I’ve been seeing the use of the phrase “functinally illiterate”, and it got me thinking that I don’t think there is such a thing when it’s speech instead of the written word. There are plenty of instances I can think of where I or someone I knew was simply not capable of or didn’t want to try to understand something that was said. Is there something that means not bring able or refusing to comprehend speech when that person is fluent in the language being spoken?

  • trashcroissant@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    3·
    14 hours ago

    I would still use illiterate in that case, and would argue that is the correct term at least according to Merriam Webster:

    a : violating approved patterns of speaking or writing b : showing or marked by a lack of familiarity with language and literature

    Or even just at its most basic:

    having little or no education