The Consequences Of Language: Language And Knowledge About Disability

Language and Knowledge about Disability
Language is useful for the humankind to communicate with each other. In Malaysia with a multi-ethnic group and a diversity of language use by the society to communicate especially each ethnic group also have their own mother tongue. Consequences, using a specific language to reflect the disability according to their indigenous knowledge will have make sense. Supported by Hosking (2008) review that a community will use a local language to reflect the concept of disability in society and it being used to portray the disability. Hence, it makes language is not just a tool in shaping the idea about the disability but assist to form an opinion towards something that happened (Dunn & Elliott, 2005) especially the disability. Therefore, there is the consequences, in different cultures have used positive language to describe persons with disabilities will integrated well into the society but can occur otherwise (Scheer and Groce, 1990). As an illustration, the different languages used in referring to the persons with disabilities, thus, this leads to various perceptions to persons with
It was not surprising if the persons with disability has been identified by the others as disabled by using the word or term in the society and the perceptions toward them. Using an example by Hyatt (2008) share that, society expected a disabled women are not to success, not to try something, not to accomplish in her life. My opinion in this statement is, society think that men and women are equal to do something in their life. This bring the society to have a perceptions that men are expected to work in order to earn the income for family and the women are expected to take care the household. But, this is just the assumption and basic expectation from the society. The issues is when this perceptions encountered the disabled person in the