The Voice Issue 7, Summer 2013 | Page 25

‘Lary’ versus ‘Laryngectomee’ What’s in a name? Are you a lary or a laryngectomee? While to some, these words are interchangeable – to others, they’re a world apart. To them, lary may not simply be the shortened form of laryngectomee but, at best, a glib nickname; at worst, a borderline offensive label. And, as we know, labels are great for washing instructions; not so great for summing up people. So why are we worrying about this all of a sudden? We’ve always opted for lary and trachee because it suits the magazine, and it seems to be the preferred option for a lot of our readers. From our point of view, we think it’s important that lary is a self-appointed word, not something that’s been foisted on the laryngectomee community from the outside. And because it feels like a more accessible designation, it’s an easier term for people who aren’t in-the-know to get to grips with. But it’s easy to forget that it isn’t everybody’s preference. In other words, maybe it’s time we talked about this… Obviously the fact that ‘laryngectomee’ so neatly turns into ‘lary’ makes it an easy and memorable alternative to the scarier sounding ‘laryngectomee’. But, on the flip side, that does mean that it could be seen as diminishing the significance of the laryngectomy procedure and the impact that it has on someone’s life. That’s not necessarily a good thing. So tell us – which do you favour and why? Are you a died-in-thewool lary or do you insist on being referred to as a laryngectomee? Do you find the term lary a bit too frivolous or casual? We’d be interested to know. Or perhaps it’s never crossed your mind at all… As for us, we’re going to go on using lary (and trachee) – unless we hear overwhelmingly to the contrary of course. But, equally, we’re just as happy to use ‘laryngectomy’ where that’s more appropriate. We’re all different after all. And perhaps that’s the thing; we’re a disparate group of people bound by the operation we’ve had and the impact it’s had on our lives. And with so many differences in all our lives, is it any wonder we can’t agree on one name between us? ? Summer 2013 | THE VOICE 25