Landmark English Communication III (Lesson 5-6,7)

Political correctness was a good idea / to start with. // But unfortunately,/ people started imagining / that they were offending someone / when in fact they werenʼt. // And some went out of their way / to avoid using words / which actually werenʼt offensive at all. / Because they were scared / they might be criticised, / they invented ways of talking / which were very bizarre and people just laughed at them. // It still happens today. // We hear comedians joking about people with false teeth being ʻdentally challengedʼ, for example. //

to start with ：当初は
people started imagining　人々は想像し始めました。
that they were offending someone　誰かの気分を害していると
when [in fact] they weren't (offending)　実施には気分を害していないのに

go out of the way ：努力をする
to avoid using words [which actually weren't offensive at all]
実際には全く攻撃的でない言葉を使うのを避けようと

they invented ways of talking which were very bizarre
彼らは非常に変わった話し方を考案した

dentally challenged 歯科的に困難を抱えている人
※～challengedはdisabledの婉曲的な表現

Many people think / that the PC movement has gone too far / in making us sensitive to words / that are in fact quite innocent. // When the word ʻblackʼ (meaning a person with black skin) was first thought to be insulting, / many stories came out of the US / about people who tried to avoid using it in any circumstance. // They were scared of asking for a ʻblack coffeeʼ, / so they asked for ʻcoffee without milkʼ instead. // Teachers were scared to talk about ʻblackboardsʼ. // Every now and then / we read about such things in the papers. // The proposals often cause a quarrel, / because many people think theyʼre ridiculous. //

go too far：行き過ぎている、度を越している
in making us sensitie to words 言葉に対して私たちを過敏にさせることにおいて

many stories came out of the US
たくさんの話がアメリカから出てきました。
about people who tried to avoid using it
それ（その言葉）を使うのを避けようとする人々について
in any circumstances
いかなる状況においても

The poroposals often cause a quarrel
その提案はしばしば論争を引き起こします。
because many people think they're ridiculous
なぜなら彼らはそれが馬鹿げていると考えるからです。