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I picked a project at random -- the Tarantino one, which lists every death or curse word in every Tarantino movie -- and browsed through the data: https://gith
by jawns 10y ago
I picked a project at random -- the Tarantino one, which lists every death or curse word in every Tarantino movie -- and browsed through the data:
https://github.com/fivethirtyeight/data/blob/master/tarantino/tarantino.csv https://github.com/fivethirtyeight/data/blob/master/tarantin...
I found it interesting that the author was willing to catalog each curse word by writing it in its entirety -- except one, the n-word (which, by the way, appears 179 times in Tarantino's movies, with the bulk in "Django Unchained" and "Jackie Brown"). The article for which this data set was compiled similarly censors none but the n-word:
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/complete-catalog-curses-deaths-quentin-tarantino-films/ http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/complete-catalog-curses-...
I happen to think that no one of any ethnic group should use the n-word, and I do not use it myself, but I think in the context of cataloging curse words, where you're writing at a sort of meta level (i.e. writing about words, rather than invoking them yourself) it's just as acceptable as in the other cases to write the word out. But the fact that the author made this one exception reveals a bit about how he sees the word in relation to the others.
For instance, you might argue that the varied versions of the f-word might be strong language, but in a different category than the n-word because the latter is an ethnic slur.
But the author has chosen to write out other ethnic slurs in their entirety (e.g. the w-word, referring to Mexicans, and the j-word, referring to Japanese people, and the g-word, related to Asians), and also slurs related to other groups (e.g. the f-word, referring to gay people).
So, even if you're talking about just the set of curse words that insult a particular group of people, the author has set the n-word apart.
- Normal_gaussian 10y agon-word -> nigger and f-word -> fuck I understand, but what is the w-word? I really don't get this obsession over hiding the existence of these words. They obviously don't exist in isolation and are a symptom of a different problem. Perhaps by hiding them people seek to pretend the world has solved these problems? On top of that, their usage as negative words is only propagated by these shortenings. Words like nigger had (and still do have) neutral and positive connotations [0]. Language is something I deeply believe in, and try to use accurately. People controlling which words I can and can't say really, really, upsets me at level I can't quite find the words express. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger#Etymology_and_history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger#Etymology_and_history
- graedus 10y agoW-word is "wetback", I think. I've never heard anyone use it.
- freehunter 10y agoThe only time I've ever heard the word was in discussions surrounding its existence as a racial slur. There are much more common slurs for Hispanic immigrants. But I've never heard it called "the w-word".
- thesimpsons1022 10y agoI've heard it a few times growing up in southern California. believe it or not people are pretty racist.
- panglott 10y agoUm, that link establishes that the word has had very strongly negative connotations since at least the 1850s. The article states that it had "more neutral" connotations earlier on...in a society that enforced racial human enslavement.
- Singletoned 10y ago> what is the w-word? > I really don't get this obsession over hiding the existence of these words. You've kind of answered your own question there. If you hide the words, then people who don't know them (eg children), don't learn a new offensive term. I'm not saying I support the policy; I'm just saying that I understand why people do it.
- headShrinker 10y ago> children don't learn a new offensive term. Um, yes, yes they do. Obscuring words is to protect you from the reminder of the terrible history human kind has had toward people that look different from you. It doesn't protect a child's innocence.