Are there situations where using profane language is socially acceptable? Countless people would argue that no circumstance justifies using profanities, however, if they were to say that they have never sworn, they would be lying. Profanities have a time and place, but you have to be aware of where and to whom you use them on. Sometimes when people are angry or upset noting can sum up how they are feeling quite like a swearword. When teenagers and young adults socialize, profanities are not far behind, however, it is often in good natured fun.
The key is to identify situations when it is appropriate or inappropriate to use profane language or situational awareness. In formal situations such as an in a work place environment the usage of profanities is frowned upon, and may lead to the termination of your position. You should also refrain from using swearwords in a class room setting. If you do this it could give your classmates and instructor an unsavory perception in regards to your character.
So when is it appropriate to use profanities? Informal social gatherings among friends, verbal confutations, when upset or angry are times that people often use this language with little or no damage to their reputation. When Bill O’Reilly said “fuck it we’ll do it live on the air, is an example when situational awareness was neglected. Another example is when Paula Deen acknowledged to using racial slurs in the past. This resulted in Food Network canceling her show, and lost many of her celebrity endorsements.
“Fuck” is a versatile word and can be used in a variety of situations. It can be used to indicate anger, depression, excitement, shock, and in some cases fear. The Oxford Dictionary defines the f-word as having two meanings. Fir...
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...tored below deck and unavoidably got damp. Once it got into contact with water the fermentation process is able to begin. Through this process the byproduct of methane gas is created. Methane began to build up below the deck of the ship, and the first time a sailor went below at night with the aid of a lantern, a massive explosion ensued causing damage to nearby ships. To prevent this from happening in the future the bundles of manure was stamp with the label “Ship High in Transit” or S.H.I.T, this indicated to sailors to store it high enough off the floor of the lower deck to prevent water to contaminate the explosive volatile cargo, and to eliminate the production of methane. The Online Etymology Dictionary sheds some light into the original origins of the s-word. This word began in Old English, meaning “purging diarrhea” and dates back to the 1580s.
Swearing has the ability to get someone in a whole load of trouble at the dinner table with their mother but could also be their choice of words when they accidently stub their toe on the coffee table in the living room. Natalie Angier discusses this controversial topic of words that shouldn’t be said in her article feature in The New York Times, “Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore”. Provoked by a recently proposed bill to increase fines for using swear words on television, Angier analyzes not only the impact of swearing, but also where the desire to speak obscene words comes from. She references many credible studies and sources as she unfolds her argument. She uses a diverse slew of studies, experiments, and famous pieces of literature and
When it comes to the use of the “N-word”, “nigger”, most of us will readily agree that it is derived from negativity. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is this word appropriate and should it be a part of our vocabulary today. Many feel like this word is okay to use but there are some that disagree.
Freedom of speech is one of the most necessary and most commonly exercised rights allowed to the people of the United States. It is also, sadly, one of the most abused. I believe strongly that more should be done to stop our citizens from bringing filthy language into our streets and businesses. I believe this for 3 reasons: 1.) Works of media or art are diminished by the use of profanity. 2.) Children exposed to profanity in a public setting may come to believe that profanity is an acceptable form of language, rather than the gruff set of exclamations and insults that they are. 3.) It makes the American people appear less intelligent and, to be put simply, crude and uncivilized.
...es not turn our society toward violence. There are other possible solutions though, like making a list of words that are indecent, meaning offensive to community standards. This would illiminate harmful curse words that are derogatory.
In order to effectively communicate with those around us it’s important to understand the context of a given situation. We can usually recognize these connections right off the bat and when it comes to cathartic swearing this is especially so. These expletives are very straightforward and are frequently referred to as the ‘stub-your-toe’ class of swearing because with yelling, “FUCK!”, you unleash a healthy amount of pent-up emotion or anger that may have even been causing some stress. The only issue seen with this variety of swearing is the commonness in which it occurs. Toddlers and small children will often pick up the words and phrases that are being said around them. As Wajnryb states in chapter 3, “The fact is that kids swear because they copy the modeled behaviors around them, usually in the home. You stub a toe, you swear. Your child overhears and learns how to react in similar circumstances. It doesn’t matter what the phrase is, it becomes the language associated with the emotion of anger or frustration” (pg. 89). The most interesting thing about this is that when the child first repeats a
The U.S. Supreme Court has defined “fighting words” as words "which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace” and are words that are "likely to cause an average addressee to fight." Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568, 572
One example is the use of the word “fuck”. In my house hold growing up I attempted to use this work once when I dropped a plate. It was the angriest my father has ever been at me. This word is often considered the worst of the curse words in modern English. This simple utterance has been in use since the early 16th century. Fuck often evokes strong emotion and response, considered one of the seven dirty words that can’t be said on American broadcast
One example is explained when Wright said “Whut yuh tryin’ t’ do, nigger, git smart?” (Wright 4) This is verbal abuse because the word “nigger” is what whites would call blacks in a bad way. No one should call anyone something they don’t want to be called. “Nigger” is a word that was used towards blacks when white people would feel disrespected by black people. This was a word used to make black people feel like they are lower than white people, like slaves; even though some were. Even though “nigger” is a word that is still used today, it is not as offensive as it was back then. When black people use this word among themselves, it’s not really a problem, but if a white person calls a black person ‘nigger’ it brings some hostility. Another example explained in Wright’s “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” is when he said “You black son-of-a-bitch! You call me Pease, then!” (Wright 6). This is verbal abuse because using profanity towards a person is verbal abuse, especially toward a child. Calling someone that word could make a person feel so low in a way. This could make a person feel low in a way where it’s double-consciousness (Dubois). Double-consciousness is when you feel some type of way about yourself and it could be different in the eyes of others. Meaning you might think you’re smart, while others think you’re dumb. When you call someone a name, like “son-of-a-bitch” could make you change
In my opinion I think that curse words are used too much because, curse words are supposed to be used when you are mad, they are used in every sentence, and people curse everyday.
