Language and use thereof...

[sildil]

At the risk of opening up a can of worms, what do people feel about the use of, for want of a better word, 'profanities'? And what do you class as such?

Personally, I have very little problem with what people say, it is what is behind the expression that I don't like. I mean, some people can say something very mild, but if it is with the deliberate intention to shock or hurt and with bad feelings behind it, then that upsets me more than something stronger said casually.

Now I admit that I swear occasionally, well, probably quite a bit when stressed..well OK a lot if the computer gives me a stupid error message, but usually don't in 'normal' conversation, and I don't have a problem when others do. BUT if someone were to say something without using ANY swearing that was offensive, say, racist or homophobic, then that WOULD upset me.

As a parent of 18, 16 and 14 year old teenagers I have always tried to teach them that what matters is the context and the use of words, rather than the actual content that matters. They swear, mildly, (at least at home!)and only occasionally (at home!) but I do not criticise or judge...hate it...I grew up with enough of that to know what it's like. There is nothing worse that trying to express a strong feeling and being corrected on one's grammar! (And other half had it far worse than me, being the son of a journalist!) And I consider them to be old enough now to know what is 'right and wrong' and how to use words effectively.

Personally?...I would rather the occasional mild cuss said unthinkingly or in 'innocence' than words of any other sort that deliberately hurt and humiliate, and believe me, I've been on the receiving end of plenty of those. Just wondered.

Comments

[elbereth-elena.livejournal.com]

I have various different 'languages' that I use. On for home, one for school, one for friends, one for writing, one for science coursework, one for the internet and the on I use for strangers. Peculiar as it may seem I use different words, swear words, accents, phrases etc for each. I also tend to change accent to mimic the person I'm speaking to. Which can be difficult when my very scottish cousin is visiting...
I believe I can blame the Scottish part of the family for my using 'shite' as 'shit' but not to moderate it. They are interchangable.

I am trying to cut back on my swearing because sometimes the 'languages' get mixed up and I'll use a word that's inappropriate. Unfortunately I just invent words to compensate or use words my grandfather used. He had some unusual expressions that are too good to be ignored.

I agree that it is not the word but the meaning behind it that matters. And I have not been censured for using words (other than at home where using f*** is absolutely outlawed) unless there was an ulterior motive. There was a brief time when mum decided to crack down on swearing but it only lasted a week before my dad was bankrupted by paying fines!

I do however still remember my mum using the word f***. She had never said it before and suddenly she was directing it at me. I have never been so shocked in my life. This is perhaps an example of how frequency of use can have a huge effect on the impact of a word

[eveiya.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know what you mean - because my father usually doesn't say much at all and certainly doesn't swear, he can make more of an impact with one slightly sharp remark than the rest of the us do by turning the air blue.

I remember my mother once, while in one of her more religious - or maybe just more bitchy - phases, started to nag my sister and I for "taking the lord's name in vain"! Now that was a good one, considering she did it herself all the time. We took to jeering and applauding every time we caught her out, so she fairly soon abandoned that campaign.