Sticks & Stones Haven't Reached my Bones, but Names have Historically Hurt Me

I've been recently working on this etymology assignment to trace the history of a group of five words. So  I chose to go down the route of disability. I thought the endeavor would be interesting, and it is. However, at the same time it is very frustrating. At first with words like cripple, it was easy to understand why they needed a word to describe differences within the body in the early stages of the English language. Even still, there were underlying messages about how being a cripple was negative, and undesirable. The word dwarf is meant to describe a person small in stature, and also small plants and animals. It undergoes similar negative connotations, in the sense that a Dwarf as a person is seen to be naturally smaller, and historically less significant; even in the fantasy media depictions, dwarves are meant to hide away in the mountains, well those that look more able are welcome into the light. While I do not live in the time in which these words are created, to properly understand the full reasoning behind their context, language has also done a sort of reversal.

This reversal has both are positive and negative effect. For example, the word fool went from encompassing madness, and an unwise or stupid person, to simply being  (according to the OED) a term of playful endearment, among its other meanings. The negative effect comes in the form of the word retardation. Retardation in it earliest forms, simply meant the slowing down of an object. Scientifically, and embodied a slow lapse in time, whereas musically it involves taking note downs one step lower. Only in modern-day medical and educational forms, has it adapted to mean a person's less than average mental state. I'm sure that the deciding linguists or early society meant well, but this also raises the question of who decides what is average? maybe there can be more than one average? Why does there seem to be an innate need for a lesser to exist, and be defined by word or phrase? The word retarded/ retardation, has gotten even worse as it is slung around as simply and freely as the word gay. After spending nearly 6 weeks examining the English language, and seeing its early beauty, sometimes I can't help but fear for the future.

Karli