I am an avid reader and a prolific writer of (fan)fiction, a professional translator and an enthusiastic editor. I am fluent in two languages, and working on learning three others. I guess you could say, then, that I like words, their meanings and their histories. I understand that a single word can have different meanings depending on its context, and that this meaning can change through time.
The words to speak of the disabled community are no exception to this rule. There were times where calling someone a cripple, a retard or a moron was completely acceptable. Today, not so much.
I have also seen, however, people pushing for the abolition of words such as idiot, deaf or dumb, calling them ableist slurs, and while I see where this classification comes from, I do not agree with it. The definitions of words evolve, as I said above, and, in my opinion, the ableist definitions are old and have been replaced by new meanings through common mainstream use, making those words, used in most contexts, quite innocuous.
Note: As I say, this article is only my personal opinion! Just because I think some words are harmless does not mean you need to think so too. In fact, knowing that these words bother some people, I try not to use them in public.
Continue reading “The Power of Words”