I’ve been pondering for a while the language used around adoption, and even have aborted attempts at writing about it in drafts on http://adoptedintheuk.co.uk/ where I also hypothsise about why adoption language should be positive, rather than normal, or honest. Thus I’m delighted to find that someone has actually managed to construct a post that I couldn’t.
From where and how did adoption language originate, develop, change, expand, increase, and become loan words and metaphors used in other domains? Further, what connotations do adoption words carry and how do the connotations affect perceptions of adoption? As an adoptee and an adoptive mom in Dr. Taylor’s Linguistic class, I found myself wondering why the hair stands up on the back of my neck when I hear or read “adopt the legislation,” “adopt-a-lot,” “orphan article,” and other such items. Do the words themselves possess definitive power in their origin? Or, does my personal experience with adoption cause me to hover and sometimes wince? Where did the words surrounding adoption originate?
Following Dr. Taylor’s caveat to reach out to an expert, I sent Adam Pertman (Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, the preeminent research, policy and education organization in its field) an email with “Adoption Language Research…
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Adoption Mania 
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