Why are ''BAD'' words bad?

[Starbreaker]

I like making up my own bad words. Words like "Tidwidgets!" and "Farpcrackers!"


J.

The horror!!!

 

[ThankQ]

There's no such thing as bad words. There's vulgarity, swearing and such but those words only become taboo because we make them so.

Correct.

A word is a sound we make to communicate an idea.

If the idea was communicated properly, even if the idea was, "Fuck every one of you goddam bitchy-ass shit-eating mother fucker cunt wipes!" then the words used were good ones.

Words are not "bad".

To answer your question, why do we think some things are bad when they really aren't? The answer is religion. Religion has so distorted the history and reality of our species that we even think words come in holy, human and evil.

 

[miraclefan]

There's no such thing as bad words. There's vulgarity, swearing and such but those words only become taboo because we make them so.

Correct.

A word is a sound we make to communicate an idea.

If the idea was communicated properly, even if the idea was, "Fuck every one of you goddam bitchy-ass shit-eating mother fucker cunt wipes!" then the words used were good ones.

Words are not "bad".

To answer your question, why do we think some things are bad when they really aren't? The answer is religion. Religion has so distorted the history and reality of our species that we even think words come in holy, human and evil.

Think we have a winner here. However I don't belive Religion has so DISTORTED human history so much as certain Religious leaders have. Plus Religion has been apart of human history sinse the begining and it has yet to mess with ''Physical'' reality. Maybe the reality of certain mind sets, but that's it. This also raises a good question, can Christians that use ''curse'' words really call themselves ''Christians''? 'or' Jews & Mulsims for that matter?

 

[NickInABox]

Some words tend to keep their shock factor through changing usage. I find that interesting. Other commonplace words have become completely toxic, like nigger. Off the top of my head I would say the Victorians probably banished more words to the naughty step than any other era.

WHAT DID YOU. JUST. SAY!?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Some words tend to keep their shock factor through changing usage. I find that interesting. Other commonplace words have become completely toxic, like nigger. Off the top of my head I would say the Victorians probably banished more words to the naughty step than any other era.

WHAT DID YOU. JUST. SAY!?

Victorians?

 

[Praetor]

Some words tend to keep their shock factor through changing usage. I find that interesting. Other commonplace words have become completely toxic, like nigger. Off the top of my head I would say the Victorians probably banished more words to the naughty step than any other era.

WHAT DID YOU. JUST. SAY!?

Victorians?

You don't hear many people mention "the naughty step" these days...

 

[Brent]

its the negative connotation attached to them that makes them "bad"

there are usually better ways to present oneself, IMO, if you have to resort to "bad" words you have a limited vocabulary

 

[Sephiroth]

awww Hamburgers, you guys are so rude

 

[Bob The Skutter]

its the negative connotation attached to them that makes them "bad"

there are usually better ways to present oneself, IMO, if you have to resort to "bad" words you have a limited vocabulary

That is rubbish. There are times when "bad" words are exactly the right words to use. In a relaxed atmosphere with friends, where's the harm in using bad language? You hurt yourself, or lock yourself out of the house, where's the problem letting a few bad words slip out?
You're being interviewed for a new job and you tell your potential boss how you called the guy who cut you off on the road a dickless cunt, not a good idea. But just because you swear does not mean you have a limited grasp of language, or that you don't know better.
It's just an excuse the morally uptight like to use to look down on those who do swear.

 

[RandyS]

There's no such thing as bad words. There's vulgarity, swearing and such but those words only become taboo because we make them so.

Exactly. Words are "Bad" because our parents tell us they are when we're little, and we grow up thinking that.

The very first time I ever heard somebody say "fuck" I was five years old, and it was my Grandma (Who was big on "watching what you say"), and later when I asked my mom what it meant, she asked me where I heard that, then, got on the phone and spent 20 minutes yelling at Grandma.

Suffice it to say, I learned even more four letter words.

 

[miraclefan]

There's no such thing as bad words. There's vulgarity, swearing and such but those words only become taboo because we make them so.

Exactly. Words are "Bad" because our parents tell us they are when we're little, and we grow up thinking that.

The very first time I ever heard somebody say "fuck" I was five years old, and it was my Grandma (Who was big on "watching what you say"), and later when I asked my mom what it meant, she asked me where I heard that, then, got on the phone and spent 20 minutes yelling at Grandma.

Suffice it to say, I learned even more four letter words.

 

[Neeka Keet]

There's no such thing as bad words. There's vulgarity, swearing and such but those words only become taboo because we make them so.

