Use of 'chav' word 'betrays class hatred'

Use of the word "chav" shows a deep hatred of the working class and should be stamped out, according to a left-wing think-tank.

Tom Hampson, editorial director of the Fabian Society, argues in a forthcoming article that the word is "sneering and patronising" and more and more widely used.

He has called on broadcasters to take class discrimination seriously, and compared the word to terms of abuse such as "faggot" and "pikey".

In the piece, to be published in the summer Fabian Review, Mr Hampson said: "Some uses of some words fall below the threshold of acceptability and some are definitely above it.

"'Chav' is way above that threshold. It is deeply offensive to a largely voiceless group and - especially when used in normal middle-class conversation or on national TV - it betrays a deep and revealing level of class hatred."

He continued: "It is sneering and patronising and - perhaps most dangerous - it is distancing, turning the 'chav' into the kind of feral beast that exists only in tabloid headlines."

The academic maintains that "chav" has been used increasingly in the past few years and is purely motivated by middle-class hatred for those lower down the social scale.

He said: "The middle classes have always used language to distinguish themselves from those a few rungs below them on the ladder - we all know their old serviette/napkin, lounge/living room, settee/sofa tricks.

"But this is something new. This is middle class hatred of the white working class, pure and simple."

Laura Midgley, from the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said: "The Fabian Society effectively is taking offence on behalf of everybody who might have been called a 'chav'. But they may or may not be offended by it.

"One of the dangers of political correctness is that you don't actually ask the community themselves. If there were a load of people who had been called 'chavs' and were upset it would have been proved to be offensive.

"Other people might think, 'well, why is it so offensive?' and get quite resentful.

"Being offended on someone else's behalf is a dangerous concept."

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'chav' refers to "a young person of a type characterised by brash and loutish behaviour and the wearing of designer-style clothes (esp. sportswear); usually with connotations of a low social status",

Language consultant for Kings College London, Tony Thorne, said the word was originally used by travellers to mean "friend".

Its modern meaning emerged nationally in 2004, although it had been used in certain areas including Essex and Kent for some time before then.

Mr Thorne said: "What 'chav' seems to me to mean is an aggressive, self-assured, unashamedly materialistic person. I don't think 'chavs' are an innocent group of victims.

"We're dealing with a genuine social phenomenon. If you're having a casual conversation and you're not being politically correct and you want to describe someone who is tattooed, wearing a shell suit and probably has a fighting dog, what are you going to call them?

"'Chav' is like 'skinhead' - it describes a type of behaviour and appearance that's very identifiable."

Welcoming the renewed debate, Mr Thorne said people who are called 'chavs' use the word themselves, and added: "It is part of today's vocabulary whether we like it or not."