Cursing, swearing, blasphemy, expletives are all words to describe the four letter ones. Four letter expletives are commonplace now. Our government system doesn't quite think that with how the Supreme Court views “Fighting Words” or as the Supreme Court ruled them “words which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace” wrote Scott Felsenthal’s in his article “Profanity and The First Amendment”. Curse words are not protected very well which causes huge controversy and confusion. Curse words can even reduce pain levels. Really saying s*** can relieve pain. Cursing is also an indicator that you are actually smart, not like that old myth cursing is an
As a coach, I used a large amount of inappropriate language during coaching, as I would think of this as passion for the game, not really just frustration. Nearly all communication in football uses loud tones to communicate messages, whether the message is a play call or just a coach yelling at a player. When it comes to the written text relate to football whether it be a play, or a breakdown individual or team play. Such as specialized languages to understand football terms within the community or when talking to a coach about an offensive plan, terms may be used like: huddle, line of scrimmage, cover two, corner route, post, and several other terms used exclusively for football. To become a member of this community the team and its players must understand the terms as when a coach says cover two the players all know that it is a specialized defensive passing coverage. We also have someone who is calling the offensive plays in the huddle; who is the Quarter Back (QB) and is often referred to as the signal-caller. Therefore, this means he calls signals, or should I say the plays. He often gets these plays from the head coach on the sideline. This all happens within seconds from the sideline to the huddle, then all players line up on the line of scrimmage and the QB yells signals again. Although, there are all levels of members starting at the youth, to freshman through seniors in high school and college, which will change their language based on what level you, are at. The community specific genres of communication in this discourse community predominantly involve non-verbal methods of communication, including secret hand signals and other body language. This community contains many examples of highly specialized terminology for practically every football play or technique. There are experts players such as juniors and seniors in this community who will provide
How can I ever forget a time when I said a swear word in front of my mom. I was at the grocery store shopping with my mom and cousin. I was already upset because I got in trouble at home already. My cousin just kept messing with me and making fun of me and I just told her to “shut the fuck up.” Don’t you just hate those nagging little cousins that laugh at everything? I tried to say it as low as possible but my mom has ears like a hawk. Man I swear I never got slapped so hard a day in my life. From that day forward I swore that I wouldn’t say any swear words ever. Do you ever wonder where swearing words originated from? Or even people views on how they feel about them? Barbara Lawrence has an issue with swearing words because people use different terminology such as: “Broad”, “chick”, “piece of tail” and other sorts of harmful words to downgrade women. Bill Bryson on the other hand says that swear words are merely considered bad because they are considered bad. A similarity that both Lawrence and Bryson have is when they mentioned the word “ficken”, which is a German or Latin word meaning f***. The difference between the two are that Bryson explains the different words the Romans created and used over 1,500 years ago and Lawrence explains that some
One reason why racial slurs would be made illegal is it's a form of harassment. Harassment has a very low tolerant in the court system. When harassing someone who repeatedly means that you giving them discomfort and causing emotional distress. So if harassing someone is against the law so should racial slurs. For an example
In American society the “F” word has been deemed a cuss word, a dirty word. It’s a simple, four letter word that shouldn’t be used. In Firoozeh Dumas’s essay, “The ‘F Word’”, she gives a new light to a different “F” word with the same context in our culture today with the help of her Iranian background. Firoozeh Dumas criticises the American ability to adapt to different and unfamiliar cultures through humor, empathy, and metaphors.
Words can be used in a variety of different ways from giving somebody a compliment, making an observation, singing a song, or simply just talking to a friend. Words are extremely powerful, and they can be used to accomplish great things such as inspiring millions like Martin Luther King Jr. did during the civil rights movement. However, not all people use words in a responsible, respectful manner. Along with all of the great things people can achieve through the use of words, there are many cases in which words have proved to be dangerous. Words have started wars, been used to bully people, tell lies, and even discriminate against entire races of people. Despite how powerful words are; people often misuse them, or say