Kathleen RonayneVerified account

Today's lesson in Language Matters (and why journalists should always check the Stylebook): When writing about exceptions to @GavinNewsom's new mask order, I wrote that it does not apply to people who are "hearing impaired" 1/

I got that directly from the order, and so just went with it without checking what @AP's style was to describe people who are deaf. Several hours later, someone I know who is a trained interpreter reached out to tell me that term was problematic 2/

She said the term was offensive to many people who are deaf don't think of themselves as being impaired. She asked me if @AP had style guidance on it. Turns out, we do! 3/

Per @APStylebook: deaf: Describes a person with total or major hearing loss. For others, use partial hearing loss or partially deaf. Avoid using deaf-mute. Do not use deaf and dumb. Some object to the term hearing-impaired; try to determine an individual’s preference. 4/

I ended up changing the language to"people who are deaf or have hearing loss." I realize that may not be perfect, but I wanted to make the distinction between someone who is born deaf and someone who loses their hearing due to age or something else 5/

I also checked with the state to make sure that language would still be an appropriate read of the order. They said it worked. All of that is to say, it's important to consider the language we use to describe groups we aren't part of. And to check the Stylebook.