what is it called when someone can't speak
Hi floratang. I understand that you want to know how you should refer to someone who can't hear or speak. That's a good question. Technically speaking, a person who can't hear is deaf and a person who can't speak is dumb. So, you could simply say: He is deaf and dumb. Some people would say He's a deaf-mute.. But I understand that deaf people who also don't speak (because they're deaf) prefer to be called just deaf.