OFF: Swearing

[J Strobridge]

oops - still off topic but this fascinates me too.

William Duffy writes:

> I've always wondered about when certain swear words may have actually come
> in to use. For instance, whether the 'f' word was actually used during the
> time of William Wallace, or was it just added to the movie dialogue to make
> its use more colourful?
>
> I suspect the latter.

The word itself has probably been around for quite a long time without
even changing its meaning and then as society's attitudes and perceptions
change so a simple descriptive word becomes a statement of deep and
dangerous sentiments because people have become particularly sensitive
to what it describes. I reckon you can probably tell a lot about a
society simply by discovering which are its forbidden words or phrases
and maybe in a hundred years time the 'f' words will be no more
insulting than the words vinyl or compact disc.


> Anyone came across any articles on the history of swear words?

I'm sure there's a dictionary somewhere!

jill
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J.D.Strobridge at ed.ac.uk                         eset08 at holyrood.ed.ac.uk
                                                ELIJSA at srv0.arts.ed.ac.uk
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