SLOW GLOSSARY
SLOW GLOSSARY WORD
JAKOB PERRYMAN SEPEMBER 25th, 2013 Slow can be a powerful word. It can cause people to lose friends, win a football game, or even lose a job. Although people use it often in regards to physical traits, it is also used when speaking degradingly about someone with or without a disability. Being slow has never been associated as a positive term to call someone. As a non-disabled person however, I am not affected by being called slow. That is, I am not bothered if someone calls me slow. I am comfortable with who I am. I know I am not disabled so I don’t take the person seriously. However, a person with a disability could take huge offense to “slow” because it means that they are somewhat inferior to another person. The controversy surrounding the word “slow” is growing more and more. The definition itself has not changed much, but now people, both with and without disabilities, are starting to speak up against the use of the word “slow.” The word slow has been used so many times in our language that it has many different definitions. Just the adjective form has over 20 different definitions and examples. Of all these examples, two in particular stuck out to me. These two examples stuck out because these were the two that I had heard the most in my life. The first definition of slow that came up in the OED was “someone who was not quick or clever in apprehending or understanding a thing.” (OED)The other definition I found was “is Naturally disinclined to be active or to exert oneself; constitutionally inert or sluggish; lacking in promptness or energy.” (OED) These two definitions, one based on physical nature and one based on intellectual nature, set the stage for the differences in being called slow now. According to the OED, both of the definitions were from the same man, King Alfred of the West and Anglo Saxons. Interestingly, King Alfred, although he probably didn’t “create” the word, he came up with two different meanings for the word slow. These different meanings show how people came up with different understandings of the word. I would never have guessed that in the span of ten years, a word could quickly gain another definition while retaining the original meaning. It is hard to determine what caused this rapid change in definitions from the same origin. As I mentioned before, definitions of the word “slow” can have different meanings. To groups of disabled people, slow can mean not as smart or able as other “normal” people. “Slow” could be disliked because it simply means you are not as proficient as someone else is at something. That is, there is someone who is faster and therefore better at a task. To athletes, slow can mean simply not as in shape or not as fast as an opponent. In a football game, most players want to be the fastest because it gives them a clear advantage. They are able to make tackles or run away from defenders easier. People might prefer to use the term slow because it is not as harsh a word as saying disabled or crippled. Being called crippled or disabled means that there is something inherently missing or gone from someone. Being called slow doesn’t imply that anything is missing, just that they are different. It is such a generalized term that people that use “slow” and people that are called slow might prefer being described as slow simply to not overcomplicate a situation or idea. For example, in Nancy Mairs’ article, “On Being a Cripple,” she references the word cripple. Although to me, as a “normal” person, it sounds like unnecessary definition, Mairs prefers the word cripple because she says, “cripple seems to me a clean word, straightforward and precise…As a lover of words, I like the accuracy with which it describes my condition.” (Mairs) This quote could show why PWDs (people with disabilities) might prefer to being called slow or why they as opposed to being called handicapped. The word slow is used as a euphemism that can evade the harshness of calling someone “cripple” or “retard.” Not only have I seen what people think of being called slow, but I have also heard “slow” used often in my life . Often times during my classes in high school I needed a teacher to explain a topic more than once and provide a concrete representation in order for me to understand it. After class, people would sometimes jokingly ask, “Jakob are you slow or something?” I would just say, “No I just need more explanations sometimes.” I do not considered myself disabled in any way, so I never cared if people said something about my being slow. Although it didn't affect how I thought of myself, it certainly wasn't nice to hear. The fact that someone would call someone else slow just because they aren't as quick to learn something is a discouraging fact that needs to be addressed by the public. I think the demeanor of someone is a big part of the argument over the word. Some people, like me, didn’t care that much when called slow. Others, of the many blog posts I have read, state that they hate being called slow just because they have a disability. They don’t need to be belittled more by being called slow. For example, one guy said, “I have ASD/VCFS (autism spectrum disorder) and I am 17 and male and I don't know what it is but a lot of people my age group think I’m slow because of how long I take to do things. Most people treat me like I’m 5 and will help me even though I know what I am doing.” (General Autism Discussion) Clearly, he takes offense to being called slow. Although having autism can cause someone to have developmental delay, which means that the do develop slower, the author does not want autism to define his life. He realizes he is not as quick a worker as other people, but that doesn’t mean he can’t get the job done. The author proves this when he says at the end, “Most people treat me like I’m 5 and will help me even though I know what I am doing.” (General Autism Discussion)I think this is a good commentary on how society views people that are “slower.” The author tries to prove that being slow is not necessarily such a bad thing, it just makes people think of different ways of getting a job done. Like I said, the word slow can mean different things for different people. The one concrete idea I have found is that people, whether “normal” or not, don’t want to be slow. Slow comes off as a negative word for everyone and in the end, it should not be used loosely. Works Cited "Oxford English Dictionary” Emory Libraries Resources Off Campus Access Login. OED, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.oed.com.proxy.library.emory.edu/view/Entry/182161?rskey=FeD5y7>. Mairs, Nancy. "On Being a Cripple." The Lame Dame. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://thelamedame.tumblr.com/post/30938417648/on-being-a-cripple>. UNKNOWN. "Had People Thought You Where Slow? - General Autism Discussion." Had People Thought You Where Slow? - General Autism Discussion. N.p., 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. <http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt157373.html>. |