The Moral Parameters of Good Talk

Book excerpt: Annotation The author contends that since language is capable of creating harm or good, it should not be exempt from the moral standards we apply to other behaviors--we should strive to talk in morally appropriate ways. Her proposed moral criteria for language are discussed on a theoretical level, where she applies her moral analysis to the major competing theories on the relation of gender and language, and on a practical level, when she examines circumstances where such moral criteria have been applied. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.