Whay do Americans use 'dumb' to mean stupid. Being born with no voicebox, I find this to be in bad taste

Question

Whay? I meant why, sorry.

Answer 1

American's have no taste.
That's why my 'Mr Brains Faggots' exporting company never got off the ground. They don't know what they're missing.

Answer 2

The term "deaf and dumb" is an old, out-of-date term that carries offense and should no longer be used in America or in any English-speaking area.

The correct term to describe a person who cannot (or, sometimes, who will not) speak is "mute."

Americans, of course, are not the only people in the world to use perjorative or offensive words out of ignorance or habit -- but the solution is what you seek, no?

By politely indicating that yours, and others' preference is the correct, more neutral term, perhaps all of us can gently steer the ignorant toward the correct word.

Answer 3

I dont think its just americans. We are born hearning the term put like that. Im mean when someone is mute we call them mute...because calling someone mute ,dumb ...is rude to us now that we were brought up hearning "dumb" meaning stupid . Its just a change of words. I could see a mute person taking that offensively ...whoever started the whole dumb meaning stupid is rude but now its just a term. Id work on not singleing out americans.

Answer 4

To a point I agree, but it has become used so often to mean stupid that the two are now interchangeable, and hardly anyone knows anymore that the original meaning of dumb was unable to speak. I say the meaning of the word dumb has now changed and so can be used as a synonym for stupid, and no longer can mean someone who can't speak.

Answer 5

Although the original sense of "dumb" in English was "unable to speak", the related word in GERMAN has long NOT referred to such an inability, and simply meant "stupid". The effect of a large German immigrant population to America probably accounts for the shift in meaning.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dict.asp?Word=dumb

True, it may originally have started with lumping together inability to speak due to mental OR physical limitations, but if so those who use it do not associate the two. Compare someone saying "I was dumbfounded", which is rooted in the meaning "unable to speak" and certainly is NOT said as an insult against anyone's intelligence.

I understand your concern, but please do not take offense where there is no reason to believe any is intended by the speaker.

Answer 6

I take care of a little boy who uses sign language because he is mute. My son is developmentally delayed. People who don't know thoings are ignorant. I avoid using both terms, dumb and stupid.

Answer 7

So you would prefer to be called dumb instead of the stupid people out there? That's dumb.

Answer 8

surly being born with no voice box you'd use the term mute as most people who are sensitive about this subject do.. the use of medical terms as insults has been around for as long as there has been medical terms.. as long as they aren't aimed directly at you.. you just got to take it on the chin and accept there's all ways going to be people who don't think about the things they say and who they might offend

Answer 9

yeah, of course.... even if you had been born with a voicebox, suspect if you, like your avatar, smoke 2 cigars at once, cancer would have accounted for your voice ages ago.....

Answer 10

cos they cannot spell stupid
it has 5 letters
which is 1 more than 4
4 letters is yhe limit they can spell at

ask an American to spell HARBOUR
you will see what i mean