12 comments

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  vava

  4 years ago

  I couldn't agree with u more. Always wanted 2 write a piece against abuse of profanity but jz couldn't put in a way like urs.
  I'm coming back often,make sure u enlighten me wif more masterpiece like dis 1.=DI've already linked u. Btw dis is Eva.
  
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  Aronil

  4 years ago

  Hi Eva,
  Great that i enlighten you ^_^ hehehe... at least my first comment doens't ahve someone shouting obscenititees at me for being 'unopened' ^_^. Cheers
  
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• 

  Fikri

  4 years ago

  I think swearing has its time and place. I personally try not to swear, but at times just saying something crude (when I'm angry, for example) makes me feel better. I've made efforts to substitute the F word for 'fish' (for example). And I think I've come a long way. If you met me five years ago, you'd probably have shot me :>
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  Aronil

  4 years ago

  Dear Fikri,
  I won't hold you agaisnt it. But it's good to hear that you've minimised it anyhow. Keep it up.
  
  The entry was me retaliating against people who do it 24/7. But swearing is swearing nonetheless, with also ti's limits.... hmm this line sounds like a contradiction..
  
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• 

  anna.

  4 years ago

  As always I beg to differ. I think we associate far too much meaning with profanity, while we shouldn't be loading words with a particular stigma.
  
  
  For purposes of this blog I shall impose self censorship, but I'm sure you all know what i mean :)
  
  
  
  Take the word, F*ck for instance. It is perhaps the most universal word in the language, it has so many shdes of meaning in different contexts, with different intonations it's almost an art using it properly.
  
  
  
  compare: "This is beautiful!" with "This is f*cking beautiful, man!"
  
  
  
  I use both, but in very different contexts. It lightens the impact of a bold statement, without making it any less meaningful.
  
  
  
  Then there's the matter of plugging a string of profanity into the middle of a sentence - I think when used properly it gives a certain flow to a phrase.
  
  
  
  Which is easier to say, and sounds better:
  
  
  
  "This is SO irritating!"
  
  
  
  Or "This is friggin irritating"
  
  
  
  Don't get me started on the form and the repeated consonants that make it roll of your tongue instead of falling out in a chunk.
  
  
  
  On the other hand, I don't think foul language is neccessary to insult anyone at all. A lot of people (that I know) don't see foul language as an insult, which makes it redundant and the person swearing at you sound stupid.
  
  
  
  If, however, the insult was well thoughout and written, it would zing.
  
  
  
  Words are just words. They only hold a meaning in them if we allow them, and they only hurt us when we let them.
  
  
  
  I think a couple of black dudes calling each other MF-ers is enough to give me stomach cramps from laughter, but it doesn't insult my dignity in any way.
  
  
  
  Neither does using the big bad F word in my sentences.
  
  
  
  Language is a tool that we use to express ourselves. Barthes may tell you otherwise, but you don't have to agree with him ;) They're just words guys.
  
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• 

  Aronil

  4 years ago

  Well to counter that, as much as they are just words, i still think they are words that are just not respectful. As much as one may use those words with no hard intentions or bad intentions or what not...i (as a person) just do not like hearing them all that much.
  
  
  instead of saying "Fri**** beautiful... why can't it be said as just wow that is fantastically beautiful...
  
  
  
  "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean."
  
  
  
  Not to mean to be preachy, but just to ponder on those words for a while. Like i stated at the intro.. words they may be.. but they are still swears.
  
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• 

  anna.

  4 years ago

  couple of things...
  
  
  why is "fri**** beautiful" different from "fantastically beautiful?"
  
  
  
  what makes one word better than the other, besides the fact that you were TOLD it's bad.
  
  
  
  and that's precisely my point hun :) you have every right to think they are bad and insulting and unclean, but they are all of those things because you think so.
  
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• 

  Anonymous

  4 years ago

  hi anna
  
  
  if someone gets money by stealing...we are also told that it is wrong. So do you think its wrong because you are being told?
  
  
  
  :) -enn@j
  
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• 

  Anonymous

  4 years ago

  there are so many ways of saying sumthing nicely.U might argued that it is used universally and it add impact 2 whatever u want 2 say,it might juz be an innocent
  expression, no element of insult. But the thing abt swearing is,it's a pain 4 the ears.
  
