Taking Aim at Commo
a scholium on style and usage
Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of a
style.
Jonathan Swift ["A Letter to a Young Gentleman, lately
entered into Holy Orders" (1721)]
The Basics of Profanity
Profanity or bad language has evolved over many years,
representing both the highest and lowest forms of human
expression. Originally, to take an oath or swear was a matter of
honor as in a court of law, such as when one swears to tell
the truth, or when a soldier takes an oath to defend his
country unto death. To blaspheme, profane or curse involves
desecrating the sacred, whereas to spew vulgarisms is something
any sixth grade boy who enjoys bathroom jokes can understand.
Each can be corrupted and used in an offensive way.
Swear words can cause the greatest offense when used casually,
inappropriately or in the wrong company. Yet a well-timed oath
can also make people laugh. Among friends, almost any word might
be considered acceptable, while even the mildest of curses can be
distressing when coming from the mouth of a child. Something as
simple as the tone or type of voice a person uses can affect how
the word is received. Should a comedian swear it might be
considered witty, while the exact same phrase coming from a
mechanic will be interpreted as crude.
In Revolutionary times, it was not unusual for little Johnny to
have his mouth washed out with soap when his mama heard him utter
even the mildest cuss words. Such objection to profanity was
ingrained in the culture, echoed by George Washington himself in
his General Orders to the Continental Army which read "... the
foolish and wicked practices of profane cursing and swearing (a
vice heretofore little known in an American Army) is growing into
fashion." He followed with a warning that "we can have little
hopes of the blessings of heaven on our arms if we insult it by
our impiety."
There were many Johnnies in Twain's time as well as older
Johnnies who spilled over into the military. A Massachusetts
soldier in 1862 wrote a letter saying, " nine words out of every
ten that a soldier utters are either profane or vulgar, yet I
have always tried to keep my letters as free as possible from
them." Indeed, the Civil War soldier was actually fined "one
dollar per swear" as an Army regulation.
We have long ago left such linguistic innocence, going beyond
George Carlin's seven dirty words never to be spoken on the
media, seeing most of them readily available, at least on cable
television. Given that speech vulgarity is measurably increasing
on the air, the United States Senate has indicated its interest
by presenting a bill to raise obscenity fines and even revoke the
network licenses of repeat offenders.
Yet studies show that profanity has been around since words came
croaking out of the caves, with every language, dialect and
jargon having its own variation. Freud said, "The first human who
hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of
civilization." References to the deity are found in expletives
such as Gosh, Gee, and Gadzooks
(God's hooks) while curses involving Satan disguised
behind the Deuce you say, or more directly, the
Devil take ye .... Shakespeare regularly used scatological
humor to entertain his audience and no one can read his love
scenes without recognizing their double meanings.
Beyond simple humor, strong language can express raw emotions and
elicit an equally intense response. Hearing certain words has
been shown to cause changes in pulse, breathing and skin patterns
with the hair on the arms literally standing on end. Yet
profanity is not necessarily random, but instead includes a
careful assessment of the recipient. Offensive words are always
chosen for their greatest impact according to time and place. One
can actually read the values, fears and preoccupations within a
culture through studying the words that are marked as taboo.
Societies that cherish religion as primary might look upon
references that take the Lord's name in vain with
special concern. A culture that places a high value on women's
honor and purity would find swear words such as
strumpet, bitch, or son of a whore to
be extremely offensive. Students taking classes in sign language
have been known to visibly squirm when asked to sign the f___
word, even though it had not been spoken aloud. Hardened soldiers
might be heard to utter euphemisms such as cheese and
crackers, trying not to take the Lord's name in
vain. Victorian societies, hugely concerned over bodily
functions, could be relied upon to see digestion or elimination
as a primary target. The British sailor used the word
arse liberally, as in arse hole or lazy
arse, depending on his audience. The word for human
excrement as an obscenity is pretty universal. Even the King
James Bible, a ribald Elizabethan translation, describes
offensive outsiders who "eat their own dung and drink their own
piss."
When asked why they swear, most people come up with the same
answer. It is a way of letting off steam, reducing tension and
managing anger. In addition, words can serve as a warning and
forestall more dangerous behavior, as with animals that parry and
spit, then stalk away. Chimpanzees will grunt and gesture
aggressively. But animals that are ready to kill don't waste time
with gestures, any more than a person will bother with a stylized
preliminary. Instead he will simply pick up a gun and start
shooting, dismissing the verbal shot in the air as
useless.
