Whats wrong with cursing word?

[Michaelangelica]

Well there are swear words and there is blasphemy using the Lord's name in vain (the three major religions have rules about this).

I think many swear words date back to the Norman invasion.

It was more polite, more genteel, more acceptable to use the Latin or French word.

It showed you had class, belonged to the ruling 'in' group and weren't one of the peasants.

Latin words eventually developed an almost exclusive medical use vulva, vagina, penis etc

So

Anglo Saxon Word = becomes /is French/Latin

piss=urinate

arse= derrière

frigging/fricken/****ing (adj)=intercourse

****= ?? (anyone speak French or old French?)

****/shite/shat=excrement

sheep=lamb

cattle /kine = beef (beouf)

deer=venison

pigs=porc(pork)

Many feel, even now, that only common people swear.

A woman who swears is not only common but 'sluttish' as well.

 

Blashemy is often used unknowingly

bloody=God's blood

Zounds=God's words

cripes=Christ

jeez=Jesus

 

History

The meaning and spelling and impact of words change over time.

Even 50 years ago it was shameful to be a bastard. One hundred years ago if someone called you a bastard you would challenge him to a duel. In Australia, now, it is more often used as a term of endearment "you silly old bastard!". But when yelled or emphasised BASTARD can mean you are miffed or even angry with the person you are calling a bastard.

• My grandfather had his mouth washed out with soap for saying 'bloody'
  
• My father had his mouth washed out with soap for saying 'bastard'
  
• Now '****' is losing its shock value so where do we go from here?
  

 

Tone

the tone, situation, accompanying gestures, volume in which the words are spoken is important.

many women see men who swear as aggressive.

Billy Connelly gets away with the F word because he uses it in a comic context. Not all comedians can get away with it as easily though

So the context and the way the words are delivered (tone& body language) are important.

 

• Silly is interesting; it used to mean holy as in monks who lived in caves, then it became 'odd' and then still=dumb/stupid/funny
  
• Crap too for 'shitting' is funny because it was a gentleman called Mr.Crapper who developed the flushing English loo for the British. (The Romans had it 2,000 years ago)
   
  

Repetition

The repetition of the word '****' in USA movies sometimes also becomes boring and repetitive, It can alienate some from the character; (perhaps intentionally?); it can endear others to the character, and some, just long for a better more imaginative script.

.

I love Shakespeare and the English churchman/love poet John Donne who talk of "country matters". As when Hamlet lies between Ophelia's legs and suggests they talk of "country matters". (Shakespeare is also implying a strong relationship exists between them- ie they have done a bit of frigging)

 

It always amazes me that we get our 'knickers in a knot' about sexual matters but the obscenity of bullying, violence, war, guns, bombs, landmines, cluster bombs, napalm, doesn't worry us.

Silvester Stallone can blow a live human body to bits every second, but Sharon Stone crosses he legs and we go 'ape-****'.

A great pity really, because it is partly the reason one mainland Chinese person an hour is dying of AIDs and 100,000, mostly young, Russians are dying every year. They are the official figures. Even stating that you know i am saying the true figures are not being given. What is embarrassing to the leaders of those countries?.

We won't even mention Africa & AIDs.

 

MERDE!

[Michaelangelica]

The rest is silence?

 

http://hypography.com/books/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgi?Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=031214329X

 

[HydrogenBond]

The psychologist, Carl Jung, had the theory of the collective unconscious, which is composed of archetypes. One common archetype, which almost all cultures have preserved is called the trickster figure. Swearing appears to be part of the trickster archetype.

 

The trickster deity breaks the rules of the gods or nature, sometimes maliciously (for example, Loki) but usually, albeit unintentionally, with ultimately positive effects. Often, the rule-breaking takes the form of tricks (eg. Eris) or thievery. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both; they are often funny even when considered sacred or performing important cultural tasks. An example of this is the sacred Heyoka, whose role is to play tricks and games and by doing so raises awareness and acts as an equalizer.

 

The function of the Trickster, according to Kerényi, "is to add disorder to order and so make a whole, to render possible, within the fixed bounds of what is permitted, an experience of what is not permitted" (185).

 

The trickster figure is described as the faithful representation of the absolute undifferentiated human psyche which has hardly left the animal level... the earlier low intellectual and moral level (of the trickster) is held before the consciousness of the more highly developed individual to remind him of the past.. the trickster is defined as a parallel to the individual shadow

 

The trickster is sort of the inner buffoon. Certain people play the role so everyone can experience it without being it. Among those who use swear words, it can be sort of comical but reminds others of lower aspects of the human psyche they would prefer leave sort of buried. Swear words tend to be connected to basic biological function and are close to the inner animal or the transition area call the shadow.

[JMJones0424]

What makes language so interesting is the power of words to convey different meanings in different settings. "Curse" words are just tools that allow succinct expression of meaning that their "civilized" counterparts would not accomplish. I myself have been known to lapse into baser expressions of thought, and it is sometimes difficult to switch between cursing and not cursing when the environment changes rapidly.

 

Take for instance, Dan Daly's famous quote in the Battle of Belleau Wood

Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?

 

How could he have motivated his men if he had said, "Come on, you illegitimate children..." Likewise, I doubt he was really suggesting that his men were the offspring of female dogs in heat.

 

Like any other aspect of language, "curse words" have a unique application and an appropriate use. It is the failure to appreciate the meaning and intention behind the words that distinguishes "civilized" people from those that "swear like sailors". Like anything else, desensitization by repeated use of these words leads to their loss in shock value.

 

I think it is especially interesting that, until recently, at least in western society, swearing was generally limited to males. Traditionally male dominated societies like the military, construction crews, etc. typically use these words far more frequently with each other. It may be a sign of gender equality that younger women are now just as likely as men to use curse words on a regular basis.

[Michaelangelica]

PartiallyClips - A Webcomic for Grownups (PClips Lite Version)

[carlton-temple]

I speak several languages, sometimes daily, and I notice that the "native" English speakers tend to swear more than than the Dutch or Germans. The French I find tend to swear the least in my experience but can still be very insulting if they wish. I have also noticed that Americans use so many swear words between themselves that one wonders if they even notice they are swearing? I have also noticed that the Americans generally use a very limited vocabulary, the "late" president being an excellent example! Possibly it is this very lack of vocabulary that incites swearing as a form of compensation or camouflage for ignorance?

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

I speak several languages, sometimes daily, and I notice that the "native" English speakers tend to swear more than than the Dutch or Germans. The French I find tend to swear the least in my experience but can still be very insulting if they wish. I have also noticed that Americans use so many swear words between themselves that one wonders if they even notice they are swearing? I have also noticed that the Americans generally use a very limited vocabulary, the "late" president being an excellent example! Possibly it is this very lack of vocabulary that incites swearing as a form of compensation or camouflage for ignorance?

Actually it's the swearing itself that reduces or restricts our vocabulary....Swears are so expressive that words that would have been put together in descriptive bundles are fairly unnecessary.......For example.... That really hurt when I struck my thumb instead of the nail with the hammer! I am now quite angry! or Son of a B****! See what I mean. It's less verbose, clearly defines a change in temper, expresses that something has gone wrong, and gives a "heads up" that now might not be the best time to bother the individual.

 

It's pure lazines on the part of those of us that swear, all about the convenience.