Deaf but not mute!

I refer to the news item in timesofmalta.com entitled Deaf-Mute Man Jailed On Conviction Of Five Hold-Ups (March 20).

Deafness is not generally considered a condition that needs to be fixed- George Vella, secretary, Deaf People Association (Malta), Valletta

The Deaf People Association, Malta would like to bring again to readers’ attention the fact that the words “mute” and/or “dumb” are unethical and should no longer be used. These terms are disrespectful to the Deaf population. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have brought this up.

Our association strongly believes that deaf persons are neither “mute” nor “dumb” because they have their own language – in our case the Maltese sign language – and are able to do most things as other hearing individuals. Hence, it is a mistake to refer to a deaf person as being “mute” and/or “dumb”.

The word deaf is enough for readers to refer to our population and reflects our difficulty in communication.

Deaf people only need support to communicate and this support is provided through sign language interpreters. Such a service is provided free of charge by our association.

When the word deaf represents the Deaf population it is in fact written with a capital D and referred to as “big D Deaf” in both speech and sign. When the word deaf is used as a label for the audiological condition, it is written with a lower case d. Members of the Deaf community tend to view deafness as a difference in human experience rather than a disability. Deafness is not generally considered a condition that needs to be fixed.

The Deaf People Association would like to make sure that these terms are no longer used because they are unacceptable and disrespectful to the Deaf people. Finally, Deaf people are normal people and need to be tolerated and respected with positive attitudes without audism in accordance with the human rights.