What Purpose hath foul Language?
It is uncreative. People who use it as expressions of whatever they are feeling at the moment forsake far more creative ways to say it. People who use it are limiting themselves to a very small, undesirable portion of all language. People who use it show that they are ignorant enough not to know to use something better.
It is rude. Please explain to me why I should have to tell my brothers the meaning of the f-word because some person with low standards put it in a movie? Why should I have to be flinching every time certain people at my workplace speak, but keep my mouth shut for the sake of their “freedom of speech.” In this age of people getting offended, what if such vile, crude behavior offends me? Should I be able to sue for millions of dollars as someone could do to me if I said the wrong thing in the wrong place? Should I be able to get my co-worker fired if they could get me fired for expressing my Christianity?
Why purpose does it contain?
It is a way for people to let out their anger. Since they have little or no self control, they just let the words flow out of their mouths…
anonymous
February 17, 2007 at 6:02 pm
In my opinion, foul language is a necessary part of a fallen society. Like the anon above me said, profanity gives people a way to express their feelings. This is what language is for. The key is to attack the source of their bad feelings. People who swear a lot have an anger problem; dropping the f-bomb in every other sentence is just another one of the symptoms.
No, I don’t believe people should use profanity, but swearing is usually not the main issue they have.
Jon
February 17, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I’m sorry, but do you people live in the real world?
Such sweeping, nonsensical generalizations.
Jon
February 17, 2007 at 9:19 pm
No, we just make the choice to have a little self-control.
“swearing is usually not the main issue they have.”
Amen to that.
thelonedrifter
February 17, 2007 at 9:41 pm
No? So you don’t live in the real world.
I’ll admit, that doesn’t surprise me.
Jon
February 17, 2007 at 9:55 pm
yes, I live in the “real world” as you call it. Since I hear cuss words almost every day, when I get extremely mad, it is tempting to let them slip. The matter is entirely of control- of whether or not I’m going to control what comes out of my mouth or not.
anonymous
February 18, 2007 at 12:04 am
I’ll ignore no. 5, John.
thelonedrifter
February 18, 2007 at 8:58 am
But the f-word is incredibly versatile. it now means different things. viva the vernacular!
akugel
February 20, 2007 at 12:12 pm
People swear for a lot of different reasons, and though self control is something you need to moderate your language, it doesn’t explain the underlying reasons for the pervasive use of pejoratives, expletives, swearing, and euphemisms in nearly every culture.
People use swearing to vent anger. They also use them to express awe, surprise, frustration, and amazement. A lot of people who don’t swear (i.e. they don’t use the common four letter words that are looked down upon in polite society) will use exclamations to express the above emotions. I personally don’t believe all use of them is wrong.
The problem with most of the four letter words is that they profane something sacred, or refer to something foul. Take the F bomb for instance, its use reflects badly of the user because it takes something sacred (the act of love between a man and a woman) and makes it common or dirty in context. The S word is an example of using something foul in order to denigrate something else.
Ok, better come to a point before I ramble on so far I forget what I wanted to say in the beginning.
Harrison: You asked, what purpose does it have. Well, it serves to express amazement, surprise, awe, anger, frustration and perhaps a few other emotions I can’t think of an example for right now.
What I think you should be asking is, why are the common four letter swear words looked down upon so much, and the more polite ways of expressing the same emotions are not? You suggest using more creative ways of saying these things, and someone mentioned using more self control. Both are important, but I felt like a lot was missing. Ergo the way I started this long rambling comment.
There was a discussion or euphemisms on Ruthie’s blog that I didn’t really get into because I wasn’t sure how to approach my disagreement with her assertion that all euphemisms should be avoided.
For what it is worth, here are some of the guidelines I try to follow when deciding which of these kinds of words to use in my language (and Harison, you can’t say it’s because I lack creativity or vocabulary, because as you know, my vocabulary is pretty decent).
1.) Avoid vain and profane language, i.e. avoid the use of expletives (which are profane, vulgar or obscene by definition). If the word in context of current culture is used to refer to something sacred, I try to avoid using it such a way as to show disrespect. Words such as the A word and the F bomb, as well as euphemisms that refer to sex are good examples of this. This also includes the use of God’s name.
2.) If the word is being used as a pejorative (for whatever reason, and regardless of how polite/impolite the word is), I try to avoid that. This isn’t because the word is dirty, but simply because using language of any kind, creative or not, to denigrate or curse someone reveals a flaw in your own character and should be avoided for two reasons, the first being that Christ commanded us to love one another, and because anger/revenge/bitterness and other such emotions that would drive a person to curse another is damaging to you.
I want to emphasize that you should take into consideration the meaning of a word in the context of the society you are in. Not all words mean the same thing they did when they were first coined. Language is a living and evolving thing. Thus, it is important to take into consideration who your audience is.
Given that, there are a number of words that are used in the exlamatory sense that do not offend the two guidelines I mentioned above. Words like Man!, Sheesh!, Crikey! and so on. Again, it is important to consider the cultural significance of the word, and the audience. Some words change their meanings depending on who you are around.
