Well, I think it’s cultural. It seems as though each language has to have its ‘forbidden words’, only for use when one is very agitated, but there is no simple formula about which words qualify.
Oh mon Dieu! Tabernac is very strong in ‘Quebecer’ French. Also Sacre Bleu. Sacred Blue…because we all know that religious connotations in expletives are the biggest linguistic atrocities we can commit in any language. God damn, Jesus Christ, and holy shit!
I think most forbidden words, if not all, have something to do with the religion of an area. It could be cultural and a lot of religion is culturally located, but I think it is due to the restrictions of a religion that these words are made profaine.
Pussy is only a naughty word, I think because it refers to a part, in most religions, that is never talked about, that most authority figures in any one religion are, in fact, afraid of. Otherwise, why would genital mutilation exist? It wouldn’t but for the godly. And a pussy wouldn’t just be a cat or flower, it would be and is a beautiful thing aside that many of us enjoy, men and women alike.
Well, I think it’s cultural. It seems as though each language has to have its ‘forbidden words’, only for use when one is very agitated, but there is no simple formula about which words qualify.
Oh mon Dieu! Tabernac is very strong in ‘Quebecer’ French. Also Sacre Bleu. Sacred Blue…because we all know that religious connotations in expletives are the biggest linguistic atrocities we can commit in any language. God damn, Jesus Christ, and holy shit!
I think most forbidden words, if not all, have something to do with the religion of an area. It could be cultural and a lot of religion is culturally located, but I think it is due to the restrictions of a religion that these words are made profaine.
Pussy is only a naughty word, I think because it refers to a part, in most religions, that is never talked about, that most authority figures in any one religion are, in fact, afraid of. Otherwise, why would genital mutilation exist? It wouldn’t but for the godly. And a pussy wouldn’t just be a cat or flower, it would be and is a beautiful thing aside that many of us enjoy, men and women alike.
I thought pussy was a cat and my cat often acts like real pussy, more than Pus in Boots ever did. :D
Pinker’s “The Stuff of Thought: Language As a Window Into Human Nature” is probably another book worth reading on this topic. I’ve never read it, though.
It is. There is even a chapter specifically on tabboo words - i.e., vulgarity.
Just to clarify it in case there are any who are unaware, the term “pussy” used in the vulgar sense refers to a woman’s genitalia.
Occam
Occam, I assure you, I’m not confused, but I sometimes when my cats are acting “pussy” I tell them they are such a “pussy” and eavesdroppers would not have a clue if they didn’t see a cat that I wasn’t trying to be vulgar. Of course, I’ll tell a dog she’s being a bitch and a donkey an ass. I’m weird that way and I can assure you, the Fundamngelicals can’t stand it, except my Fundie relatives, because my grandfather said that those words used in those ways are not vulgar- that is female dog = bitch cat= pussy and donkey = ass. That’s the only way I could get away with those words as a kid and I assure you, I got very creative with them. Had to, because any other use was vulgar.
Oh, so now you let the “cat” out of the bag. Why not sooner? Did the “cat” get your tongue?...
And why am I starting to feel like a character in a Beavis and Butthead cartoon?
As I’ve always told my students, there are no “bad” words. Words themselves are incapable of being bad. There are appropriate times for their use and inappropriate times. Vulgar words are used for fillers anyway or to display a cultural distinction as in street talk. They asked me just yesterday (I’m subbing for a 6th grade teacher, kids are 11 and 12) why are there “cuss words” in the dictionary and we had a long talk about word origins. While not mentioning the words directly, they knew their meaning anyway, we talked about how expressions change over time. It keeps the giggling down when you treat the subject seriously. I call them tools to be used at certain times and they were satisfied. It removes their forbidden qualities and allows the kids to see why mom and dad suck air when you tell your little brother to fuck off and get out of your room. And while we’re on the subject do you know the meaning of the expression, ” the cat’s out of the bag”? It’s nautical and refers to the usual punishment for among other things, cussing in front of an officer. The bosun had a red bag with a whip also known as the cat-o-9 tails and it was his job to punish the offender. The officer would order the bosun to “take the cat out of the bag” and flog the errant sailor, usually a dozen lashes. Goddamn, I bet that hurt! Oops!
i had a teacher once tell me that cuss words are only for intellectually lazy people who can’t come up with more creative ways of expressing themselves.
... The bosun had a red bag with a whip also known as the cat-o-9 tails ...
Cap’t Jack
Now you’re just getting kinky.
But seriously, I saw Pinkerton giving a talk, where he made the point that some things that we say (and I am paraphrasing heavily here) are deliberately (or perhaps functionally is a better word) ambiguous, so that there is plausible deniability to provide cover for possible social ramifications.
I think that some kinds of humor and sexual innuendo could fall under this.
