Katawa Shoujo Forums

It's not just technically correct, it's factually correct. The only thing on the table here that can't be proven is whether or not deaf people find the term "mute" offensive. You tried to sidestep that one, but I caught you. You keep going on about how you are ‘factually’ correct. I just ...

Because of these two ridiculous quotes, I'm completely done with this. I get the feeling you're one of those "I'm right no matter how much facts and evidence you point at me, because my word is better than those facts and evidence." I provided a lot of facts and evidence. I wouldn't have ...

It's not even down to shades of meaning, it's straight-up misrepresentation on your part. I said people primarily know the word as a label on a playback device, so it's primarily a choice-thing in people's minds, and therefore the rarer no-choice meaning should be the one to differentiate itself, i...

Turns out this whole thing was covered years ago in the Talk page for Deaf-Mute on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ADeaf-mute

The argument proceeded almost identically to this one too. This makes me think we won't get anywhere here.

Exactly zero persons in this thread are using the word "mute" with the intention to cause trouble/insult. I know. They use it because it is the correct term. It isn't, and that's why we're discussing this. I'm sure you will also find people who would take exception to the term "voice...

Charmant wrote:
That's assuming the intent even is to cause trouble.

If you're asked to stop doing something and you keep doing it anyway, what other intention could you have?

If that were what I said, you might have a point. You can explain what you meant, if you like. You did. However, you seem to be firmly in the "don't" camp. In this case, the word has not been reclaimed. Your perceptions and associations with the word differ from other people’s. Why can’t ...

Deadly serious. And I don't appreciate your dismissive tone. I didn’t really like the flippant and frankly ridiculous assertion that because your TV remote makes ‘muting’ the sound a choice, therefore the term ‘mute’ is correct, acceptable, and always denotes a choice. This is an argument from auth...

If you try to never say anything that anyone will feel offended by you won't be able to open your mouth anymore except to breathe. Don't be ridiculous - if you make a faux pas, you're told not to say that word (and why) and you know not to. Arguing back as you are and/or persisting in using it is w...

The definition of the word "mute" includes selective mutism, so I don't see why using the term should be wrong. If some people choose to be offended by that term… Well, there's nothing nobody will be offended by - especially in the US it seems. People should consider if there is an intent...

Being only slightly less ignorant now than I was a few days ago, could you please elaborate on why 'mute' is seen as pejorative or politically incorrect or otherwise worse than 'voice-off'? The latter term seems rather contrived: it's an unnatural construction, and if it's to gain currency, perhaps...

Buuuut… I'd say that for a few decades now at least, the primary use of "mute" is that every remote control, TV, stereo, and media player (device and software) in existence has a "mute" button, which controls a setting and is therefore implicitly a choice and not an inherent lim...

Back on topic, however, what's wrong with the term "deaf-mute"? It's considered to be offensive by the Deaf community. I explained above that the vast majority of people who are deaf have functioning vocal cords and know how to use them to produce sound. Voice off is far more accurate as ...

Steinherz wrote: And then there are people who are mute and not deaf and wonder how it's offensive.

If it's because of a medical condition and they physically cannot produce sound because of it, that is the correct use of mute.

"Mute" is generally considered to be an offensive term in the Deaf community. Granted, there is some movement to try and reclaim it in the same way that the LGBTQ community reclaimed the Q (queer) but it's a fairly recent thing. The correct term to use is 'voice off'. People who are deaf a...