127. Memorandum From the Director of the U.S. Information Agency (Murrow) to the Director for Policy and Plans, U.S. Information Agency (Sorensen)1

Please get the word around the Agency that we are to drop from our lexicon the words “under-developed countries,” “undeveloped countries,” “backward countries,” and any similar terms.

As substitutes, IRI reports that the words which translate the best in all languages and are positive in their connotations are “developing countries” and “modernizing countries.”

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“Emerging countries” is not considered to be good,2 and the use of “new” before “developing” and “modernizing” is confusing in translation in most languages.

When your shop has time, I would like to have an updated “Guidance on Preferred Terminology” prepared which would propose positive words to be used as substitutes for such terms as “East-West,” “Cold War,” “pro-West,” “pro-American country” and many others which are misleading, inaccurate and not in our best interests. All new suggestions should be checked out for a worldwide translatability.

Edward R. Murrow 3
  1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 306, USIA Files: FRC 68 A 1415, Policy and Plans-General/61. No classification marking. Drafted by C. R. Payne of the Office of the Director. Copies were sent to Schlesinger, Bundy, and Rostow at the White House and to Assistant Secretary of State Tubby later the same day under cover of a memorandum from Murrow and Rostow. (Ibid.)
  2. In a July 7 memorandum to Payne, IRI Director Stevens wrote: “‘Emerging countries’ is not considered so good. The ‘emerging’ has some of the connotations of the old colonialism and is more political than ‘developing’ and ‘modernizing’ which have a more economic meaning.” (Ibid.)
  3. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.