A more polite way to describe deafs and mutes

[LeTyan]

Hi,

Please take a look at these:

Someone is deaf/mute (Is this one offensive or not?)
Someone is a deaf/mute(I know this one is offensive)

So is there a non-offensive way of call people who are deaf/mute?


Thank you!

 

[MikeNewYork]

Hi,

Please take a look at these:

Someone is deaf/mute (Is this one offensive or not?)
Someone is a deaf/mute(I know this one is offensive)

So is there a non-offensive way of call people who are deaf/mute?


Thank you!

This gets into the silliness of political correctness. If a person is deaf, the person cannot hear. The label is unimportant.
If a person cannot speak, the person is mute. Changing the label does not correct the problem.

 

[Raymott]

No, you can't say that someone is a deaf. 'Deaf' is not a noun.
You can say that someone is deaf, but unless they can hear nothing at all, it's not completely true, hence the need for quantifiers - "He's a bit deaf; He's almost completely deaf" etc.

 

[probus]

The politically correct usage where I live is hearing-impaired.