by Sharon Cozens
Karen Yin, writer of The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers (2024), originally “coined the term conscious language to describe language that is rooted in critical thinking and compassion, used skillfully in a specific context.”
Nowadays, an increasing number of editors and writers are recognizing that they have the opportunity to guide society toward embracing language that, as the book’s subheading states, “includes, respects, and empowers.”
Using conscious language can help increase the chance that readers will recognize themselves in the material and, therefore, help them connect with it. Not using conscious language, on the other hand, can have detrimental effects such as offending or driving readers away, or, even worse, contributing to the oppression of historically excluded and oppressed groups.
Yin is a firm believer in the importance of conscious language. She even goes so far as to say that it can help in the fight against social injustice. Since Yin coined the term, she’s uniquely positioned to write about what it is and, perhaps even more importantly, what it isn’t. She points out that it’s about more than just using “kind, inclusive, and bias-free words” (Yin 2024, xv) and using inclusive and politically correct language. It is a philosophy that aims to use language in a way that promotes equity and freedom.
Five core elements to conscious language
Five core elements are key to conscious language, according to Yin: content, context, consequence, complexity, and compassion. Each of these elements needs to be considered so that we can create material that adheres to the principles behind conscious language. We also have to recognize, though, that conscious language has limitations since all language comes with emotional and cultural baggage that can’t, on its own, counteract all existing inequities.
Before we can start using conscious language authentically, we should be able to recognize the implicit biases in society. Even harder to do, we need to acknowledge our own biases and understand ourselves well enough so that we can recognize when the language we’re using doesn’t match up with our beliefs and goals.
In chapter three, Yin takes a deep dive into conscious language practices by examining them in detail at the word, sentence, story, and series levels. She also reminds us to consider issues of accessibility, inclusive styles, design, images, and interpersonal communication.
Conscious language challenges
Later on in the book, Yin deals with the doubts that may come up while trying to consistently use conscious language. She also addresses the challenges people may face trying to implement conscious language and provides options for dealing with pushback.
Yin’s approach isn’t prescriptive. She realizes that, like all types of language, conscious language is constantly evolving and changing. Therefore, she doesn’t tell readers what to do or not do to incorporate conscious language into their own practices. Instead, she sets out a system that encourages readers to decide what conscious language means to them and how best to incorporate it into their own work.
I found Yin’s book very thought-provoking and really appreciated her approach to the topic. She recognizes that editing and writing require a great deal of personal judgment as well as learning. Therefore, to really get a handle on conscious language, we need to learn to make decisions for ourselves rather than just trying to use some generic checklist.
Yin encourages us to constantly think about conscious language. Her book, along with her website Conscious Style Guide, is a great jumping-off point and provides suggestions for further research.
Sharon Cozens is a Toronto-based freelance copy editor and writer who enjoys working in a variety of genres including biographies, memoirs, and craft books and patterns. She believes that clear, plain, and mindful language can be a powerful tool for bringing people together. She is the secretary of Editors Toronto.
This article was copy edited by Bethany Lake, a playwright and novelist from Nova Scotia. Her first novel, In The Midst of Irrational Things, was selected for development in the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program offered through the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia. Her play, No Animal, has been published in the New York City-based literary magazine, The Furious Gazelle. She is currently working on her second novel, Silo.
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