Glossary
Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander
people
An Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander person is someone
who:
- is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
- identifies as an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person,
- is accepted as such by the community in which he or she lives or has lived.
Culture
the sum total of ways of
living built up by a group of human beings, which is transmitted from one
generation to another. (Macquarie Dictionary 1991)
refers to the system of beliefs, assumptions, sentiments and
perspectives...which members of a group have in common and (their) embodiment in
customs, routines, roles and rituals. (Education Queensland 1998)
N.B. Researchers have cited over 160 definitions of culture. (Human Rights
and Equal Opportunity Commission 1998)
Cultural and or linguistic group
a group of people, racially or
historically related, having a common and distinctive culture, often including a
common language. (see also 'ethnic
group')
Cultural (and linguistic) diversity
a description of a society
composed of people from many different cultural and linguistic groups.
Cultural identity
a person's sense of self identity related
to their notion of belonging to a particular cultural or ethnic
group.
Direct (overt) racial discrimination
occurs when one person or
group of people receive less favourable treatment than another person or group
in the same position would have received on the grounds of their race, colour,
descent or national or ethnic origin. (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission 1995)
Ethnicity
the identity of groups based on shared characteristics
such as language, culture, history or geographic
origin.
Ethnic community
in Australia, commonly applied to certain migrants
(generally from language backgrounds other than English) and their
Australian-born descendants who form a connected
community.
Ethnic group
a group of people, racially or historically related,
having a common and distinctive culture.[1](Macquarie Dictionary 1991) In
Australia, often used synonymously with 'ethnic community'. (see also 'cultural and linguistic
group')
Ethnic cleansing
the practice of forcibly removing (or even
killing) a group of people from an area so that the people who remain all belong
to the same group - so that, the area is 'ethnically
pure'.
Ethnocentrism
the tendency to judge all other cultures by the norms
and standards of one's own culture. (Racism. Stop it! Action 2000, Canada 1999)
Genocide
the planned extermination of a national or racial group
(Macquarie Dictionary 1991)
Indigenous
the term used by the United Nations in its recognition
of the special or unique rights of 'first peoples' or 'first
nations'.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians is the collective
term used by the Commonwealth Government to refer to Aboriginal people and
Torres Strait Islander people.
In this publication the term 'Aboriginal people and Torres Strait
Islander people' is generally used in preference to
'Indigenous', except where other texts, references or policy
documents are quoted or referred to, in which case the language of the original
text is retained.
Indirect (covert) racial discrimination
includes practices or
policies that appear to be 'neutral' or 'fair' because
they treat everyone in the same way but adversely affect a higher proportion of
people of one racial, national or ethnic group. It can occur even when there is
no intention to discriminate.(Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission 1995)
Individual racism
the expression of racist attitudes or behaviours
by individuals.
Institutional (or systemic) racism
occurs when institutions such as
governments, legal, medical and education systems and businesses, discriminate
against certain groups of people based on race, colour, ethnicity or national
origin. Often unintentional, such racism occurs when the apparently
non-discriminatory actions of the dominant culture have the effect of excluding
or marginalising minority cultures. (McConnochie et. al.
1989)
Minority group
used to describe any group of people which is
disadvantaged, underprivileged, excluded, discriminated against or exploited.
Sociologically, the concept does not refer to demographic numbers but to
subordinate status in society. (Racism. Stop it! Action 2000, Canada
1999)
Multiculturalism
Australian multiculturalism is a term which
recognises and celebrates Australia's cultural diversity. It accepts and
respects the right of all Australians to express and share their individual
cultural heritage within an overriding commitment to Australia and the basic
structures and values of Australian democracy. It also refers to the strategies,
policies and programs that are designed to:
- make our administrative, social and economic infrastructure more responsive
to the rights, obligations and needs of our culturally diverse population;
- promote social harmony among the different cultural groups in our
society;
- optimise the benefits of our cultural diversity for all
Australians.
(National Multicultural Advisory Council
1999)
People from English speaking backgrounds
A number of terms are
commonly used to describe people who speak English as their first language and
come from English speaking communities. These include 'English speaking
background', 'ESB', 'Anglo',
'Anglo-Celtic', 'Anglo-Australian' and 'British
background'.
People from language backgrounds other than English
A number of
different terms are used to describe people who are migrants or the descendants
of migrants to Australia and who speak a language other than English as their
first language. In this publication, the term 'people from language
backgrounds other than English' is preferred to 'non-English
speaking background' or 'NESB', except where quoting from or
referring to other texts, references or policy documents or where the acronym is
used for brevity.
