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'Muteness' is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the power of articulate speech.^[1] In the UK, the term for muteness is "dumbness", but, due to the influence of American English, using the word "dumb" to refer to mute person can cause offence. The term "speech-impaired" is now preferred;^[2] however, much as "visually impaired" does not necessarily mean that a person is blind, someone who is speech impaired may not be mute.

Contents

Causes of muteness

Elective/selective mutism

Trivia

See also

References

Causes of muteness

Elective/selective mutism

Some people choose to become avowedly mute. This is usually, but not always, for religious reasons.
Selective mutism is a DSM-IV diagnosis that refers to an anxiety disorder in which people are unable to speak in situations causing social anxiety, but are fluent in speech in more comfortable situations.

Trivia

★ In the 1968 film ''Planet Of The Apes'', the humans the astronauts encounter are all mutes, and the astronaut played by Charlton Heston becomes a temporary mute due to being shot in the throat.

★ A character named Lydia, in the film ''The Others'' became a mute later in life before serving the Stewart Family.

★ One of the characters, an angst-riddled teen called Dwayne, in the film ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is avowedly mute as a test to his will to achieve his goal to be a pilot.

★ In the New Testament, Jesus was said to have cured those who were referred to as "mute."

★ The character Ye Hsiao-Chai from the Taiwanese puppet show ''Pili'' became mute after cutting out his tongue.

See also

★ Aphonia

★ Selective mutism

★ Deaf-mute

★ Speech disorder

★ Funeral mute

★ Silent protagonist

References

1. http://neurology.health-cares.net/mutism.php
2. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/dumb?view=uk