The Inclusive Terminology Glossary is a collaborative, live project that anybody can contribute to via Google Drive. The aim of the project is to collate accurate information about the historic and contemporary usage of words related to race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and disability, which will inform decision-making around language use in the heritage sector.
Disclaimer: The Inclusive Terminology Project is a work-in-progress. It is not a definitive guide on how to describe people with protected characteristics, nor does it claim to speak on behalf of the peoples represented in its pages. Heritage professionals are encouraged to use their best judgement and consult relevant communities and/or additional resources when the information contained within the Glossary is not sufficient.
Background
The Inclusive Terminology Glossary was created by Carissa Chew when she was working as the Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Intern at the National Library of Scotland from September 2020 to June 2021. After completing this project, Carissa decided to re-publish the glossary via Google Drive to improve accessibility, keep the project “live” and up to date, and to enable wider contributions.
Future Development
Carissa is working with the National Library of Scotland and other partners to develop the Inclusive Terminology Glossary into a funded, open-access database, which will be informed by the Google Drive. These conversations are still in progress, however, so feel free to get in touch if you would like to be involved.
Searching the Glossary
The Glossary is sub-divided into different sections to reflect different areas of historical interest. When appropriate, terms are cross-listed across multiple sections. Within each section, terms are listed alphabetically A-Z, although synonymous terms are sometimes listed together for ease.
The Inclusive Terminology Glossary is designed to be searchable using ctrl + F (just make sure you are searching within the document itself, not within your browser). Search using singular, not plural forms of terms. Although the Glossary does include common variations and misspellings of terms, these may sometimes be missing. Some entries also contain notes on the time period and region in which a term was used to help users locate relevant terms, but this column is not complete for all entries.
A Collaborative Project
The Inclusive Terminology Glossary relies on collaboration and crowdsourcing. Created as a series of Google Documents, anybody can help improve the quality of information that the Glossary contains. Language debates are complex and contested, and it is crucial that the document reflect multiple perspectives and be truly “inclusive” in its nature.
The Glossary inevitably contains some factual errors and major omissions. Moreover, as language evolves in the future, some of the information may become outdated. Every section of the glossary therefore needs to be subjected to rigorous review. To make a suggestion, simply open the Glossary and start editing (you will automatically be in “Suggesting Mode”). For quality control, all edits will be reviewed by Carissa.
All contributions are greatly appreciated!
CHTNUK 