Decoding racist language: there’s an app for that
After a stranger at an event chided Iman Bukhari for her use of the word “crazy,” Bakhari responded in a big way. She built an app. “Someone said, ‘Hey, did you know that the word (crazy) that you’re using is ableist?’” Bukhari said.
“I got so inspired,” she added. “I thought, why not just create some sort of document that has different words that are ableist, racist, sexist, ageist and heterosexist.”
Bukhari founded the Calgary-based Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation, a not-for-profit that strives to improve race relations in the country.
The foundation pursues research projects every year, all aimed at combating racial injustice. This year, her organization created an online glossary, Language De-Coded, to help Canadians distinguish appropriate language from potentially offensive terms and phrases. Bukhari launched the app on Aug. 24. “There are so many words that people don’t know that come from a racist context,” Bukhari said.
Her organization’s mandate revolves around race exclusively, so Bukhari’s team partnered with 15 community organizations and activists representing traditionally under-represented groups. Together, they compiled a list of commonly used words that negatively affect Canadians daily.
“It took about a year to gather all of the words and phrases,” Bukhari said.
“I thought, why not just make an app — definitely a web app, not an app you need to download.”
To access the site, users open a new tab in their browser, launch the Language De-Coded website and scroll through the multitude of oppressive expressions, like ‘barbarian,’ ‘no homo’ and ‘commit.’
“’Commit’ is a really good example,” Bukhari said. “We often use the word when we talk about suicide, but the proper way to talk about that is ‘die by suicide’ rather than ‘committed suicide.’
“Committed sounds like a crime when suicide is related to mental health and depression.”
Detailed descriptions explaining why Canadians should avoid using the listed phrases coincide with each glossary entry.
“It’s a living document, so we’ll always be updating it,” Bukhari said. “Language is constantly evolving and we want to be aware of that. Maybe some of these words will have to be removed in the future.”
She noted that users can connect with the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation on the Language De-Coded website if they want to contribute to the document.
Bukhari also explained that Canadians are encouraged to interpret the app in their own way.
“This isn’t a biblical book, it isn’t meant to be a religious text where you follow everything,” Bukhari said. “If ‘crazy’ is a word you can’t let go of, it’s up to you. We just want to present different words and bring about a different type of understanding.”
She added that her not-for-profit isn’t trying to infringe on freedom of speech or freedom of expression.
“We’re just trying to spread some awareness,” Bukhari said. “The whole point is to treat others with respect and dignity.