Words Shape Worlds: The Person-First Language Practice Quiz
Welcome to a quiz that focuses on the single most important communication skill for creating a culture of respect and understanding. The words we choose are not just words; they are the building blocks of our perceptions. When we talk about people with health conditions, a small change in our sentence structure can make the difference between defining someone by their diagnosis and seeing them for the whole person they are.
This quiz is your practice field. By choosing the sentence that uses respectful, person-first language in each scenario, you will train your brain to see the person before the condition. This isn’t about being “politically correct”; it’s about being precise, compassionate, and humane. Mastering this skill will empower you to be a better ally, to communicate more effectively, and to actively participate in dismantling stigma, one sentence at a time.
Learning Quiz
This is a learning quiz from English Plus Podcast, in which, you will be able to learn from your mistakes as much as you will learn from the answers you get right because we have added feedback for every single option in the quiz, and to help you choose the right answer if you’re not sure, there are also hints for every single option for every question. So, there’s learning all around this quiz, you can hardly call it quiz anymore! It’s a learning quiz from English Plus Podcast.
The Person, First and Always: A Guide to Respectful Language
Hello and welcome. You’ve just completed a practice session in what might be the single most powerful tool we have for fighting stigma: person-first language. It might seem like a small thing—just changing the order of a few words in a sentence—but the impact is enormous. The words we use don’t just describe our reality; they create it. They can build walls of shame and misunderstanding, or they can open doors to empathy and respect. Today, we’re learning how to be door-openers.
So, what is the core idea? It’s right there in the name: put the person first. Think about how we talk about other medical conditions. We would never call someone “a canceric.” We say, “my friend who has cancer.” We wouldn’t call someone “a cardiac.” We say, “a person with a heart condition.” We instinctively grant them the dignity of being a person first. The principle of person-first language is simply about extending that same basic respect to people with conditions related to the brain, be they mental health challenges, neurodevelopmental differences, or physical disabilities.
When we use “label-first” language, like saying “He is a schizophrenic,” we are doing something very specific and very damaging. We are implying that the person and the illness are the same thing. We reduce a whole, complex human being—someone with hobbies, a family, a sense of humor, and a life story—down to a single, clinical word. The label becomes their entire identity. But when we make the simple shift to “He is a person with schizophrenia,” we restore their humanity. We acknowledge that he is a person, first and always, and that schizophrenia is a medical condition that he has. It is one part of his life; it is not the sum of his life.
This is a simple grammatical shift, but it reflects a profound shift in perspective. It moves us from a place of judgment to a place of compassion. It turns “those people” into “people like us.” It is the difference between defining a person by their struggle and respecting them as a person who is struggling.
Now, as we saw in the quiz, there is an important and respectful exception to this rule: identity-first language. Some communities, most prominently the Autistic and Deaf communities, often prefer to be called an “Autistic person” or a “Deaf person.” This is not a contradiction; it comes from a different perspective. For many in these communities, their condition is not a disease they “have,” but an inseparable and fundamental part of who they are. They see being Autistic in the same way one might see being Canadian or being introverted—as a core part of their identity. For them, saying “person with autism” can feel like you are trying to separate them from an essential part of themselves.
So what do we do? The golden rule is simple: listen to and respect individual preference. If an individual tells you, “I prefer to be called an Autistic person,” then that is the language you should use for them. You are honoring their self-identity. But if you are speaking in general, or if you don’t know someone’s preference, person-first language is the safest, most universally respectful default. It is the language of “do no harm.”
Let’s also talk about some of the other traps we saw in the quiz. We saw how outdated and offensive terms like “retarded” or “handicapped” have been replaced with more precise and respectful language. We saw how phrases like “wheelchair-bound” or “suffers from” can be disempowering, framing people as passive victims rather than active agents in their own lives. A wheelchair isn’t a prison; for many, it is a tool of liberation. And a person isn’t just a “sufferer”; they are a person who is actively living with and managing a condition.
This isn’t about being “politically correct” or being afraid to say the wrong thing. It’s the opposite. Learning this language gives you the confidence to talk about these topics without fear. It gives you a framework for respect. It’s a skill, and like any skill, it takes practice. You might slip up and use a label by accident. That’s okay. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s intention. The goal is to make a conscious choice to lead with humanity.
I want you to leave here today feeling empowered. You now have a simple, practical, and incredibly powerful tool to make the world a more inclusive place. Start using it today. Model it in your conversations with friends and family. Use it in your emails at work. Notice it in the media you consume. Every time you choose to put the person first, you are casting a vote for a world that sees people, not just diagnoses. You are actively dismantling stigma, one sentence at a time.
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