Exactly. Words are "Bad" because our parents tell us they are when we're little, and we grow up thinking that.

The very first time I ever heard somebody say "fuck" I was five years old, and it was my Grandma (Who was big on "watching what you say"), and later when I asked my mom what it meant, she asked me where I heard that, then, got on the phone and spent 20 minutes yelling at Grandma.

Suffice it to say, I learned even more four letter words.

I think that situations like this made me realize that my parents were full of crap and not infallible.

 

[Deckerd]

its the negative connotation attached to them that makes them "bad"

there are usually better ways to present oneself, IMO, if you have to resort to "bad" words you have a limited vocabulary

I beg to differ. As an ex-philologist, I have to say this is wrang [North Lanarks dialect]

Sometimes a bad word is exactly what is needed. I give you Outland when Big Tam finally loses his self-control and punches out the bastard who sent the assassins to get him : "Ah fuckit" was the only thing that could have been uttered before his gigantic haymaker.

 

[miraclefan]

its the negative connotation attached to them that makes them "bad"

there are usually better ways to present oneself, IMO, if you have to resort to "bad" words you have a limited vocabulary

I beg to differ. As an ex-philologist, I have to say this is wrang [North Lanarks dialect]

Sometimes a bad word is exactly what is needed. I give you Outland when Big Tam finally loses his self-control and punches out the bastard who sent the assassins to get him : "Ah fuckit" was the only thing that could have been uttered before his gigantic haymaker.

GREAT sceene By the by!

 

[Trekker4747]

Can somebody please exlpain why certain 4 letter words are considerd bad? and who's idea was it to make them bad? I mean as far as I know I've never heard of a word commeting crimes or being bad.

Because some people are hyper-sensitive idiots. I reckon religion plays a good part in it too.

YouTube "Penn and Teller Bullshit, swearing/cursing."

Fascinating epiosde in which a woman is strictly against swearing to the point of going around to local businesses and asking them to hang signs with the "no" symbol over the cartoon symbols for swearing (you know, "$!@&!.")

In the episode she reccomends people use cutsey/dumb little palce-holder words, Like, "Well, slam the door!" The woman is just pure idiot and comes across that way in the episode.

Oh, she also reccomends saying "Santa Vacca" (essentialy Spanish for "Holy cow!") as another palce holder.

Penn extapolates from this that the woman obviously doesn't believe in the Hindu acknowledgment of cows as holy beings so it's ok for her to use them "in vain." So that since most of the world doesn't accept Jesus Christ as a holy figure then saying "Jesus Christ!" as a curse should be perfectly acceptable.

 

[Deckerd]

On the other hand, in Inside Man, when the politician calls the Jodie Foster character a 'magnificent cunt' it didn't work on so many levels that her 'thank you' response was as cringe-makingly awkward as the first statement. Sometimes you just have to use common sense.

 

[Amaris]

its the negative connotation attached to them that makes them "bad"

there are usually better ways to present oneself, IMO, if you have to resort to "bad" words you have a limited vocabulary

I disagree. I have a rather comprehensive vocabulary, and at times I swear like a motherfucking sailor. The use of choice fricatives does not indicate one's grasp of their language skills.


J.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

On the other hand, in Inside Man, when the politician calls the Jodie Foster character a 'magnificent cunt' it didn't work on so many levels that her 'thank you' response was as cringe-makingly awkward as the first statement. Sometimes you just have to use common sense.

I often find in American movies swearing doesn't seem to come as naturally as in British movies, it some how feels force or uncomfortable.
I don't know whether it's the actors, directors, bad scripting or what, but I often find British films take swearing so much lighter and it feels more natural... Could be the accent I suppose.

 

[RandyS]

There's no such thing as bad words. There's vulgarity, swearing and such but those words only become taboo because we make them so.

Exactly. Words are "Bad" because our parents tell us they are when we're little, and we grow up thinking that.

The very first time I ever heard somebody say "fuck" I was five years old, and it was my Grandma (Who was big on "watching what you say"), and later when I asked my mom what it meant, she asked me where I heard that, then, got on the phone and spent 20 minutes yelling at Grandma.

Suffice it to say, I learned even more four letter words.

I think that situations like this made me realize that my parents were full of crap and not infallible.

Yeah, same here.

 

[B.J.]

I very rarely swear anymore. But if I happen to hurt myself around my own kids, like stubbing my toe, I literally start sounding like Yosemite Sam. I don't want to swear, but I gotta yell *something*!