You think “my issue is with the dictionary”? Did you read the links I pasted on my previous posts? Do you say “my issue is with the dictionary” despite reading them?
Invalid is from Latin and French, not Spanish.
Everyone contributes to society: mentally ill, paraplegic, autistic, deaf, smart, silly, stern, whatever. No one lived this life without affecting another.
So I pretty much hate the word itself.
I’d rather be an ‘invalid’ in a wheelchair than a chronic asshole.
…just an FYI.
…and some think Spanish is living Latin.
Anyway, I think she was confused at the negative meaning of the term.
Noooo shit!
It still is made from in (meaning no) and valid (meaning useful), which is what I think the OP has a problem with. “Invalid” doesn’t mean “not valid” nowadays, even though at some point it did, same as the derived-from-Spanish English word “plaza” does not mean “a space between buildings” any more, even though at some point it did.
You conveniently bypassed my question Nava. THE issue (it’s not MY issue) is not the dictionary.
You said it was taken from Spanish, or at least that’s how I parsed your sentence. Your reply seems to indicate you didn’t mean it that way, but even rereading it with that in mind, it’s still unclear.
I was curious enough to look up its etymology, and was trying to clear up the phrasing because I very seriously doubt I am the only person that read your post and, not having your latinate expertise, wasn’t sure exactly what you meant.
How about that? “Invalid” wasn’t on that list of derogatory terms.
SMH, right. But you read my previous link didn’t you? This link is to show you that there indeed are words that are inherently, or over time or varying by culture, instilled with negative connotations. If you had read the entire text of the link, it says that the list shown there is by no means any “absolute” or official, set in stone list. These kinds of things are highly variable due to things LIKE culture, geography, time, etc. The previous link, the one that DOES refer to “invalid” as a derogatory term, goes into fairly specific detail as to why.
…
It took me all of 2seconds to find another list which DID include “invalid” :rolleyes:
(because, as was pointed out, that previous list was by no means the official list)
Never meant it that way, and I don’t even know whether you’re talking about my first or second post. My first post was about my own mental process (English is my third language, with Spanish the first), my second one about the fact that words change meaning and may even end up meaning the exact opposite of what they started off as (another example is the Spanish word “lívido”, which started off as “dark purple” and nowadays means “pale”).
I associate the word with illness, not disability and I don’t think I use it at all without a ‘not an’ in front of it. I think it’s completely inappropriate for someone like Stephen Hawking or blinkie, who may be paralyzed and dependent on others for care, but are otherwise fully engaged with the world.
I’m not too impressed with their “Ableist” word list-notice how they think that “in-ˈva-ləd”(adjective) is the same word as “\ˈin-və-ləd”(noun). While they have the same Latin root, they have two entirely different definitions. I think that you tend to confuse the definition of one word with the other.
Several different vague definitions of the word “ableist”, and an attempt to tie it in with the “Right To Die” movement, eugenics and Nazi Germany. There is a Wiki page that desperately needs some editing.
What about a chronic asshole in a wheelchair?
Not to revive a dead thread, but I found this and I found it a particularly in-depth, well-spoken explanation of the complexity of ableism. It is put in much better terms than I ever could put it myself.
http://blog.fedcan.ca/2011/06/17/ableism-disability-studies-and-the-academy/
What I take from your lists is that someone with the best of intentions should just shut up and never speak to anyone because someone with the intention of degrading has ruined all words.
Lets turn it around. When referring to the condition that causes you to require the use of a wheelchair - what should we say? And since everyone has a different view on what those words should be how can someone who doesn’t know you know that?
Stop paying attention to the terms and look at the intent. When you’re doing that presume a positive intent when the intent is unclear. That way if they are being a jerk they look like a jerk instead of making you look like one.
I don’t. At all. In my thirty-something years on this planet, skimming through this thread is the most time I’ve spent thinking about it. I generally try not to be a dick to anyone (in real life, anyway), and spend my time thinking about more important things.