Dumb or Mute?

[mexolic]

At Mass today during the first reading, the lector used the word mute instead of dumb. I was reading from my own Saint Joseph Sunday Missal at the same time the lector gave the first reading. My missal has the word dumb. I know dumb is considered offensive and archaic. I didn’t bother to check which word is included in the missal provided by the church. Any comments?

 

[Vico]

At Mass today during the first reading, the lector used the word mute instead of dumb. I was reading from my own Saint Joseph Sunday Missal at the same time the lector gave the first reading. My missal has the word dumb. I know dumb is considered offensive and archaic. I didn’t bother to check which word is included in the missal provided by the church. Any comments?

wikidiff has:

Mute is a synonym of dumb.

As adjectives the difference between dumb and mute is that dumb is unable to speak; lacking power of speech while mute is not having the power of speech; dumb.

 

[1ke]

At Mass today during the first reading, the lector used the word mute instead of dumb. I was reading from my own Saint Joseph Sunday Missal at the same time the lector gave the first reading. My missal has the word dumb. I know dumb is considered offensive and archaic. I didn’t bother to check which word is included in the missal provided by the church. Any comments?

What bible translation is used for your missal? Because the lectionary uses NAB and it says mute:

usccb.org/bible/readings/121116.cfm

Mute and dumb are synonyms.

 

[DaveBj]

What bible translation is used for your missal? Because the lectionary uses NAB and it says mute:

usccb.org/bible/readings/121116.cfm

Mute and dumb are synonyms.

Well, “dumb” in the 16th-17th centuries and “mute” in the 21st century both meant "unable to speak. But in popular usage dating from maybe the mid-20th century, “dumb” has come to mean something completely different, and it’s not very nice.

 

[1ke]

Well, “dumb” in the 16th-17th centuries and “mute” in the 21st century both meant "unable to speak. But in popular usage dating from maybe the mid-20th century, “dumb” has come to mean something completely different, and it’s not very nice.

Dumb meant unable to speak and so did mute in the prior centuries and still in this one. Dumb from Old English dumb and mute from Latin mutus (French muet). They meant then and mean now, the same thing.

Dumm meaning “stupid” is a different word, German, and a hominem of the English word dumb.

Eventually, in the late 1800s, English writers adopted dumb to have both meanings.

I do believe we should respect those who take offense but we also need some common sense. There isn’t anything wrong with the word dumb OR mute. If dumb is good enough for The Who, it’s good enough for me… the deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.

 

[Tim_D]

If dumb is good enough for The Who, it’s good enough for me… the deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.

That’s a good point; "that deaf, mute and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball" doesn’t have quite the same flow…

 

[mVitus]

I’d really hesitate to try telling a mute person that they shouldn’t be offended at being called dumb due to how it’s perceived in modern culture. (You wouldn’t say to a Black person, “But n***** is just another word for Black.”)

Just sayin’.

 

[GEddie]

I’d really hesitate to try telling a mute person that they shouldn’t be offended at being called dumb due to how it’s perceived in modern culture. (You wouldn’t say to a Black person, “But n***** is just another word for Black.”)

Just sayin’.

LOL, although I probably shouldn’t be!

Seriously, while we still use the term “dumb” in its old sense in compounds such as dumbstruck and dumbfounded, it probably should be avoided where possible.

It says more about us than about the language that words for disability (lame, spastic, dumb) over time turn into insults.

ICXC NIKA

 

[jaimeleglise]

I agree. I hate the use of the word retarded used as slang.

 

[Reuben_J]

At Mass today during the first reading, the lector used the word mute instead of dumb. I was reading from my own Saint Joseph Sunday Missal at the same time the lector gave the first reading. My missal has the word dumb. I know dumb is considered offensive and archaic. I didn’t bother to check which word is included in the missal provided by the church. Any comments?

Depending on where you are, the Jerusalem Bible, which is used by the English speaking world (the UK and British Commonwealth countries) in their lectionary uses the word ‘dumb’ in Isaiah 53, which is a synonym for mute.

It can be offensive if one is used to use this word differently tbough.

The usage of word changes along the centuries, more so depending on the locality. A good reminder for those updating Biblical translation.

