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Survey: vulgarisms of different languages | ||
Tags: Swearing | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| rhapthorne Newbie Poland Joined 5335 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English | Message 17 of 25 25 April 2010 at 10:16am | IP Logged | ||
Yes, I realise that foreign language learners may have a slightly different attitude towads swearing than native speakers, as they may be somewhat less vulnerable to the shock value of vulgarisms, yet the general aim should be achieved, that is, we are supposed to measure not the words themselves, but concepts behind them according to our belief. Also, this forum is not the only one place where I posted the survey, as I asked my friends from other countries to send it to their acquaintances who are native speakers of given language. I've also conducted the poll among several philology departments at my university, therefore the sample of respondents is fairly diverse. It is too soon to predict the results of the questionnaire yet, but from what I got one conclusion emerges: racial slurs are really serious business :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| datsunking1 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5589 days ago 1014 posts - 1533 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Russian, Dutch, French | Message 18 of 25 25 April 2010 at 1:51pm | IP Logged | ||
Well in my case, learning through music, they were some of the first things I learned in German. I learned a TON of grammar through music, but there were some bad words mixed in too. Luckily, I'm not stupid enough to use them. (I don't think anyone should :D) I mean it's wise to know them, but everyone should keep the profanity to a minimum, especially when visiting another country :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| vilas Pentaglot Senior Member Italy Joined 6964 days ago 531 posts - 722 votes Speaks: Spanish, Italian*, English, French, Portuguese | Message 19 of 25 25 April 2010 at 2:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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Swearing in Italy is viewed in a very different way than it is in other parts of the world. After all, this is just another word or two that adds more character and expression to an already colourful language.
We listen politicians, actors, singers etc etc. in radio and tv swearing everyday. It is part of the normal life. Nobody is anymore scandalized by a talkshow full of curses . I have heard even a catholic priest , once, using swearwords when he talked with somebody in the street The curse loses its transgressive drive when you say it everywhere everyday , ìt loses its original meaning. We say " questa macchina è figa" (that literraly means " this car is like a pussy (so very nice and beautiful) and everybody forget about the original meaning) a spaniard would say " esto coche es de puta madre" (this car is a son of a bitch ( very beauiful and nice and nobody find this sentence crude or obscene. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| dramireck Newbie Colombia Joined 5368 days ago 9 posts - 15 votes Speaks: English | Message 20 of 25 25 April 2010 at 2:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think that the internet is not the best media to conduct that kind of polls (even if it is a very inexpensive option). Internet users do not correspond in age, education or income to the average in a given society. This effect is probably more noticeable in developing countries.
In Colombia, we have presidential elections this year. Candidate A has the most Facebook fans and easily wins every online poll... However, in telephonic polls conducted by serious firms, candidate B is still winning (at least in the first elections round)... How can we explain this? It can be easily explained if we consider that candidate A is very popular between the young and more educated people. Besides, I also think that his facebook fans are really gung-ho and are into the habit of "googling" the polls in order to vote for him. Now, about philology students, I think that they are a pretty distinct population... I bet that they are, for example, intellectually inclined(like many members of this forum). Please, let us know about the results of your surveys. I think that it is a really interesting issue. Edited by dramireck on 25 April 2010 at 2:51pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| dramireck Newbie Colombia Joined 5368 days ago 9 posts - 15 votes Speaks: English | Message 21 of 25 25 April 2010 at 2:32pm | IP Logged | ||
There is a similar expression in colombian Spanish (Antioquia)... We would say: "Este carro es una chimba" (this car is a pussy), meaning that the car is really good. I find the similarity in both expressions quite astonishing. Edited by dramireck on 25 April 2010 at 2:36pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5457 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 22 of 25 25 April 2010 at 2:50pm | IP Logged | ||
It's not very obscene, but it's not the kind of expression you would use in all sorts of situations either. Edited by tractor on 25 April 2010 at 3:05pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| nescafe Senior Member Japan Joined 5413 days ago 137 posts - 227 votes | Message 23 of 25 25 April 2010 at 5:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am not sure if it should be called vulgarism or not, but Japanese is famouse (infamouse?) for its honorific, so to make offensive expressions is very easy. Just use some "too familiar" you.
お前(Omae): This was from 御前(Gozen), a word used during Tokugawa shogunate and literaly means something like "the before", that is, "before the (feudal) lord". "御前" was originaly an word for indirect adress to one's Lord. However, somehow it is now very friendly "you". It is too friendly if used to an unfamiliar person, and will be extremely offensive. てめえ(Temee, temeh): More offensive form of "omae". 貴様(Kisama): the combination of two kanji 貴 and 様. 貴 means "valuable", 様 is something like "sir" or "mr" therefore "貴様" is originaly "valuable sir" or "your excelency" but somehow it is now a swear word. I do not know why. If you use the above offensive "you" with the regular honorific, it will be very humorous. For example, お前はいまどこにいらっしゃいますか？ (hard to translate, but something like) "Where are you damn thing descending to now?" Edited by nescafe on 25 April 2010 at 5:54pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| rhapthorne Newbie Poland Joined 5335 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English | Message 24 of 25 25 April 2010 at 7:02pm | IP Logged | ||
There is even a myth or a folk belief that 'Japanese don't swear', which is based on the fact that they have different, more subtle ways of showing disrespect to poeple other than using straightforward F*CKs. Let me quote a passage from an article about Japanese swearwords that I found somewhere on the net: "The most frequent and strongest expression used by Japanese in aggressive swearing scenarios is baka, translated literally as "stupid," "idiot," "nitwit," or "dummy." Now, the fact that baka's literal meaning is rather mild in English in no way conveys its pragmatic power. Words and meanings work differently in different cultures. Remember, the French con is also relatively mild. The translation of the English "bastard"—shiseeiji ("illegitimate child")—does not carry the same shameful stigma it did in English. A stigma exists, but, as with much else Japanese, it is avoided in the language, becoming one more unmentionable term. On the other hand, words for a country person (equivalent to our "country bumpkin" or "hick") are powerful in Japanese because of the contempt held for traditional ways in a country where the miracle of postwar recovery effected a rapid transformation from a rural economy to an industrialized economic giant. So the softness of the English translations of Japanese swear words may have contributed to the folk notion that the Japanese don't swear." Considering this totally different approach to swearing and the potential value of investigating this unique phenomenon, I regret that I don't know any Japanese people who would cast new light upon the results of the survey. Edited by rhapthorne on 25 April 2010 at 7:09pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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