The word "retarded" is an example of how language evolves and how terms that were once considered neutral or clinical can become derogatory over time.
Origins:
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"Retarded" comes from the Latin retardare, meaning to slow down, delay, or hold back.
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It entered the English language in the 15th century in this general sense of slowness or delay.
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By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it began to be used as a clinical term in psychology and education to describe individuals with intellectual disabilities or developmental delays.
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Terms like "mental retardation" were used as technical, medical classifications without originally carrying offensive intent. This was part of a trend of shifting clinical language — replacing terms like "idiot," "imbecile," and "moron," which had themselves become socially loaded and insulting.
The Shift to Derogatory:
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Over time, the medical term "retarded" was taken into everyday speech and began to be used colloquially and pejoratively to insult people, behaviours, or things considered foolish, incompetent, or substandard.
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As it became a common playground insult or casual slur, the word lost its clinical neutrality and gained a deeply offensive and harmful connotation.
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Disability advocates and medical professionals began to reject the term, arguing that it perpetuated stigma and dehumanisation of people with intellectual disabilities.
The Modern Replacement:
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In response, more person-first and dignity-affirming language became the norm.
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For example:
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"Mental retardation" was replaced with "intellectual disability" in most professional settings.
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In 2010, Rosa’s Law was passed in the United States, mandating the replacement of "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability" in federal language.
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In Canada and other countries, similar shifts have occurred in law, education, and healthcare to use respectful, modern terminology.
Broader Pattern:
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Many derogatory words used today originated as neutral or clinical terms but were co-opted by society as insults, which then rendered them offensive.
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This phenomenon is sometimes called the "euphemism treadmill": new, acceptable terms are created to replace offensive ones, but over time, those new terms can also acquire negative connotations.
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