Talk:retard

Formality

The (probably correct) removal of the label 'slang' makes me think about the hierarchy of labels, because the last sense, 'any stupid person', could be labelled 'informal' or 'colloquial' or something, but perhaps the 'offensive' label already suggests informality? But offensive formal terms do exist, like illegal immigrant (which is used in laws, lawsuits, and other formal circumstances), so maybe adding 'informal' would be useful after all? - -sche (discuss) 18:20, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

@-sche Doesn't vulgar cover that? — Mnemosientje (t · c) 18:25, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

You're right, it does, though now I wonder if 'vulgar' is a correct label here. Our glossary definition of it is terribly broad, but in practice I've mostly seen it applied to sexual terms. Many, maybe all, offensive terms could be consider "distasteful" (or even "obscene", the stronger and seemingly more accurate of the definientia), but aren't labelled vulgar. - -sche (discuss) 18:33, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

Yeah, our labels are sometimes pretty vague. (Comparing it with other similar terms just confuses me. Just look at the labels over at motherfucker!) Generally, I think we want to convey two things here: it's offensive, and it's not used in polite company (unlike the offensive illegal immigrant example you mentioned). For me, vulgar - also considering its original meaning - communicates that pretty well, but an argument could be made for informal as well. — Mnemosientje (t · c) 18:39, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

Categorize as slur?

This word is considered to be very offensive for those who are neurodivergent. Senses 3 and 4 are almost on par with n****r and f****t. Perhaps these senses should be categorized as slurs? MineBloxKy (talk) 21:05, 5 May 2024 (UTC)