Depathologizing Language: A Contrastive Discourse Analysis of Online Anti‑Ableism Metadiscourse in France and the United States

This article presents the results of a contrastive discourse analysis of online anti-ableist metadiscourse in French and American contexts. Drawing on a corpus of approximately 200 posts from social media, blogs, and forums, it examines activists’ representations of the pathologizing nature of language and the discursive strategies they use to delegitimize oppressive terminology, employing both preventive and corrective metadiscourse. The findings indicate a shared awareness of language’s performative nature and a strong emphasis on centring the voices of those directly concerned. Contrasts emerge nonetheless: in the United States, terminological recommendations are more widely adopted, with typically toned-down corrections which save the face of those considered at “fault.” In France, metadiscourse tends to be more explicit, argumentative, and occasionally blunt, reflecting a desire to forestall resistance to linguistic prescriptions.