Most foul language in some way makes an ordinary part of our lives vulgar through the connotations that a word has come to carry. Expletives generally deal with things which are blasphemous or would be inappropriate in public (genitalia, excretory functions, sexual activities ...) making the link to an offensive meaning seem natural.
One of the things which I think makes the "N word" so offensive when used by someone who is not African-American is that the insulting connotation implies that one's race alone is justification for attack. This mechanism could also explain level head's information about how it is used regularly by young blacks, since the implication that race alone is justification for an insult doesn't have any bite to it if you're a member of the race being attacked by your expletive.
Also, I think that this mechanism might explain why some of the posters found c--- so offensive. When I've heard it used, it tended to be in a context that suggested that someone was inferior simply for being female (e.g. by implying that someone's stupidity could be explained by her sex). In contrast, I've generally heard the male analogs (d---, d---head, sch---k) used in contexts that implied criticism of the person's behavior. Perhaps that's a fluke of a small sample, though (people don't swear much around me.)
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timeasmymeasure
Why words are offensive
Date: 2003-03-15 10:19 pm (UTC)One of the things which I think makes the "N word" so offensive when used by someone who is not African-American is that the insulting connotation implies that one's race alone is justification for attack. This mechanism could also explain level head's information about how it is used regularly by young blacks, since the implication that race alone is justification for an insult doesn't have any bite to it if you're a member of the race being attacked by your expletive.
Also, I think that this mechanism might explain why some of the posters found c--- so offensive. When I've heard it used, it tended to be in a context that suggested that someone was inferior simply for being female (e.g. by implying that someone's stupidity could be explained by her sex). In contrast, I've generally heard the male analogs (d---, d---head, sch---k) used in contexts that implied criticism of the person's behavior. Perhaps that's a fluke of a small sample, though (people don't swear much around me.)