Don't say ‘piece of cake' because it's too British, university claims
People should not use colloquial phrases like 'a piece of cake' and 'kill two birds with one stone' because they are 'very British-English' and may not be understood by foreigners, a university has suggested.
The University of Cardiff has told students that such idioms do not usually translate well with other cultures, 'not because people have poor English skills but because this is very British-English'.
Other guidance issued in an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) awareness module says that other common phrases should not be used because of their 'origin stories' in 'ableism', 'racism' and 'sexism'.
The EDI guidance states: 'In the English language, many of those origin stories are based in ableism, like 'the blind leading the blind', or racism, like 'he's a slave driver', and in sexism, like 'man up' or 'like a girl'.'
'Political minefield'
Free speech campaigners accused the university of attempting to 'police' language, and warned that the EDI guidance was 'calculated to turn every casual conversation into a political minefield'.
It comes amid a wider fear that free speech and academic freedoms are being eroded on British campuses because of the growth of 'cancel culture'.
Lord Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, told the Mail on Sunday: 'Language guides like this are always badged as 'inclusive', but in fact they are exclusionary.
'The Free Speech Union has defended over 3,500 people in the past three years and many of them are older people who have been accused of 'hate speech', for not using the correct woke phrase for something or other.'
A Cardiff University spokesman said: 'Our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Awareness module was created through the collaboration of EDI experts from our institution and students.
'Feedback from students revealed that 85 per cent rated the module as good to excellent, while 92 per cent felt the concepts were effectively explained.
'As a university, we take pride in our initiatives promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.'
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