Terms for Low Intelligence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8729046 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sharon Henderson Taylor (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1974 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 3/4 |
| Pages | 197-197 |
| Publication date | 1974-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Speech (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-1283 • E-ISSN: 1527-2133 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3087798 |
| OpenAlex | W2318907459 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
ALTHOUGH MENTAL DEFICIENCY, unlike sex and death, is not a universal condition, expressions denoting low intelligence seem to be nearly as abundant in American speech as those describing the most fundamental aspects of human existence. These expressions come from many facets of American life: from educational and medical terminology, from literature, from the slang of various subcultures, and from common speech. In fact, they crop up so often that, if sheer volume of wordage is any indication of the interest a subject evokes,1 one can only conclude that Americans find low intelligence an absorbing subject indeed. In general, expressions denoting low intelligence fall into two major categories. One is composed of euphemistic and neutral terms used primarily in serious conversation about those with actual mental deficiencies; the other, of dysphemistic and humorous expressions used mainly in reference to normal individuals. One may ask why this is so. Why, in a society that values frankness of speech, are there so many euphemisms for low intelligence ? Why also do many of the terms have humorous overtones ? And why, when the native speaker already has at his disposal a large number of humorous and pejorative terms for low intelligence, are more constantly being added to the lexicon ? The purpose of this paper is to suggest possible answers to these questions by examining a number of the expressions Americans use in speaking of low intelligence and by considering the processes underlying the creation of such expressions. In serious conversation about any unpleasant subject, speakers tend to choose softened terms over their blunter (and often crueler) alternatives. Thus, one will say passed away in preference to died and retarded or slow in preference to stupid. The expressions in the first three lists below represent a variety of attempts to speak compassionately or unemotionally about mental deficiency. They have been grouped according to similarities of form and function
| Citations per year | 0.14 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1989 - 2025 (37) |
| Highly cited | No |