Newspeak Alert: The Word “Eskimo” Is Now Racist

Control language and you control thought. That is why progressives have been erasing our language one word at a time, boxing us into an ever smaller corner of what they decide should be permissible. The latest word to be banished is “Eskimo.” The taxpayer-funded thought police at NPR explain that although the word comes from the Ojibwe language, it has a “controversial history.” That is, it could be tainted with Western culture:

People in many parts of the Arctic consider Eskimo a derogatory term because it was widely used by racist, non-native colonizers.

Anything used by the colonizers who brought them stoves, snowmobiles, medicine, vodka, et cetera must be bad.

Many people also thought it meant eater of raw meat, which connoted barbarism and violence. Although the word’s exact etymology is unclear, mid-century anthropologists suggested that the word came from the Latin word excommunicati, meaning the excommunicated ones, because the native people of the Canadian Arctic were not Christian.

Apparently no one was buying this, so they came up with a new theory:

According to the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, linguists believe the word Eskimo actually came from the French word esquimaux, meaning one who nets snowshoes.

If it’s French, the word definitely has to go.

The word’s racist history means most people in Canada and Greenland still prefer other terms. The most widespread is Inuit, which means simply, “people.” The singular, which means “person,” is Inuk.

Of course, as with so many words sullied by the crimes of colonialism, not everyone agrees on what to do with Eskimo. Many Native Alaskans still refer to themselves as Eskimos, in part because the word Inuit isn’t part of the Yupik languages of Alaska and Siberia.

But unless you’re native to the circumpolar region, the short answer is: You probably shouldn’t use the word Eskimo.

Only Eskimos should be allowed to say Eskimo.

Bottom line: Westerners call Eskimos Eskimos, therefore they should not be called Eskimos. Make sure to update your Newspeak dictionary, because in no time people will start losing jobs or getting expelled from college for using the totally innocuous word.

newspeak-dictionary
Urgent update required.

On a tip from J. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.

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