Spread the Word to End the Word
Spread the Word to End the Word
There are about 200 million people around the world that has “intellectual disabilities”? That’s three percent of the world’s population! The word ” retardate” once was used to describe a person with a mental disability. Today, however, it is used in the pejorative form ”retard” or “retarded.” Often unwittingly, the word is used to describe behavior that is “hapless,” “clumsy” and even “hopeless.” It is Important to bring awareness to our society; everyone needs to stop and think about his or hers use of the “R-word” (retard or retarded). People used the word “retard” or “retarded” as far back as the 1700’s. Some may argue that because of earlier definitions, it is acceptable to use the word “retard” or “retarded.” They may even believe that because they are not actually calling a mentally impaired person a “retard” or “retarded,” there is nothing wrong with using those words. In 1704, the word “retard” was found printed in American newspapers describing something that is slowing down or diminishing. In 1720, in the American Weekly Mercury, the word “retard” was defined as creating some sort of hindrance. One major change that occurred in the 1700’s, was the use of the word “retard” as a noun as well as a verb. The definition of the word now is “delay.” There were many articles wrote in the 1700’s, which used the word in that context therefore; the words’ definition remained relatively constant. Then, in the 1800’s, there were articles produced using the word “retard” as a replacement to describe the process of slowing down. In 1849, in The Georgia Telegraph, the word “retard” was used like the word “prevent.” In 1895, the first major change to the definition in the word occurred. Though the definition is not much different, the context took quite a turn. In G.E. Shuttleworth’s Mentally-Deficient Children, he uses the word “retarded” to describe a mentally handicapped person. The sentence reads, “Such children are also
There are about 200 million people around the world that has “intellectual disabilities”? That’s three percent of the world’s population! The word ” retardate” once was used to describe a person with a mental disability. Today, however, it is used in the pejorative form ”retard” or “retarded.” Often unwittingly, the word is used to describe behavior that is “hapless,” “clumsy” and even “hopeless.” It is Important to bring awareness to our society; everyone needs to stop and think about his or hers use of the “R-word” (retard or retarded). People used the word “retard” or “retarded” as far back as the 1700’s. Some may argue that because of earlier definitions, it is acceptable to use the word “retard” or “retarded.” They may even believe that because they are not actually calling a mentally impaired person a “retard” or “retarded,” there is nothing wrong with using those words. In 1704, the word “retard” was found printed in American newspapers describing something that is slowing down or diminishing. In 1720, in the American Weekly Mercury, the word “retard” was defined as creating some sort of hindrance. One major change that occurred in the 1700’s, was the use of the word “retard” as a noun as well as a verb. The definition of the word now is “delay.” There were many articles wrote in the 1700’s, which used the word in that context therefore; the words’ definition remained relatively constant. Then, in the 1800’s, there were articles produced using the word “retard” as a replacement to describe the process of slowing down. In 1849, in The Georgia Telegraph, the word “retard” was used like the word “prevent.” In 1895, the first major change to the definition in the word occurred. Though the definition is not much different, the context took quite a turn. In G.E. Shuttleworth’s Mentally-Deficient Children, he uses the word “retarded” to describe a mentally handicapped person. The sentence reads, “Such children are also