*** WARNING ***
***There may be..... okay there IS some inappropriate language below***
Soooooo last night I was rudely awakened by a barking dog. To my disappointment that barking dog was mine and he had jumped over into the neighbors yard and couldn't get back (different story). As I laid in my bed trying to go back to sleep (after fixing the situation of course) I got to thinking about WHY some words are bad or inappropriate. For example the work "hell" or "damn". Growing up we were definitely not allowed to say these words, but we weren't allowed to say stupid or shut-up either. As a matter of fact I don't let my kids say shut-up or stupid, but I feel it's for a good reason. They just are not nice words. They are words that you'd use to put someone down and I personally would rather teach my kids to use words that would raise one's spirits=). However, as I thought about these two words I couldn't understand why they'd be "bad". What is different about saying "what on earth is going on" verses "what in the hell is going on". They mean the same thing. Why is earth socially okay, but not hell.
*BTW- I understand that some people don't believe it is a "bad" word, but like the word "damn" you probably would go using it while you were giving a talk in church. (unless used in the right context)
So then I got to thinking about the other curse words. Who decided that these words are bad. For example what's the difference between "please get your a** off my table" and "please get you're butt of my table". Who decided these words were inappropriate and WHY? Obviously, saying "get your a** off my table" sounds worse, but isn't that just because society views them as bad words?
I want to know you're opinion on this. Although I may not totally agree or understand why these words are "bad" I will refrain from using them around my children and in public (and most likely some words all together) because society views them as inappropriate and I don't care to have my kid dropping the f-bomb in the middle of primary.
7 comments:
I've talked/thought about this many times too. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what word you use, it's the meaning behind the word. You could say "what the pickle" and if you mean it to be a bad thing, it's as bad as if you said "hell". And so instead of saying "oh my gosh" I'll say "oh my goodness" making it more positive. I also choose to not say "what the heck are you thinking?" rather "What are you thinking?" I drop the "expletive" word altogether and try to keep the meaning in my words less negative (Although, with kids, it isn't always so easy!)
If that all makes any sense! Anyway, that's my two cents!
I've come to appreciate a well placed damn or hell but a** really bothers me for some reason. It seems so trashy. I'm a linguist and I still don't know why some of those words are "bad." But I think it's too late for most of them to ever make a recovery.
Bridget- I agree w/ you. In fact typically people that say the A,B,S and F bomb come off trashy to me too, but isn't it just because they are known as "bad". If they weren't viewed as bad words they probably wouldn't seem trashy at all. Agree?
I have heard the saying that "using expletives is a weak attempt of a feeble mind to express its self. I actually think that there is some truth to this since it seams that people who swear, do so regularly and without any variety. You could just always use Eevi's standard; if it is said with a Finnish accent, it isn't a bad word. :)
When we lived in Australia hell and damn weren't considered swear words at all. In fact, I remember our Bishop announcing something in Church (sacrament meeting) about youth conference and I remember he said "We can go wherever the hell we want." And no one thought it was weird at all. It was funny coming back here to the US because my mom would say hell and damn a lot. Ha ha ha.
I don't swear anymore but I used to and when I think about that I feel super embarassed. Anyway, like I said, I don't swear but if I did I would say the 's' word. I know you think it's trashy but I think it's the best. It just feels good when it comes out for some reason. :)
It seems like those words become curse words when they are used out of context to show anger. They also seem to either be of a religious context "hell or damn" or of a crude nature "s---" or "f---". One of my weaknesses is to substitute these words with "lighter" curse words. But now I feel bad because my kids say them, and I feel very hypocritical telling them not to say them when they hear me saying them. So I just ignore them and let Spencer correct them. Haha.
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