Foul language

[rowyn]

Quick question: what's your vote for the most foul word in the English language -- a word so offensive you wouldn't even be inclined to think it, much less say it or write it? Y'all can just put down the first letter and ---.

Funny thing is, I know what word gets TREATED most often as unspeakable ... but I don't think it's any of the words people usually think of in that context.

Comments

[rowyn]

That's the word I was thinking of. The WSJ was refering to it, and they wouldn't even write it. It was just "a racial epithet beginning with 'n'." That's how foul it is. I can't think of anyone I know who I've heard use it. It's pretty rare even in films.

I think it's rather heartening that the nastiest word in the language (as used in America) is something that's not sexual or religious, but purely insulting. It's just a word intended to anger and infuriate. It ought to be a dirty word.

And it is.

I think the reason a lot of obscenities and profanities are "bad words" should have more to do with the inappropriateness of their use than the word itself. It's not that it's wrong to use a word to describe Gehenna, or to talk about sex or bodily functions. The offense lies (or at least should lie) in using the words to describe something TOTALLY OTHER. You are using language meant for one purpose in a way intended to demean or degrade. That'd be offensive, even if you weren't using the 'naughty' version. The 'naughty' versions just get packed with more power. But not a lot more, in our society, because they're used so casually. Pretty well worn out, really. :/

[level-head.livejournal.com]

It is a common form of informal address between young black people. It is contained in a very large number of rap music lyrics. It is the subject of a great many routines by black comedians.

And... it is very sad. But the word is hardly rare in the United States.

Personally, I'm more inclined toward Genesis_W's view, I think.

===|==============/ Level Head

[rowyn]

Rare was the wrong word. It's much RARER than any other "bad word" I can think of, even given common usage in certain circles.

Re:

[level-head.livejournal.com]

It is not part of my lexicon--but some black friends managed to surprise me. I would say that the word is common among many young blacks--male and female--but I am not able to assess "relative commonness" among the many profanities and epithets.

And I remember the John Lennon song as well...

===|==============/ Level Head

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

Still, there are dangers in stigmatizing a mere word no matter how bad it is. When I think about the "n" word, my immediate reaction is exactly the sort of fear we should be trying to prevent cultivating. I've been well-trained: I remember walking through the student center back in my college days with a friend, a fellow Monty Python fan, and when he enthusiastically quoted the Grail line about "silly English k-NIG-hts!" my instincts silently screamed "Holy shit, he just followed an n with a hard g sound really loud, and in public. Let's get out of here before those black guys across the room beat us up."

And this was even before that congressman got in trouble for using a certain word meaning "stingy" which is itself now more unspeakable than any four-letter word for this reason.

[rowyn]

I refuse to find "niggardly" an offensive word. Its origins are wholly other anyway.

But your point about language is taken. It's like the way some women label themselves "bitches" with pride. Or the way homosexuals embrace the word "queer" which was, once upon a time, an insult. You tame a word, use it casually, to take away its power.

In some sense, I like the idea that certain words are imbued with power. If you almost never use obscenities, then when you do, people sense the seriousness of it. I remember Touchstone, I think, had a guideline that they could only use f--- twice in any given movie, and one producer saying, "it's a good rule, because you end up saving it for the time when it'll have the most impact."

OTOH, this particular word has a lot of power for no good reason at all. If the young black men who use it casually manage to tame it, and take away all its power, I will be quite happy about it.