Living Language Guide

Living Language Guide

This Living Language Guide is an ever-changing glossary of diversity and inclusion-related terms curated by BU D&I. We believe that language is crucial for building common and shared understanding. Scroll down to explore terminologies, phrases, acronyms, and more. You’ll see that many of the glossary terms will offer multiple and sometimes differing definitions as described by different sources and references.

This guide is intended to be just that: a guide. The terminologies and definitions you will see below are not Boston University’s recommended or mandated terminology. Rather, we hope that this Living Language Guide will serve as a resource for all at BU as we continue to shift the culture, build capacity, and create community together.

The idea to create a Living Language Guide comes from many other institutions and we would like to thank them for their leadership and inspiration. Special thanks goes to collaborators at the BU Medical Campus, specifically the Office of Equity, Vitality, and Inclusion in partnership with BU School of Medicine, BU School of Public Health, BU Goldman School of Dental Medicine, BU Graduate Medical Sciences, and Boston Medical Center.

We will continually update definitions and add new terms as language continues to evolve. Please share your suggestions and questions with us by reaching out to BU D&I Learning and Training team, at dilearn@bu.edu.