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• 

  Lord Darth Superratty

  4 years ago

  swear in front of a kid, and see how you feel. maybe nothing, maybe something. but sometimes its important to see things from a child-like perspective.
  
  
  not because its immature, but because we can reflect on it.
  
  
  
  sure, one can live with profanity. but one can live without profanity as well.
  
  
  
  and to say that we can swear whenever we want to, that we are told that swearing is bad, and its really just a word... all that justification isn't so bad, except that it is not thoughts that is "others centered"
  
  
  
  and if swearing is nothing more than self gratification, or just a word to whomever uses it, it might not be
  
  the case for everyone else.
  
  
  
  it is better to respect the other's discomfort towards swearing, rather than swearing to him/her because it is just another word.
  
  
  
  hmm. my two cents worth. and i do swear, lol. though i've repeatedly told myself not too. and i have 2 nieces at home, and i refrain from having them catch my profanity.
  
  
  
  apparently the older one has caught my grumpiness. i don't think its true... but oh well...
  
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• 

  Anonymous

  4 years ago

  Perhaps a word is not just a word, which is why even the British Council came up once with a survey on the most beautiful English words. It is then, plain to see that words are used to exude expressions and here, even to evoke certain feelings of pleasure and also displeasure. The words such as "love" and "mother" make it to the top of the list but we do not see profanity coming anywhere close to be even on the list. This means that people in general, do have higher regard for certain words and vice versa. Being prudent in our use of language reflects our reverence to Language in the first place. Language was never meant to be relative in meaning, which is why there are words which express similar actions but have different emphasis altogether- ie "hear" and "listen". Profanity too, is a word meant for strong emphasis, negative nonetheless; and not merely put to give the sentence "the flow".
  At the end of the day, we are responsible for our prudence in the use of Language and be careful not to demean its value through the recklessness on our choices of words used.
  
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• 

  anna.http://particularordinary

  4 years ago

  hmn.
  
  
  -enn@j: Morality is a grey area. Robin Hood was a thief, he is celebrated in literature until this day as a hero.
  
  
  
  Everything is a grey area. That's my point :)
  
  
  
  anonymous: it hurts only if you let it.
  
  
  
  MY: swear in front of a kid and he won't understand it. or shouldn't understand it, but television has made it otherwise. television teaches children not the swear word, but the malicious intent behind the profanity.
  
  
  
  i would argue that television making swearing look "cool" in the context of rappers isn't as much of a disaster as we think - the intent is different, and it is a common social agreement - even among kids. if they swear to each other, they usually have an understanding of it being playful.
  
  
  
  anonymous: you said "Language was never meant to be relative in meaning, which is why there are words which express similar actions but have different emphasis altogether- ie "hear" and "listen". Profanity too, is a word meant for strong emphasis, negative nonetheless; and not merely put to give the sentence "the flow"."
  
  
  
  I politely disagree. I think words are relative in meaning. If I don't put these into a context what do i mean when I say "ship"? "park"?(allow me to refer you here and here)
  
  
  
  Language changes, language grows. Words that have definite assigned meanings last a long time, like "mother". Other words are more fluid. We hold on to our own ideas about what these words mean, but it's almost like insisting on using a typewriter instead of a PC.
  
  
  
  Think of the word "type" even (the verb). it came from "typography", then it got assigned to typewriters (who also got their name from the same root) but why do we assign the same word to keyboards? shouldn't it be keyboarding?
  
  
  
  all: let me ask you this. You speak out against profanity as crude and insulting. I argue it depends on context and intent. But let's set that aside, and talk about intent.
  
  
  
  Define profanity please.
  
  
  
  You can insult someone with the word "gay", you can accept them as one of your own, or you can call someone happy. The meaning changes over time.
  
  
  
  If it is an insult its profanity, right?
  
  
  
  So everytime we insult someone we are being crude and uncouth, even if we do it using "high class" words? (notice the inverted commas)
  
  
  
  Where do you draw the line between profanity and "good words"?
  
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