English with Kirsty – episode 284
Age-inclusive language with Marina Gracen-Farrell
You can listen to episode 284 here:
I met Marina online in 2024 when I attended one of her LocLunch networking events. Since then I’ve been following her content and I started noticing some posts about age-inclusive language. This isn’t something that I’d thought much about previously, but I wanted to look a bit deeper into the topic – firstly because I think it’s important, but also because it’s relevant to what I’m trying to do here with the podcast.
We all use language. Many of us are working in multiple languages, but every day we have choices about the language that we use, the way we express ourselves, which words make it into our own vocabulary and which ones we choose to avoid. If we are more intentional about the way we speak, we will not only communicate better, but we also have a chance to be more inclusive and contribute to the changes that many of us want to see.
I have plans for content on other aspects of inclusivity, but today we’re focusing on age-inclusive language.
Marina provided a lot of links and further reading. The text on this page is not a transcript, but it gives some context to the links and how they fit into our discussion. We covered other topics too though , so access the episode for the full benefits!
Who is Marina?
This is how Marina introduces herself:
“I’m a Global Human Advocate, Localization Advocate, Reinvention Coach, and Age Inclusion Champion. With a background in localization, international desktop publishing, and Higher Education course development, I’ve dedicated myself to being a liaison between cultures, languages, and industries, always keeping the human element at the forefront. Today, as a Certified Professional Coach and fractional Localization consultant, I focus on illustrating and explaining global communication and the emotional intelligence that guides humans.”
Why did you become interested in topic of age-inclusive language?
“I’ve been a guest on a couple of panel discussions about Ageism, including one with Javier Díaz Fernández-Carvajal … and I started writing about it. I’m representative of an older generation than most of my colleagues, and I see misinformed opinions about older professionals with quite a bit of discrimination in terms of hiring and advancement. I like to shake things up with giving my opinions of the many benefits that older professionals bring to the table!”
“See my top 3 LinkedIn posts, links are below in the social media section. I think they bring up great points about the value that older workers with years of experience bring for any organization, and now in the age of AI, that Hiring Managers overlook.”
“Keep in mind, Ageism is a side note to what I do, but an important topic for me. I wrote a lot about it recently, I took part in writing posts in support of Older American Workers month, in June of this year.”
What is the difference between internalised and externalised ageism and what problems can they cause for us – individually and collectively?
“Externalized ageism is easy to spot, for example when you look around at a workplace and notice the personnel are all of the same (younger) age. It was easy to see exclusion regarding gender and race in times past, but age has been consistently ignored, and a certain age range is favored by Hiring Managers.”
“Internalized ageism is harder to identify and a personal self-deprecation hurdle, something our culture perpetrates for the sake of selling beauty products and keeping youthful images at the center of everything worthwhile. Hollywood is notorious for excluding older female actors. Did you know Brad Pitt, George Clooney are over 60 years old? But age doesn’t matter for them! Oddly, a few older female rock stars seem to stay in the “ageless cool” category, like Chrissy Hyne, Dolly Parton and Stevie Nicks. We have to work on REFRAMING our words, and our thoughts about ourselves.”
I highly recommend Jan Golden’s line of greeting cards that completely reframes ageist notions, they are fantastic alternatives to those horrible ‘over the hill’ birthday cards that people buy for over 50 agers. Some of my favorites include ‘Aging Fiercely Since Birth’ and ‘Don’t worry about getting older, everyone’s doing it’ , you can order them here.
And, some great ways to deal with internal ageism are in these articles:
- ‘How to deal with internalized ageism’ on Changing the Narrative
- ‘How to silence your inner ageist judge’, also on Changing the Narrative
How can we be more mindful and intentional around our use of language in relation to this?
“Look at the language guidelines (see in the next bullet below), and consider these reframed words:
Reframes for people who feel “past their prime”:
- Past it > Ahead of your time
- Has-been > Accomplished
- Wrinkly > Full of character
- Out to pasture > Enjoying life
What can people working in the language industry do to avoid ageist language?
I prefer to say Age Inclusive or Pro-Aging rather than focusing on ageist language! There’s too much negativity out there, and ‘reframing’ is the best method to coach people to ‘choose better words’. Here’s a great resource, check out the Language Style Guide page for Age Inclusive Communication on Changing the Narrative.
Where can we find out more about you / learn more about this topic?
“About me: Find me on LinkedIn and keep watching for my websites, new stuff and posts, to be released (hopefully) soon!”
My top 3 LinkedIn posts during Older American Workers month:
- “Hire older professionals to solve the global problem of demographic change & collapse”
- “When hiring, attract talent of all ages”
- “Think AI is only for younger workers? Think again”
“About Ageism, be sure to follow my mentors who are the Pro-Aging experts and leaders, including Ashton Applewhite, Janine Vanderburg, Jan Golden And be sure to follow these helpful websites:
- Janine Vanderburg’s Changing the Narrative, a leading anti-ageism initiative
- Ashton Applewhite’s The Old School Hub for age equity and ageism awareness
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