"mentally handicapped" is pretty much passe these days; they're now called "mentally challenged."

was ist mit "mentally retarded"?

even worse.

Siehe auch: geistig und körperlich behinderte Personen
Siehe auch: politisch korrekter Terminus für Behinderte in UK
Siehe auch: Behinderte - Handicapped
Siehe auch: schwerst mehrfach behindert

you can say retarded, just as long as you use a non-offending tone.

Wenn du die Behinderung in den Hintergrund stellen willst, dann halte dich an dude

"Mentally challenged" is often used for someone who's not very bright (i.e. a bit stupid), "vertically challenged" for people who are short, "horizontally challenged" for someone who's obese. In other words, over-the-top political correctness that's used by comedians but isn't really taken seriously.
It depends on your context.
The emphasis is that these are first and foremost people with learning disabilities.

"Mentally challenged" ist vielleicht nicht ganz passend-es handelt sich nicht um Lernbehinderte sondern um geistig Behinderte. Außerdem scheint der Ausdruck ja etwas übertrieben zu sein (s. Marianne).
Ich denke, "mentally disabled" wird schon gehen...

Vielen Dank für eure hilfreichen Antworten!!!

@ Francis
> es handelt sich nicht um Lernbehinderte sondern um geistig Behinderte

I think you missed the point here.
I've gone into more detail in the other threads, but in the UK (tho' not in North America AFAIK) the current politically correct term for "Menschen mit geistiger Behinderung" IS "people with learning disabilities". This covers the full range of problems, not "learning difficulties" such as dyslexia, but mild up to profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) - people who are as "geistig Behinderte" as you can imagine.

"What is a learning disability?
A learning disability is caused by the way the brain develops.
There are many different types and most develop before a baby is born, during birth or because of a serious illness in early childhood. A learning disability is lifelong and usually has a significant impact on a person's life.

Learning disability is not mental illness or dyslexia.

People with a learning disability find it harder than others to learn, understand and communicate. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) need full-time help with every aspect of their lives - including eating, drinking, washing, dressing and toileting.

There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Like all of us, they are individuals who want different things in life and need different levels of support."
http://www.mencap.org.uk/page.asp?id=1684

Politically correct terms change with the times - but this is current UK usage.

Äh, Marianne, in Deutschland beschreibt Lernbehinderung ein anderes Phänomen als geistige Behinderung.
Die Abgrenzung ist zwar nicht immer ganz klar auszumachen, aber es sind zwei voneinander getrennte Begriffe. Völlig unabhängig von politischer Korrektheit.

Man könnte zwar sagen, es handle sich eher um eine Abgrenzung im Ausmaß, aber grob gesagt gilt, dass in der allgemeinen Wahrnehmung geistig Behinderte nicht in der Lage sind, allein und selbstständig zu leben, während Lernbehinderte dies durchaus erreichen können.

"Lernbehinderung: Beeinträchtigung der schulischen Leistung infolge von Aufnahme-, Aufmerksamkeits- und Verarbeitungsschwäche, oft verursacht durch Ausfall von Sinnesfunktionen (Blindheit, Taubheit, Sprachstörungen), auch Milieuschädigungen spielen eine wesentliche Rolle."

"geistige Behinderung

Intelligenzstörung, Intelligenzminderung, Minderbegabung, Oligophrenie

angeborene oder frühzeitig erworbene Verminderung der intellektuellen Fähigkeiten, die meist mit einer eingeschränkten sprachlichen und motorischen Entwicklung einhergeht und eine selbständige Lebensführung schwer beeinträchtigt. "

Quelle: wissen.de

@Cj
Yes, I am aware of that,
What I was trying to say was that the current UK PC usage of "learning disability" in the sense of profound and multiple learning disabilities covers "geistige Behinderung"

"Special needs" is also a good catch-all term for someone with disabilities, mental and/or physical.

I would say that "learning disabilities" COULD cover things like serious mental retardation, like with Down's syndrome or something, but when I hear "learning disabilities" I think of less severe things like dyslexia, where the person functions fine otherwise. I don't know if that is different between the US and UK.

If you're talking about something more serious, I think "mentally handicapped" is still pretty standard, though "mentally challenged" might be more PC.

Darf man wenigstens auf dem Golfplatz noch von Handicap sprechen?

"I would say that "learning disabilities" COULD cover things like serious mental retardation" (Emily)-no could about it for UK as Marianne has taken pains to explain. But your point is well taken for the US.

And for those who have trouble with PC, I have to say that I think changing language does change attitudes and behavior towards those being spoken of. Sometimes slowly but just about always for the better.

Sermon over

ROTFL, Halbtroll.

Yeah...this thread shows a classic example of a "euphemism treadmill," where formerly euphemistic terms become themselves offensive, and so new euphemisms are needed. Can you believe that "idiot" used to be a scientific and acceptable term for mentally...something'ed...people, and that then "retarded" came in as the gentler, more politically correct term? =P

@Halbtroll, Sport ist an sich schon politisch unkorrekt, da es neben Gewinner oft auch Verlierer gibt, was letztere u. U. unglücklich machen kann.

Have to agree with Richard2's second paragraph - or at least the first sentence thereof.

@Emily
mock all you like ...

Just a couple of quotes from previous threads:

"Have you asked any disabled people how they prefer to be referred to? If I paid you to do a translation and you used the term handicapped I'd never use you again not so much because of the offence (because I could remove it) but because you were out of touch. Handicapped is no longer the default term with all other terms having to be justified."
Just preaching

"The disabled people who my parents work with find the term handicapped offensive. And if they find it offensive then it shouldn't be used."
Confused GB

Having worked with children with disabilities in the UK for 25 years, I, too, have experienced the change in terminology over the years.
It depends on the severity of the disability how it is described:
MD = mild disability
SD = severe disability
PD = profound and multiple disability"
Brig

Siehe auch: schwerst mehrfach behindert
 
I agree that there is a BE/AE difference, and there I rest my case.

Apologies, my intent wasn't to mock. I just find it interesting, intellectually, to think about linguistic terms and political correctness and where it all comes from and what it means. I also enjoy seeing a little levity in discussions about political correctness, because PC is so subjective and can easily become absurd. Some say one thing is acceptable, others say it's completely offensive. (If "mentally handicapped" is universally considered offensive these days, somebody should tell Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation)). I definitely agree that language has an impact on thought and that we should use it respectfully (I try to discourage people from using the word "gay" as an insult, for example). But I also don't shy away from taking a hard look at what we say and why, nor admittedly do I shy away from a little irreverence now and then.

An honest question--does anyone know why "disabled" is preferred these days over "handicapped"? To me, albeit an able-bodied outsider, they seem to mean very similar things, and they both seem to be, well, kind of negative. They both connote a lacking. Handicapped, hindered; disabled, lacking ability. Objectively, I might even think "disabled" sounds even worse, linguistically robbing a person of ability rather than just indicating a blockage from full capacity. And does one properly say "mentally disabled"? I feel like not, oder?

@Emily
Apology accepted :-)

re: disability/handicap/impairment
The World Health Organization did try to define these terms in the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (ICIDH) but then updated things in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, (ICF) and now even talk about "activities and participation" instead of handicap!

"disability serves as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations or participation restrictions."
http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/site/i...

I think bottom line is what is acceptable to the people themselves, their families and carers.

PS: I do have a sense of humour ...