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[QUOTE=OzyWho;919033]read him again if you think so.
bear in mind this time that i'm a "foreigner" and not a "native speaker".[/QUOTE]

mag is right I was trying to say the word holds a lot of power

My impulse control has been kinda crappy as of late. I'll try not to post here again. I was just trying to provide some context into how strong the word is in case ppl didn't know. You can choose to communicate however you like obviously, I can't control that. Hell, I say it myself sometimes.

Originally Posted by OzyWho

read him again if you think so.
bear in mind this time that i'm a "foreigner" and not a "native speaker".

mag is right I was trying to say the word holds a lot of power

My impulse control has been kinda crappy as of late. I'll try not to post here again. I was just trying to provide some context into how strong the word is in case ppl didn't know. You can choose to communicate however you like obviously, I can't control that. Hell, I say it myself sometimes.

For the foreign speakers, I'll say the word "retard" sounds quite strong to a native ear, or at least it does to me. It's not comparable to "idiot" or "dumbass" at all. And that's in spite of being rather desensitized to it by my school's culture. I imagine foreign speakers experience the word predominantly through the internet subculture where everything goes so it may not have the same ring.

Unlike the word dumbass or idiot, the word retard was very specifically a way of calling someone mentally handicapped. It'd often come with a mock imitation of someone who had down syndrome or something. In fact, I saw it specifically used against someone who'd taken brain damage from a car accident regularly. Noone would really call him an "idiot", because the word "idiot" sounds very weak and almost childish to natives. Idiot literally just means idiot.

For the foreign speakers, I'll say the word "retard" sounds quite strong to a native ear, or at least it does to me. It's not comparable to "idiot" or "dumbass" at all. And that's in spite of being rather desensitized to it by my school's culture. I imagine foreign speakers experience the word predominantly through the internet subculture where everything goes so it may not have the same ring.

Unlike the word dumbass or idiot, the word retard was very specifically a way of calling someone mentally handicapped. It'd often come with a mock imitation of someone who had down syndrome or something. In fact, I saw it specifically used against someone who'd taken brain damage from a car accident regularly. Noone would really call him an "idiot", because the word "idiot" sounds very weak and almost childish to natives. Idiot literally just means idiot.