Deaf actors?
Does anyone know if the actors playing the deaf-mutes were themselves deaf?
shareKarin Viard, a very well-known French actor, who plays the mother, is certainly not deaf. Clicking the links onto the IMDB pages of the actors playing the father and the brother would likely answer your inquiry.
shareKarin Viard, a very well-known French actor
One can say "Actor" to refer to females as well.
shareOne can but one shouldn't, since there is a perfectly serviceable English word for a female who acts.
Don't give me songs
Give me something to sing about
Actually, one should. Actor is the correct word for a woman who acts. Actress is an outdated term like stewardess or murderess, or is used to describe a little girl throwing a tantrum (and unofficially in some award ceremonies).
If she weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood.
There are cases where changes to the language are acceptable or even desirable. The de facto banning of the n-word comes immediately to mind. The changing of "spokesman" into "spokesperson" is another example. "Actress" is not one of those cases. The word has no negative connotation and is not even remotely offensive, therefore there is absolutely no need to replace it. Furthermore, it serves a purpose (unlike "spokesman", for instance, which doesn't). There are situations where it is useful or even crucial to make the distinction between a male who acts and a female who acts. If you get rid of the word "actress", you are just going to have to replace it in those situations by "female actor", which is beyond silly.
Don't give me songs
Give me something to sing about
Homo sapiens invented the language for communication purposes thousands of years ago.
Now some people are going the opposite path, making communication less eficient, declaring some words "outdated".
I hope I don´t live to see the day when the word "ball" is declared outdated and substituted for "that roundy thing that kicks".
The son of the family is deaf. The rest not. The father surely not. He was in the French comedy l'Arnacoeur,
shareTwo are, two aren't. The parents are not. The son and the family friend are.
Correction: they are deaf, not sure about deaf-mute.