In our modern society there are words that are considered “curse words” or “bad words”. Many people tell children not to use them because they are deemed inappropriate. I personally believe that this perspective on these words is irrational. These words like shit or fuck are considered inappropriate now because a while ago people said they were. Shit means feces and fuck means ruin or damage. Though we tend to use these words in a different way than their definitions, they are not inherently bad. Though there are words like shit and fuck that are not necessarily bad it is important to note there are some words that are. These words are what we call slurs. These words are inappropriate and should not be said around anyone. They are rude and tend to dehumanize or demean certain people or groups of people. Yet, “curse words” do not. So if “bad words” are not actually inappropriate or rude , why do we consider them taboo now, and should we continue to consider them taboo?
If you were to google the etymology of the word shit you would see that it is of German origin and ment feces without any vulgar connotations. Similarly if you were to google the etymology of the word fuck you would see it is also derived from German and meant strike or to strike. But if you were to google the etymology of a slur you would see that they are terrible and rude words that should not be used in any way. But what’s wrong with the usage of “bad” words like fuck, shit, hell, etc.? In my opinion absolutely nothing. These words have no negative connotations and do not dehumanize anyone. They are just like any other word in the English language therefore they should be used as such. Yet, these words have been considered “bad” words or taboo for generations.
We tend to consider these words as taboo now because previous generations deemed them bad, and we listened. If your parent(s) told you not to say something you wouldn’t. “Something” in this case is “curse words” and this has continued for generations. So, many people consider them taboo. This being said, many people are starting to almost normalize “curse words” and use them more often, and while many people are normalizing them some people still consider them “bad words”. Resulting in the fact that even though some people are normalizing them as a whole they are still considered bad and taboo, and therefore not used in public very often especially around children.
Should we consider “bad words” taboo? Is the question that still remains. As I briefly previewed, I believe they should not be. As also previously mentioned they have no bad connotations, they are not rude or dehumanizing, and are quite simply words and should be used as such. Why should we decide that these words that have no inherently bad meaning are bad? Why should we just decide they are bad by practically a flip of a coin? I think we shouldn’t. “Curse” words are not bad and we shouldn’t treat them as such or punish anyone for using them. You personally do not have to use these words, but I believe the stigma that if you do you are disrespectful or a bad person should not exist, because you are not. You are simply a person using a word in the English language which is what they were created for.
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ReplyDeleteHad to make a grammatical edit:
DeleteThis is an interesting post. I believe that the expletives mentioned in your article should remain taboo. Curse words can be taboo for a number of reasons. Often, in real world experiences or in the media, curse words are used in domestic situations abusively or to verbally attack someone's character. There are even some bad words that blur the line between what is just another profane word or a slur. To be specific, many curse words that are nouns (words like bitch) can drastically alter the tone of the conversation far more than curse words that are verbs (words like damn). I think this topic you chose to write about is a fun one to talk about. Nice post.
Hi Cate, This is a really interesting post. I think that if a word has been widely used in the English language, then there usually would be no problem with using it. However, it largely also depends on context. Freedom of speech is one thing to keep in mind.
ReplyDelete- Bruce
This is a great post and you bring up some really good points. I can definitely see your point in clarifying that a lot of the so called bad words we know today didn't initially start off that way. I never thought too much about how society as a whole changes meanings and connotations of words.
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