4 ms·
I've heard this argument before (and I tend to agree with it), but here's a counter-point I heard recently and appreciated: Eloquence and good vocabulary are i
by sbarre 6y ago
I've heard this argument before (and I tend to agree with it), but here's a counter-point I heard recently and appreciated:
Eloquence and good vocabulary are important, but there is a time and place for something vulgar and basic.
Just like there's a time and place for a rapier and there's also a time and place for a folding chair or a pool cue.
- nogabebop23 6y agoThis. People who swear do it so frequently it looses the power. It shows a lack of vocabulary more than any sort of moral failing. If you only swear rarely you get a lot more impact when you do, vs. the person who cannot avoid every 3rd word being a blue one. Also, there are some truly eloquent swears out there!
- GuB-42 6y agoTV Tropes has an article on that: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PrecisionFStrike https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PrecisionFStrike Contrast: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ClusterFBomb https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ClusterFBomb
- umvi 6y agoWords are vulgar because they are overused. It's the original definition of "vulgar" - "characteristic of or belonging to the masses." Hence, it became taboo for the upper classes to utter vulgarities, because it signaled lack of learning.
- Cthulhu_ 6y agoYup, some people swear so much it becomes a stop- or filler word, padding out a sentence unnecessarily. I mean you could insert a variation of "fuck" half a dozen times in the above sentence and it would add nothing of value to it.
- mtrower 6y agoEmphasis. Am I suggesting you should do this with all your sentences? Absolutely not. However, I would certainly not read the two sentences the same. (Food for thought: spices do not generally add nutritional value to food. Yet, each has their own preference as to whether, and how heavily their food should be spiced.)
- mtrower 6y ago> It shows a lack of vocabulary more than any sort of moral failing. Here, now, I call nonsense on that one. I (probably?) swear more than most of my friends in private, casual communication circles. I also have a much greater vocabulary than any of them (this is not hubris --- I'm frequently told to explain words I use; I chalk this up to being better-read throughout my life). It just doesn't follow that because a person favors certain words, that they must not understand or feel comfortable with others.
- jrumbut 6y agoI don't think vulgar goes along with basic, the four letter, Germanic versions of fornicate and defecate have a whole range of varied, nuanced, often contradictory meanings that capture the irreducible complexity of lived experience. The Latin derived versions just make everything so bloodless, so focused on one particular aspect of the concept. They really are the simple words, even if they have more letters.
- sbarre 6y agoI meant basic in the lowbrow/highbrow sense, not with regards to complexity, but I understand your point.
- User23 6y agoWhat many people consider the strongest English vulgarity is derived from the Latin cunnus.
- jrumbut 6y agoThat's a good point!
- mirimir 6y agoBut not so much in the UK, right?
- dghughes 6y agoI'm amazed at British TV shows even whimsical gameshows where everyone swears like a sailor. But when someone dares to say the "c word" it's bleeped and everyone gasps.
- Chris2048 6y agoI recall that the c-word used to be common too, then the idea that it was "the female n-word" was imported from the US.
- 6y ago