In addition, there are words that are used in context to describe things such as being given an unfair deal (for instance: a raw deal, given the shaft, screwed, etc..) that when used in that sense I don’t find objectionable. I may refer to a situation as being crappy, or say that something sucks (meaning it isn’t very good). Both words began as euphemisms for much more objectionable words, but in today’s culture have very little attachment to the meanings of the original. I will note that both words are the kind that I take care who my audience is, because they mean something different to my parents generation than they do to me.
Ok, that’s my dissertation. I hope I have been nuanced in my explanation.
In reference to one of the Jon’s, not all swearing stems from bad feelings. It is important to note that when listening to someone, you need to take into consideration their background. The use of profanity may mean something entirely different to someone who grew up hearing it as a matter of daily use, than it may mean to someone like me who grew up hardly hearing it at all.
Jason Wall
February 20, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I agree with most of what you say. I do know that when exposed to profanity, if you are not carful it can creap into your conservation before you realize. There are some professions to which profinity became so ingrained into their conservation, that people became unaware of it use.(that is sad) example; Some railroad professions such as Trainmasters, terminal Supt. and train dispatchers, use it routinely. and in fact when and if promotted they are sent to mental Health professionals for re-programing. because they could not work in a mixed office without offending someone. Most of these jobs are High stress and it is anger comming out.. When taken out of that einvorement the bad language follows them. It takes work, prayer, and committment to keep clean. Glad I stayed in the Railroad office. Uncle Riley
Uncle Riley
February 20, 2007 at 4:15 pm
nice, not gonna try to add anything to that.
Read
February 20, 2007 at 11:59 pm
i think that because christians are told by the church and all other christians that cuss words are wrong, that we try to prove that any use of them is wrong with the bible. however, i really dont think that this is the case. if you’re using it to curse someone else, then yes it is wrong, but saying “f— you” or “god—- you” is no more wrong than telling someone they are stupid, or that they suck using less “offensive” words. sure, you’re not using cuss words to do it, but its the same intent of the heart. if you drop something or hurt yourself and get mad and say “f—” or “s—” then its just the same as saying “dang it” or “shoot”. you still got mad, you just didnt use words that are “offensive”. and in most cases when its used its just in normal conversation with no real emotions of any kind that brought it about. “i need to get some s— from the store”, or “i got a bunch of s— to do today”. what is the harm in that? if you’re around people who dont get offended, then is that really a sin? does God really care so much about what the exact word is that comes out of our mouth as to what the intent of the word was? if i’m with a group of christian friends who do not get offended by it and use it in regular conversation, then is that really a problem? the only thing that i see a problem with it in any situation is if it hurts your testimony to non christians. if someone knows you are a christian and to them cuss words are offensive and they get turned off to anything you have to say because of the words you choose to use, then that obviously is a problem. and the whole thing with all the verses that talk about keeping your words and your thoughts pure and etc, i think is more of what you are actually talking about than the words that you use. if you’re talking about impure things, slandering other people, i think thats more the whole “for out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” please tell me if you disagree with any of this, i want to know what you think.
stephen
March 10, 2007 at 5:00 am
Stephen, I agree that it is the thought behind the word that counts. However, I think that should drive us to be more conservative with our words, as opposed to more loose.
The Bible also says these things:
Phil. 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.
Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Matt. 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
thelonedrifter
March 10, 2007 at 5:19 pm
It’s irrational, and is the attempt of the weak mind to express itself forcefully.
On the other hand sometimes there is no other way to explain things by using the vulgar terms. Remember, our vulgar terms in the English language are the Anglo-Saxon terms which were deemed as behavior of barbarians by those who were most frequently vexed by the same Anglo-Saxons. The same cultural bias towards loud conversation at the table, singing at the table, and wearing of hats indoors came about more as a reaction against Anglo-Saxon norms by Britons than for any other reason.
In 500 years, the taboos of polite society will also evolve and change, and each society will base it on the behaviors of those who vexed them.
Now, if you want to be creative in cursing, I suggest doing it in Russian. At least that was what an old man who owned a store told me when I was a kid. He further advised combinations of Polish and Russian as the advanced form of profanity.
By the way, I constantly tell my child – who’s 18 and good at it – “Language” as he utters expletives as he battles on his play station or whatever he uses!
avoiceofreason
March 11, 2007 at 1:05 am
Criticizing specific words is about as superficial as you can get.
I could yell “I LOVE FRENCH TOAST” threateningly at someone who doesn’t understand English, and they would think I’m cursing them.
What’s funny is that the FCC actually differentiates between words intended in their profane meaning and those which aren’t. For example, if you utter “Dick” as the nickname for Richard, it’s perfectly fine. But if you say it for the other reason, they bleep it. I could think of countless scenarios where the meaning would be ambiguous. And yet we delegate some governmental agency to think for us, to decide in which scenarios its okay, and to bleep out words that might, somehow, in some fashion or another, be construed possibly as insulting.
If you want to talk about a liberal, politically-correct, pinko organization, look no further than the grand ole’ FCC. The weird thing is that both social conservatives and social liberals like the FCC.
Jon
March 14, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I agree with you. I live next to a man who is drunk most of the time so it’s pretty hard to avoid foul language completely. However, since he is a drunk he spends most of his time at the bar he and his girlfriend own. I pray God will show him his errors and hope you would do the same.
In Christ,
Me
Someone Special
April 18, 2007 at 9:15 pm