This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
On July 15, 2020, a statement from the linguists' society sparked a heated debate about diversity and racism in the field. The statement called for greater representation and urged linguists to consider the impact of their research.
At the center of the controversy is Steven Pinker, a renowned linguist and author. His tweets have been criticized for being insensitive and even racist. However, Pinker's supporters argue that he is being unfairly targeted for his views.
John McWhorter, a Columbia University professor, believes that Pinker is being unfairly maligned. 'Steve is too big for this kerfuffle to affect him,' he said. 'But it's depressing that an erudite and reasonable scholar is seen by a lot of intelligent people as an undercover monster.'
Byron T. Ahn, a linguistics professor at Princeton, accused Pinker of making a 'kind of indirect ad hominem attack' when he suggested that the signers of the letter lacked stature. The linguists, however, insist that they are not trying to censor Pinker, but rather to hold him accountable for his words.
David Adger, a professor at Queen Mary University of London, wrote that the linguists' goal is to show that Pinker's tweets have a negative impact on maintaining structures that should be dismantled. McWhorter, however, believes that the debate has become too politicized and that civility and common sense have gone out the window.
