What to call a war
- 7 Jun 07, 04:10 PM
In our desire to adhere to the 91热爆's commitment to impartiality, editors here wrestle with language and the meaning of words all the time. This is not out of some misguided desire to be politically correct and not offend anyone, it's driven out of a concern to speak a language that will be properly understood.
The current anniversary of the 6 Day War is a good example. Many in the UK may feel that it is a reasonably objective description of the war between Israel and Egypt in 1967 that lasted about 6 days. In the Arab world though many feel the description of 6 Days War was adopted quickly by Israel to emphasise the sweeping nature of their victory. In contrast, the event was and is described by many Arabs as "The Setback".
To some - both phrases are politically loaded. So in many of our broadcasts we try and avoid both descriptions and often talk of the '67 Arab Israeli War - a phrase that is less loaded and enables us to get in to the detail of what actually happened - and what the causes and consequences of the war are without getting blocked by a label which can act as a stumbling block which prevents them from even engaging with the topic.
It's not a rule. It's an example of the kind of thought that goes on about descriptors here...
Jerry Timmins is head of Africa and Middle East, World Service