 

[Vico]

Depending on where you are, the Jerusalem Bible, which is used by the English speaking world (the UK and British Commonwealth countries) in their lectionary uses the word ‘dumb’ in Isaiah 53, which is a synonym for mute.

It can be offensive if one is used to use this word differently tbough.

The usage of word changes along the centuries, more so depending on the locality. A good reminder for those updating Biblical translation.

In comparison to the Douay-Rheims-Challoner, the NABRE (2011) translation uses words “dumb” to “speachless,” “cereal” to “grain”, “booty” to “plunder,” and, “holocaust” to “burnt offering,” to help people understand better. These represent changes from the first NAB.

DRC Luke 1:20
And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.

NAB Luke 1:20
But now you will be mute – unable to speak – until the day these things take place, because you have not trusted my words. They will all come true in due season.”

NABRE Luke 1:20
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

 

[Evan]

Dumm meaning “stupid” is a different word, German, and a hominem of the English word dumb.

Of course, “stupid” goes back to ‘one who has had too much to drink’ (one in a stupor is stupid).

We have take all words that describe someone out of the ordinary and made them into derogatory words. Our vocabulary is poorer for this.

 

[OraLabora]

I’d really hesitate to try telling a mute person that they shouldn’t be offended at being called dumb due to how it’s perceived in modern culture. (You wouldn’t say to a Black person, “But n***** is just another word for Black.”)

Just sayin’.

Just like telling a happy lumberjack “my you seem in a gay mood today” may not produce the expected response

Language is dynamic. We have to adapt to reality. Who knows what a dictionary will say about “dumb” or “gay” 10, 20 or 50 years from now?

 

[Evan]

Just like telling a happy lumberjack “my you seem in a gay mood today” may not produce the expected response

Language is dynamic. We have to adapt to reality. Who knows what a dictionary will say about “dumb” or “gay” 10, 20 or 50 years from now?

Right. That is why all the official Church documents are in Latin. A dead language. So each generation can translate anew what the Church has taught in the past.

That is also why new biblical translations are constantly being made.

 

[FrDavid96]

wikidiff has:

Mute is a synonym of dumb.

As adjectives the difference between dumb and mute is that

dumb is unable to speak; lacking power of speech

while

mute is not having the power of speech; dumb.

Yes, I added carriage returns to break-up the sentence intentionally.

So, what is the difference between “lacking the power of speech” and “not having the power of speech”???

 

[Vico]

Yes, I added carriage returns to break-up the sentence intentionally.

So, what is the difference between “lacking the power of speech” and “not having the power of speech”???

I think the different senses are not able (dumb) vs not willing (mute), but that, being synonyms, dumb may include not able or nor willing.

 

[WilliamE]

If dumb is good enough for The Who, it’s good enough for me… the deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.

1ke making references to The Who. And all this time I had her pegged as a Gregorian chant kind of gal. Now that we got a glimpse of the real 1ke…we won’t get fooled again.

 

[GEddie]

Just like telling a happy lumberjack “my you seem in a gay mood today” may not produce the expected response

Language is dynamic. We have to adapt to reality. Who knows what a dictionary will say about “dumb” or “gay” 10, 20 or 50 years from now?

Sadly, once a word in English has become “insultified,” it almost never reverts to neutral.

ICXC NIKA

 

[jimkhong]

At Mass today during the first reading, the lector used the word mute instead of dumb. I was reading from my own Saint Joseph Sunday Missal at the same time the lector gave the first reading. My missal has the word dumb. I know dumb is considered offensive and archaic. I didn’t bother to check which word is included in the missal provided by the church. Any comments?

As a separate point on this note, if anyone has to read the word as a lector and do not want to paraphrase, then read it in a neutral tone in the same tone as the other adjacent words. Do not emphasis the word as it tends to come across as denigrating whether intended or not (people tend to hear intentions where none is intended if a word laden with implied meaning is emphasised).

Also, practice practice practice until it becomes natural as you do not want to be too self conscious. Then when on the ambo, turn off your mind just before the passage and go on auto pilot. Most Catholics who tend to be asleep at that hour will not even notice you used an offensive word.