The word Dumb: A chronology- Origins to Present Connotations
Do you think twice when you hear the movie title Dumbo or the nursery rhyme Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?
These fans don't
These fans don't
But how did the word "dumb" to mean foolish become so casually used in our society?
There are two main definitions for the word dumb coming from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). “Dumb” can mean adj, “destitute of the faculty of speech” or n, mean “a foolish or stupid person” (OED). The second meaning, to be foolish or stupid, is thought to have been derived from the first definition, to be mute. Like mute, the earlier definitions of “dumb” are nearly all related to health.
For example, “temporarily bereft of the power of speech, from some mental shock”, or “that does not or will not speak” (OED).
A definition, “lacking a quality or property relating to disease”, even goes as far to list “fever” as a synonym (“dumb” adj. 8).
But, it is easily to understand how “Dumb” could have evolved from health related definitions to ones of traits or characteristics. Previously people who could not speak and maybe had a difficult time being understood were referred to as “dumb”, people unaware of the actual definition could have extrapolated the word to mean "a foolish or stupid person”. This is one suggestion as how the different definitions evolved from one another. In the remaining paper I will look at patterns in origin effect "dumb"s definition, the word's switch in definitions in today's culture, and how that plays a role in the community of people with a speech disability.
The definitions of “dumb” have a noteworthy pattern in origin. Earlier the word only had a singular definition, to be “destitute of the faculty of speech”. Definitions of a medical nature, like those mentioned above, all originated in Europe and were institutionally recognized earlier. The first time “dumb” was officially defined as foolish or stupid was from North America. This also appeared much later than the European definitions.
Click through this Prezi to get a better understanding of these patterns.
See what I mean?
There is a pattern between origin, date and definition. The medical definition appeared first in Europe, and the American definition of “foolish and dumb” came later.
In today’s world, however, “dumb” is rarely used as the original definition “lack of speech”. In fact, using the word “dumb” to mean foolish or stupid is very pervasive in the culture of the 20th and 21st-century America. Youth use “dumb” as a synonym for a mistake or a silly slip, seemly very benign in meaning. It is used in titles of hit movies like Dumb and Dumber and children’s classics like Dumbo, and also quoted in lines from the teen sensation Mean Girls the movie- “God, Karen why are you so ‘dumb’”.
There is a pattern between origin, date and definition. The medical definition appeared first in Europe, and the American definition of “foolish and dumb” came later.
In today’s world, however, “dumb” is rarely used as the original definition “lack of speech”. In fact, using the word “dumb” to mean foolish or stupid is very pervasive in the culture of the 20th and 21st-century America. Youth use “dumb” as a synonym for a mistake or a silly slip, seemly very benign in meaning. It is used in titles of hit movies like Dumb and Dumber and children’s classics like Dumbo, and also quoted in lines from the teen sensation Mean Girls the movie- “God, Karen why are you so ‘dumb’”.
However since American culture has been so influential across the world, this definition is not only limited to North America. For example an english play "The Dumber Waiter" by Harold Pinter.
Because of the popularity of the word to mean stupid or foolish in the mute community there is a wide spread dislike of being referred to as “dumb”. Luckily being referred to as "dumb" this is often not the case partially due to the work of the World Federation of the Deaf and the National Clearhouse on disability and Exchange discussed later. Even though the definition of ‘dumb’ to mean “lack of speech” still is listed as a primary definition, in society it could be considered outdated. The Word Federation of the Deaf has officially declared it not ok to use “deaf and dumb” to describe a deaf person who cannot talk (wfdeaf). In addition, the mobility international USA- National Clearhouse on Disability and Exchange corroborated that statement and declared “dumb” as outdated language to describe a speech or communication disability (MIUSA). Respectful language for referring to a mute person was listed as, a person with a speech disability (MIUSA). It is logical to understand from a person with a speech disability why being referred to as “dumb” is offensive. Lacking speech does not mean that a person does not have intelligence. Speaking is important in conveying thoughts and information, but a mute person may just use another medium to convey his or her intelligence. As the North Carolina Hearing Loss Association potently states, “today, anyone using the word ‘dumb’ in such context [to mean lack of speech] is .... well ... ‘dumb’” (North Carolina Hearing Loss Association). Some could consider this extremist since the definition to mean “destitute of the faculty of speech” is still present, but the quote gets the intensity of how offensive, to the community of people with speech and hearing disabilities, being referred to as “dumb” can be.