What Does Access Actually Mean
Before we move forward to the usage of the word,
let’s look up the word in the dictionary and see what “access” actually means first. The word “access” is derived from the Middle French
word “acces” which means arrival, from the Latin word “accessus,” meaning “an approach,” and also from the Latin word “accedere,” which means
“to approach” (vocabulary.com). In modern English, people most
commonly use the word as a noun to describe the entrance to something, some
place, or somebody, or as a verb meaning “to obtain, acquire or to get hold of. (urban
dictionary.com)” When
someone “has access to” something, the phrase means he or she has the opportunity to interact with someone
or something .
However, rather
than simply meaning “availability,” when used in a more sensitive context like
political or social issues, “access” could also imply “the right or opportunity to
benefit from or use a system or service,” like a social
welfare system, voting rights, public worship, education or employment(Oxford
English Dictionary). For instance, the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement advocated that all men
should have the same access to public resources as “all men are created equal” and should have equal
rights and opportunities(the Declaration of Independence,
Thomas Jefferson). It
is true that when we refer to the “access” of people with disabilities, we may simply mean their physical access to public resources and areas, like
bathrooms, elevators, armchairs, etc. We may also go beyond the
public facilities and think about something
intangible, like their potential of receiving higher education and being employed.
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