Deaf News: Lexico to review dictionary definition of ‘deaf’ following criticism

The online dictionary Lexico has confirmed to The Limping Chicken that it will review its definition of the word ‘deaf’, following criticism of the wording online.

The adjective is defined on the website as “lacking the power of hearing or having impaired hearing”, or being “unwilling or unable to hear or pay attention to something”.

In a Instagram Reel with over 29,000 views, Deaf blogger and civil rights attorney Alexis Kashar said she was surprised by the definition.

“Do I feel like I am lacking my power or unable to pay attention, because I’m a Deaf person? Absolutely not.

“That definition must go,” she said.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIZczNugPRk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Alexis then went on to link to a blog post on her website, in which she says the Internet search result not only represents a lack of understanding, but marginalisation and ableism.

She added: “The definition of the word Deaf or a community by any publisher, must include consultation with and buy-in from the very community it intends to define in order to be accurate and inclusive.

“To many people, this definition seems to make sense, but here’s the thing: limiting examples of the word ‘deaf’ to what is basically a slang use of the word is actually misinforming people.

“If someone is looking up the word “deaf” and gets this abomination of a definition, then are they actually learning the meaning of the word? I fail to see any benefit from perpetuating this kind of ignorance.”

Responding to Alexis’ Instagram Reel, one deaf user commented: “Rather than deleting the existing definition, [I’d] add something to include culturally Deaf people.

“Many hard of hearing/deaf folks who came by it later in life do feel as though it is a ‘lack’ to be unable to hear, so completely removing that definition could make people who genuinely feel that way erased [sic].”

Another account added that a lot of hearing people still use ‘deaf’ to mean the second definition, around being unwilling or unable to hear something.

“I’m always educating people on why that’s wrong,” they said.

However, not everyone was critical of the definition, with one person saying that the word Deaf is different to the word ‘deaf’,  which cannot be claimed by the community as it has “many definitions”.

“I agree that the first definition is a little off and don’t know what the word ‘power’ is really suppose [sic] to imply here, but the second definition, which has nothing to do with being Deaf or hard of hearing, is a colloquial term.

“If that is one definition of the word deaf, that should be included, and it isn’t any reflection whatsoever on people who actually cannot hear. I know what I or those around me mean when they say ‘you are being deaf to my opinion’, for example.

“It isn’t derogatory whatsoever or misinformed. It is another way of using the word deaf,” they write.

Elsewhere, other online dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster, the Cambridge Dictionary and Dictionary.com also share a definition around “refusing to listen”, but Lexico is the only one to mention “lacking the power of hearing”.

A spokesperson for Oxford University Press, who run Lexico in partnership with Dictionary.com, told The Limping Chicken: “We appreciate the concerns raised around the definition of ‘deaf’ in our language data. User feedback is always helpful in ensuring our definitions and examples are appropriate and up-to-date.

“We will be reviewing the definition of ‘deaf’ alongside terms for disabilities and other conditions over the coming months and will make any relevant updates once this research is completed.”

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.