Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Blossom]

At the discussion group I go to an American told me that the word s h i t is no longer considered a swear word among young people. He told me about the college girl who said, �S H I T! I have just stepped on some dog poo poo.�

Is this true? Is it no longer considered a swear word?

I notice that in so many American films the word f u c k is used very freely. Is this no longer a swear word?

[Hayde]

It is still a swear word. IN MY OPINION (British/Canadian), people who use it "often" are seen as uneducated. I use it now and again, and only around my friends and family. I would never use it at work or around anyone else. Then again, maybe that's just my upbringing.

[iitimone7]

i haven't been on this blog for a while...busy working, going to school, studying and enjoying the holiday.

as for the questions, in my opinion (american) both are swear words. for the first word, it depends on how you use if it is a swear word or not - if you're talking about dog poopoo, then no. if you just smashed you finger under a hammer and it hurt, then it is swearing.

as for the second, using it in any situation i consider it to be a swear word. i'm more offended when people freely use this word as often as the other. i agree with hayde that it sounds less educated.

again, in my opinion as a conservative american, i don't use any swear words, but i'm more likely to think about using the first as apposed to the second word provided.

have a great day, iitimone7

[Brian Boyd]

They're both still swear words, in that you shouldn't say them with kids around, and it wouldn't be wise to use those words when talking to your boss on the first day in a new job.

What the American person probably meant is that those two words have lost a lot of their impact (through overuse in movies and other media - the film 'Casino' has the word f*ck 422 times).

Twenty or thirty years ago, both words were considered much stronger.

Amongst young people in the UK, most swear words - even c*nt, which is considered the strongest - have lost their impact and are used frequently.

Back in the 1970s, someone might have said 'Look at that stupid idiot', and nowadays you will often hear someone say 'Look at that stupid c*nt' in exactly the same way.

Although I think c*nt still carries a lot of impact in America.

[Lorikeet]

[dajiang]

yeah shi t's definitely a swear word.
You sometimes hear Americans say Shoot for shi t, and darn for dam n btw.

Shi t can also mean 'stuff'. ("I left my sh it in my room.")
shi tty is like buggered. ("I'm feeling pretty shi tty today.")

It doesn't have much impact.
Just like the f-word in some cases.
'Bas tard' is sometimes used as a positive thing too.
("He's a lucky ba stard")

Dajiang

[clonc]

I am surprised that anyone should consider a person who uses swear words as being uneducated. Was Nixon considered uneducated? Was Lyndon Johnson considered uneducated? George Bush Senior gives examples of his correspondence where he addresses a close friend in a letter as You old b a s t a r d. Is he considered to be uneducated? King George the Fifth of England said, �B u g g e r Bognor.� Is he considered to be uneducated?

No, the point is, as several of you point out, swear words used as expletives seem to be acceptable today as simply mere expletives. The swear words used are almost meaningless and superfluous, as is the case in so many films these days. One can imagine a man saying to his wife, "F u c k ! There is a city-wide blackout. Let's go to bed and make love."

I can also imagine an irate driver who has suffered a fender-bender leaping out of the car and calling the other driver an a s s h o l e. But few people would turn a hair.

In many cases such words are considered unpleasant, hence the use of pooh pooh instead of turd or dog s h i t.

There seems to be a distinction between expletives, swear words, and unpleasant words. For example, a place with plumbing used for urination and defecation is considered something horrid so euphemisms are concocted. People go to the bathroom (but not to bathe), or to the Rest Room (but not to rest), to the toilet (but not for the process of dressing), or to the lavatory (but not for the purpose of washing), or to the privy (but not for secrets), or go to the Head (but know they are not on a ship).

The acceptance of words varies from time to time. Nuts was once considere a naughty word. In 1950 the New Yorker stated, "On the N.B.C. network, it is forbidden to call any character a nut; you have to call him a screwball." In 1940 the Hays Office wrote regarding the script of a play entitled The Bank D i c k, �Please eliminate the expression 'nuts to you' from Egbert's speech." I can imagine today that it would demand that the play be called The Bank Detective (just as Dave�s private nanny-watch would demand that the play be called the Bank *beep*.

[advoca]

I agree with Lorikeet. The monosyllabic c-word is coarse and vulgar. It is much nicer to call somebody a �stupid female intercrural foramen." This phrase is so useful for people who wish to use that particular swear word without appearing uneducated.

[Bob S.]

[clonc]

Ah!

Yes, I will happily accept that those persons who use swear words freely (like Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Eddy Murphy) are uncultured, but I will not accept the view that people who use swear words are uneducated.

[Blossom]

Ooh! I seem to have started quite a discussion. But thank you all for giving me your opinions.

But I have another question. If Nixon and Lyndon Johnson were both considered uncultured vulgarians why were they elected President of the United States? Is this how Americans like their Presidents to be?

But judging by the number of movies that contain many swear words I get the impression that many people in America are also vulgarians and like such movies. Hollywood makes movies for the masses, I believe.

By the way, I am pleased to say that I am the proud pocessor of an intercrural foramen. Thanks advoca.

[Hayde]

[Blossom]

We have a similar swear word in Chinese that means f**k your mother.

[clonc]

[Hayde]

Do you mean "Ni ma de" ?