3 ms·
Are Danes often gratuitously profane?
by rubashov 16y ago
Are Danes often gratuitously profane?
- rjbond3rd 16y agoThe stereotype is melancholy.
- bobfunk 16y agoNot sure - I don't swear a lot, but there's a very big difference in how profane language is perceived. In Denmark you won't see TV programs bleep over profanity and you generally wont see people write f##k instead of just the putting the real thing. I think most of us danes find the "fear" of certain words to be quite perplexing. And the idea that it's somehow better to see f##k instead of fuck, even more so. It's as if there's some mystical belief in the "evil" power inherent in these words, that rationally can't really be described as anything but superstition. Since us danes have a really, really hard time understanding how a word in itself could possible be offending, it's quite tempting to just not give a damn and use a lot of them. Especially if you find some kind of joy in poking at other peoples superstitions. And I suspect that's the case with DHH...
- epochwolf 16y agoIs english a native language for most Danes?
- bobfunk 16y agoNo - pretty much everybody in Denmark speaks english, but as a second language. Typically with a funny accent :) [edit] On the other hand english profanity has kinda made it into danish. You will hear danes say "shit" or "fuck" when speaking to each other in danish...
- copenja 16y agoI think people use "f##ck" simply in an attempt to be polite. People are not willing to not use the word because they feel it express their position, but the shorthand version is almost like an inline apology. Somehow, it comes off as less vulgar. I don't think it has anything to do with a belief in an inherit evil power.
- lobster_johnson 16y agoNo. It's just this guy.
- kmgroove 16y agoDoes anyone else associate profanity with a sense of honesty and realism? I loved it to be honest.