Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature

the US has a very low power distance index 1 and therefore the main features of North American culture are equality
and positive feed-back. According to many scholars equality “should be considered an assumption of American
culture, social conventions tend to be more informal and social reciprocities are much less clearly defined (.Stewart et
al., 1998). Hierarchy, inequality in power and influence, are seen as man-made (Storti, 2001).
Significantly, the emergence of pc in the post-communist world matches B.Fay’s non-essentialist view of
cultures as open systems: i.e. “cultures are ideational entities, as such they are permeable, susceptible to influence from
other cultures” (Fay, 1996). Grotesque, rude and inconsiderate Sacha Barron Cohen’s film Borat may arguably be, but
it does mirror a certain innocence apparent in the official approach to all kinds of minorities during the communist
regime. Retarded, invalids, cripples – all these words were used in Russia, Bulgaria and other socialist countries
indiscriminately, without fear that they may cause offence. Thus there is a lot to be said for new political correctness.
At the same time in post-communist countries such as Bulgaria pc doesn’t embrace all the subjects referred to
above in the same degree, i.e. fewer objects and concepts are un-pc. A case in point: the global reality is post-modern
and anti-elitist. As opposed to North America, in Bulgarian parlance elite is a very positive word and not only schools
are described as elite but such unlikely products as doors and window frames. It should also be stressed that the
otherisation of some signally unequal groups is still prominent. The objects of in/equality may coincide or differ. Thus
in Bulgaria some race pc is prominent: цигани (gypsies) is a new taboo, still alien to many people. In a radio interview
the author of a nostalgic new novel called When Romas Were Gypsies claims not to be anti-gypsy (or anti-roma);
however he insists on the old label and voices his dislike of the new one. At the same time, a Bulgarian gypsy ranger
who claims to be assimilated says: “I do not mind being called a gypsy, but I’d rather be referred to by a more
international term.” (i.e. “roma” – IP). 2 Significantly, there is quite a range of derogatory expressions for gypsies in
Bulgarian: циганин – ром – мангал –мангасар and even the borrowing джипси. The expression като бял човек (as
a white man/person) is still very common and it implies the kind of praise which would be considered racist in US or
Europe. The language reflects some kind of national inferiority complex as evidenced by the expression – “хубава
работа, ама българска” (a nice thing/job, etc. but the way it happens in Bulgaria, i.e. it is bad or faulty).
Conversely, the category which has made a lot of progress in Bulgaria is gender pc, as evidenced by a change in
addresses and a greater awareness of the likelihood of an offence and in advertising strategies: for instance, the macho
beer advertising of Zagorka beer: – What does a man need – a good house, a good car, a good woman … good beer -
is now safely relegated to the past because of a successful court case won by a businesswoman from Stara Zagora, the
seat of the brewery.
While rankism and the resulting pc are common in Bulgaria, ageism pc is currently not very prominent. There
are, however, many examples of rankism pc in Bulgaria: инспекторка (“female inspector”) instead of секретарка
(“secretary”), хигиенисткa (“hygiene worker”) instead of чистачка (“cleaning woman.”) The only typically
Bulgarian pc example may be traced back to the time of socialism when Sofia – the capital – was opposed to other
towns and villages, the “provinces,” and was viewed as “more equal” than other places. There is a still perceived
inequality between Sofia universities and “provincial” universities. This is why a professor from the University of
Veliko Tarnovo in Central Bulgaria urged colleagues from the University of Sofia at a meeting to be politically correct
and not to talk about Sofia University and other universities. Note that nothing similar exists e.g. in the UK where the
opposition “urban-rural” is not based on the principle of equality, and even “urban-suburban” (in the meaning of
“narrow-minded”, “boring”) is not a pc area.
By and large, PC stops at home, which cannot but testify to its use as some kind of behavioural regulator.
Hence, on BBC World Service news one can hear the following comment: “They (the Belgian rightist party declared
racist - IP) are popular because they are not afraid not to be politically correct and say what ordinary people think.”
Moreover, one cannot help but note that “there are a lot more places where you can say “spic” and “bitch” with
impunity than places where you can smoke a cigarette.” 3 My own survey also shows that political correctness is only
used in the public space – for example at home hardly anybody uses the phrase хора с увреждания (“handicapped,”
“challenged”). Out of 55 Bulgarians polled only two said they used the word рома (“romani”) at home.
And now to discuss the rationale of political correctness I would bring up Roland Barthes and his concept of
ex-nomination. If one is a member of the dominant group that group’s attributes are invisible, as one’s role in making
things the way they are is not noticeable. This process is called ex-nomination. Roland Barthes discusses the
bourgeoisie as an ex-nominated group: “As an ideological fact the bourgeoisie completely disappears: the bourgeoisie
has obliterated its name in passing from reality to representation.” Ex-nominated groups, says Barthes, become
“normalized,” they become apolitical and non-ideological. They just are. Their rules become “the rules.” (Barthes,
1957) The same claims may be made of white middle-class males in contemporary America. In fact, “whites
sometimes feel as if they have been ex-nominated into oblivion.” (Lakoff, 2001:.55) The process may be described as
a kind of default value. As a consequence, there are attempts at what may be called re-nomination, e.g. the formation
of white studies departments at some American universities. Another example: young black males in the US may call
themselves “nigger” which is a taboo word for white Americans (personal communication). As the culture of the West
is a victorious culture in our part of Europe, we are using their pc as a means of control and accommodation to the
1 Geert Hofstede outlines several sets of cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity
/femininity, etc. See, for example, Hofstede, 1997. On the other hand, Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden Turner outline their own sets
of cultural dimensions, some of them commensurate with Hofstede’s. ( Trompenaars and Hampden Turner, 1998).
2 Cf. LDELC: most gypsies prefer to be called romanies.
3 This was noted by the British journalist Catharine Whitehorn: 30.5.2004 http://members.aol.com.williwfank/pc-essay.htm
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