Donate SIGN UP

So called "BAD" language...

Avatar Image
Dinger2 | 00:01 Thu 10th Nov 2011 | Society & Culture
21 Answers
Although I rarely use it myself and am constantly aware of trying to avoid using it.WHO is the person(s) who decided that the "F"& the"C" word and other words were "unacceptable" please don't think for one minute I'm sanctioning any of this language,I'm not, but what about the viewpoint of "If it's in the Oxford english dictionary then it's a word"?
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 20 of 21rss feed

1 2 Next Last

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by Dinger2. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
The Victorians.
There isn't a single Swear Policeman who decided it - the general opinion is that using sexually explicit language in general conversation is just desirable, and demeans our language, when there are so many other suitable words with which to express ourselves. Nobody's denying these are words, but they're not words used in polite conversation.
oops - ^UNdesirable.
I've often wondered this as well.. they're just words..
the Editor.
I heard on a BBC Radio 4 programme that there was a Gropec*** lane in London once.
You wouldn't expect to find it in the A-Z these days.
that was in fact the first recorded use of the word, sandy. It was presumably the red light area, and was somewhere off Cheapside.
Most swear words were old english words, mostly used by the peasant and 'gregs' of society so the wealthier, more upclass folk would not use these words which were deemed vulgar, and eventually and classes began to even out more in english society the words became vulgar for everyone to use. The F word for example is an acronym for 'fornication under the consent of the king'. But as it is vulgar to discuss sexual topics in public, the word became vulgar as is the case with most swear words.
*dregs
I know a couple of Gregs who could be classed as peasants.
dont think anyone would deny they are real words.
i think general hoohaa over swearing is ridiculous...as is the case with many things, by banning it you give it power....

take away its power to offend by making it 'acceptable' and it ceases to be an issue

i do swear a bit, but mostly in extremes of emotion...sadness, happiness, shock, anger etc, not much in general conversation... and i would tend to limit that in a restaurant or something ... this is not for any prudish reason, just dont see the need to add extra words that often serve no purpose.
I agree with joko sometimes a swaer word can make a joke a bit funnier, but i think the less you swear the bigger the effect it has when you do swear.
I imagine there are exceptions, but given my limited experience in this arena, if you really wanna do it, then you probably shouldn't say it . . . or is that why my experience is so limited?
I don't usually swear because it appears to be common amongst the dregs of Society and I would like to be regarded as a normal person with reasonable manners.

You might as well ask why we don't walk around naked on the streets in the summer..
"The F word for example is an acronym for 'fornication under the consent of the king'."
Is this absurd notion NEVER going to die?
Click http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fuc1.htm for the view of a well-regarded etymologist/lexicographer about that and various other silly acronym-type explanations.
He also suggests that the word's unacceptability in polite society goes almost right back to its earliest days.
Swearing used as punctuation is a lazy way of trying to look macho.

It devalues the perfectly good English words.

I don't swear ,but on rare occasions when I do, it stops the conversation.
Don't worry, I'll sanction it for you.
Some swear words are in fact rhymming slang, considered mild but are anything but, eg B3rk!
For me the issue is people who overuse socially unacceptable words - when f*** is every other word and they can't express themselves without those words. It shows ignorance and disrespect.

1 to 20 of 21rss feed

1 2 Next Last

Do you know the answer?

So called "BAD" language...

Answer Question >>