Curse words. Profanity. Does it seem odd to you that such things even exist?

Question

Is it strange that a certain sound, or combination of syllables, should be prohibited in certain places? I can say "fudge" and "truck" but if I put the "fu" and the "ck" together, and make those two particular sets of soundwave-vibrations in the air around me, I can be fired, or fined, or maybe even arrested. I can say "dictation" but if I just say the beginning part, I can get in all sorts of trouble. Does this seem like madness to you? It does to me. To me it's one of the completely insane things about the world we live in. "He has uttered the forbidden sound! Persecute him!!!"

Answer 1

Curse words are considered to be bad simply because they are reserved for bad situations. If we were to say f--- everytime we dropped a pencil pretty soon it wouldn't mean anything. But the fact is that we reserve them for very bad situations, so when someone says f--- everyone knows something bad must have happened. Why exactly saying certain words is frowned upon by society I don't know, but keep them to yourself if you don't want to get fired like you said!!

Answer 2

The exception provides the basis for the rule.

Forbidden vocabularies give people a greater range of expression. Without the possibility to insult another, however prohibited, freedom is lost.

89% use these taboo words in public. So all the answers relating stupidity to use are fooling themselves, most likely.

The possible use of the profane demarcates which places and groups are unchallenged and which places are not-- they can be used as signs of comaraderie and distinction from outsiders.

The opposite may be the case for normative communication. Profanity should be a sign for what real, visceral communication is like-- how we, as a people, can still intimate the power of invokation. Our holy words don't do this, the most sublime stream of poetry won't stir anyone in a bar; but a few insults can change the whole color of an environment.

In fact, the most formal use of language, in the right context, can be the most devastating insult to a person. And it is because there is a vulgar language on the horizon.

Were we to cleanse every taboo, either delete every word by political force, or liberally accept them all without restraint, we would suffer the univocal penetration of one dominating parole. Everything sacred would vanish, and laughter would no longer make any sense.

Answer 3

Yes I agree that the whole concept is kind of stupid. If you think about it, somewhere down the line someone decided that certain terms were "bad" and they became socially unacceptable. I tell my children that it's good not to use those terms, but I also explain to them that it is just a silly socialistic behavior. They will be perceived as something they are not if they speak that way. There isn't really anything wrong with the terms, just the stigma behind them. Society is a strange thing!

Answer 4

Words are stronger than bullet! What comes out of your mouth is very important. You can sugar coat someone with words or make an inch wide hole in their heads. And theres culture and in every culture there are words that are considered vulgar and profane and taboo. IN some countries if you utter some profane words you ll be punished beyond believe. And theres a matter of rooted, daily words in languages. In USA the word **** is rooted and part of the culture-language, WE use the F word as a salute, and 't doesnt hurt a bit much. You can call black guy **** and he ll say **** you too dude, Call him a N word ****** and theres war. So its all a matter cultural basics,

Answer 5

Words have histories. It is always of interest to trace the etymology of a word or its genealogy. One can then see why certain words are offensive or considered vulgar. I could say "sex" or coitus or sexual intercourse. Why say the four-letter word for this activity? Why avoid using the dirty term for "sex"? According to my research, the bad word for sex has certain connotations that denigrate God's gift of sex. There are plenty of words in the English language that make sex seem like such a dirty activity. It is no wonder that women are often unsatisfied with the lackluster performance of insensitive males. Most guys have been brainwashed into believing that sex is a conquest rather than an opportunity to bond or (gasp!) produce children. In a nutshell, the way that a human being talks reflects the way that he thinks. Those who always resort to the coarsest term for a phenomenon or activity worry me.

Answer 6

It's only weird if you think about it in a totally detached, robotic, cerebral kind of way. These aren't random, meaningless sound combinations, anymore than these characters I'm writing are random, meaningless electronically configured symbols. It's the meaning behind the words that upsets people, or the social taboo of saying certain words that offends. Emotions are as basic a human quality as the intellect, probably even more so.

Answer 7

haha, i dont find it odd. All profanity words started out as something else and people began to use it in other ways. Fornication Under Consent of King. The the capital letters of those 4 words and what do they spell? That was a rule that all servants had to rule by hundreds of years ago. They had to ask the king permission to fornicate with another servant. So, shortening it became the f to the u to the c to the k. And the female dog, the illegitimate child, the donkey's butt, the hole of a donkey's butt. We, people, took innocent words out of context and turned them into harsh meanings. Those words are all in the dictionary and they tell you the proper meaning

Answer 8

I have often thought about this myself......i try not to curse, though i often do whether out of frustration or whatever, but how can words, that are just that , words, be so important....some people say...you're gonna go to hell if you say that...well...my resonse is...the higher power that i believe in does not care about a word...rather the thought or reason behind using the word is more what God sees.....

Answer 9

People brought these things into existance. Humanity has the ability to create positive or negative things, such as words (profanity). If we decided to not have these profanities real in our minds or speech than they would not exisit anymore.

Answer 10

Take it from a literature scholar, language - spoken or written - is like a huge spice/herb rack.

An experienced writer uses words like a chef uses herbs; including profanity. This is something that should be used sparingly, like dill. Too much can ruin a good dish or story.