The terms 'migrant', 'overseas-born', 'ethnic
communities', 'ethnic groups', 'diverse cultural and
linguistic backgrounds' or 'cultural (and linguistic) groups'
are used where appropriate for the context. In other cases, reference to the
specific cultural or linguistic group may be appropriate, such as Vietnamese,
Chinese-Australian or Arabic speaking.
Prejudice
a body of unfounded opinions or attitudes relating to an
individual or group that represent them in an unfavourable light. (Racism. Stop
it! Action 2000, Canada 1999)
Race
The term 'race' is an artificial construct used to
classify people on the basis of supposed physical and cultural similarities
deriving from their common descent. The Runnymede Trust (1993) provides a useful
discussion of the word 'race':
The words 'race' and 'racial' are much used in modern
society - in everyday conversation, as also in legislation and in the
media. Phrases such as 'race relations', 'race row',
'racial equality', 'racial group', 'racial
harmony' and so on are in frequent use. However, they are not at all
satisfactory. They are remnants of a belief formed in previous centuries, now
discredited, that human beings can be hierarchically categorised into distinct
'races' or 'racial groups' on the basis of physical
appearance, and that each so-called race or group has distinctive cultural,
personal and intellectual capabilities.
Modern science has shown that the biological category of race is meaningless
when applied to the human species. Biologically, the human species shares a
common gene pool, and there is much more genetic variation within each so-called
racial group than between them (p 57).
Despite having no biological basis, the idea of distinct races still exists
as a social construct. In many societies it is a basis of social action, a
foundation of government policy and often a justification for distinctive
treatment of one group by another. Divisions in society continue to be made
along perceived racial lines and associated disadvantages exist for those groups
who are assumed to be physically or culturally different from the dominant
cultural group. Although there is no scientific evidence to support the
existence of human races, human beings tend to assume racial categories and to
take them seriously. They do so for social, not biological, reasons.
[2]
Racism
1. the belief that human races have distinctive
characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the
idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate
others
2. offensive or aggressive behaviour to members of another race stemming from
such a belief
3. a policy or system of government and society based on it. (Macquarie
Dictionary 1991)
an ideology that gives expression to myths about other racial and ethnic
groups, that devalues and renders inferior those groups, that reflects and is
perpetrated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities
in society. (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
1998)
Racial harassment
behaviour that offends, humiliates or intimidates
and that targets a person or group because of their
race.
Racial hatred (or vilification)
a public act based on the race,
colour, national or ethnic origin of a person or group of people which is likely
to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate. It can include racist graffiti,
speeches, posters or abuse in public. (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission 1996)
Reconciliation
is about building a new relationship between
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and the wider community, one
that heals the pain of the past and ensures we all share fairly and equally in
our national citizenship. (Commonwealth of Australia
1997)
Stereotyping
a generalised set of traits and characteristics
attributed to a specific ethnic, national, cultural or racial group which gives
rise to false expectations that individual members of the group will conform to
these traits.
Xenophobia
hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their
politics or culture. (Collins Dictionary 1986)
Print References
Collins Dictionary of the English Language: An extensive coverage of
contemporary, international and Australian English, 1986, 2nd
edn, Collins, Sydney.
Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, The Path to Reconciliation: Renewal of
the Nation, AGPS, Canberra.
Cornell, S. & Hartmann, D., 1998, Ethnicity and Race: Making
Identities in a Changing World, Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks,
California.
Education Queensland, 1998, Cultural and Language Diversity in Education:
Policy and Information Sheets, Education Queensland, Brisbane.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1995, State of the Nation:
A Report on People of Non-English Speaking Backgrounds, Federal Race
Discrimination Commissioner, AGPS, Canberra.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1996, The Racial Hatred
Law: Information Sheet, HREOC, Sydney.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1998, Race for Business: A
Training Resource Package, HREOC, Sydney.
The Macquarie Dictionary, 1991, 2nd edn, The Macquarie
Library Pty Ltd, Macquarie University NSW.
McConnochie, K., Hollinsworth, D. & Pettman, J., 1989, Race and Racism
in Australia, Social Science Press, Wentworth Falls, NSW.
National Multicultural Advisory Council, 1999, Australian Multiculturalism
for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness, Commonwealth of Australia,
Canberra, ACT.
Runnymede Trust, 1993, Equality Assurance in Schools, Trentham Books,
London.
Websites
Racism. Stop it! Action 2000,
http://www.march21.com
[1] For a detailed discussion,
refer to S. Cornell & D. Hartmann, Ethnicity and Race: Making identities
in a changing world, Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, California, 1998.
[2] A more detailed discussion of
the changing meanings of the word 'race' can be found in:
- S. Cornell, & D. Hartmann, op.cit.
- K. McConnochie, D. Hollinsworth & J. Pettman, Race and Racism in
Australia, Social Science Press, Wentworth Falls, NSW, 1989.
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