Besides clearing the air of tension, swearing can make a person
of substance seem more like a regular guy. Harry Truman was well
known for his barnyard metaphors. A joke circulating during his
presidency describes someone asking Bess to persuade her husband
to stop making repeated use of the word manure to which
she demurred, saying that it had taken years to soften his
vocabulary from the use of an even more specific term. President
Lyndon Johnson was also known to pepper his everyday conversation
with profanity, as was Richard Nixon, a fact revealed in
audiotapes made during their presidencies.
Authors have found the use of profanity to be a handy device for
rounding out their characters. The novel Battle Cry by
Leon Uris describes the adventures of a tough battalion of
Marines where every few sentences are laced with profanity, which
serves to underscore the Marines' toughness. J.D. Salinger uses
the same device in the book Catcher in the Rye, this time
describing the young protagonist in a psychological tailspin. In
each instance, the characters spout swear words in such abundance
that, by the end of the book, the reader has become numb and
barely notices, having had their own niceties absorbed into the
world of the characters. John Steinbeck in his classic Grapes
of Wrath is more selective, choosing to have the villains
swearing freely while the Joad family speaks humbly and with
great restraint. In each instance, language sends character
clues, with those who swear being tough or assertive or at times,
villainous, contrasting sharply with the victims' soft replies.
In the military, a certain amount of profanity is seen in the
same light. The Civil War Admiral David Farragut was applauded
for his remark, "Damn the torpedoes – full speed ahead."
These sentiments were subsequently echoed by Anthony McAuliffe
during World War II. When faced with German demands for
surrender, he replied "Nuts." Colonel Harper, given the
responsibility of relaying McAuliffe's rejoinder to the German
Major reported saying "If you don't know what 'Nuts' means, in
plain English it is the same as 'Go to Hell'."
It so happened that General George Patton was not too far away,
bringing the needed supplies and assistance in time. Patton
himself had a distinctive ability in the use of profanity. During
any normal conversation he would spout four letter words
into whatever he was saying, speaking so easily that the listener
hardly noticed. But he could also hurl expletives with
persuasion, the words seeming almost poetic. He remarked, "When I
want my men to remember something important, to really make it
stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to
some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it
helps my soldiers to remember. You can't run an army without
profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without
profanity couldn't fight its way out of a piss-soaked paper bag.
As for the comments I make," he continued, "sometimes I just, by
God, get carried away with my own eloquence."
Perhaps then it was a matter of jogging memory that Drill
Instructors would use profanity to increase the stress-levels of
recruits as well as help them to learn what was expected of them.
More important, military jargon and profanity could make the
incoming GI part of an in-group, a necessary conviction on the
battlefield. Those who stayed on the fringes were called
yardbirds, goldbricks, or turds,
appellations that brought them into line almost as fast as a
midnight GI shower. Being homesick could be alleviated with a
sneer, especially when it involved betrayal via the Dear John
letter since the new man involved was no doubt a draft-dodger. A
hurt or indignation could be relieved with words, underscoring
the group cohesion.
Still, it comes as some surprise that since the armed services
went gender inclusive, there has been a strict prohibition
against profanity. But shouldn't women be included in the buddy
system that might encompass profanity? Or should they be given
the gentle courtesy taught at their mother's knee? Is swearing
only a guy thing or should women be fully included in the ways a
specialized society would? There are some who feel that something
has been lost in translation. In a current website, much is made
by those enrolled in ROTC, who might be supervising training
cadre, saying that compliance could easily backfire. Objecting to
profanity might make some increase their use of it just to be
bothersome. It goes on to say that "men generally use more
profanity in conversation than women do. As disgusting as it
might sound, it is seldom meant as an insult."
Which takes us back to the earlier thought: Should profanity be
regulated by the government? Focusing on the military, one might
say that given the intensity of training as well as the
subsequent circumstance of waging war, anything that diminishes
stress would be a good thing. In addition, it has been shown that
swearing on the job is one of the many communal experiences that
furthers group identity and morale. And when it comes down to it,
even a bad war movie would never have a wounded soldier cry out
something like "gee whiz" or "golly."
Still, the military is changing. Along with providing more toilet
paper on the base and less Drill Instructor harassment, our
country's military is becoming a showcase of America around the
world. Hence, along with being respectful of societal
differences, it might behoove us to educate in the direction of
language as well.
"The Colonel is exasperated with his swearing and blasphemy in
front of the men and says he can go out there and swear at the
trees until his manners return."
anonymous
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