicial and construed as a barrier to communication. These stereotype people and classify them as inferior or of lower social ranks.
Overall, sexist, racist or homophobic language are considered barriers to communication. These cause discriminatory impact and inflict potential hurt on people on the basis of gender, race, or sexual orientation. These stereotype people in lower social ranks or classify them as inferior without any substantiated justification.
Works Cited
Martires, C.R. Human Behavior in Organizations. Quezon City: National Bookstore, 2004.
Sterbenz, C. "11 Racist And Offensive Phrases That People Still Use All The Time." 11 November 2013. Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/offensive-phrases-that-people-still-use-2013-11. 29 January 2014.
Stonewall Education Guides. "Challenging homophobic language." n.d. stonewall.org.uk. www.stonewall.org.uk/other/startdownload.asp?openType=forced. 29 January 2014.
