Swearing; taboo or the new normal?

The use of swear words in everyday conversation has always been debated about whether or not it is appropriate, with many believing those who tend to swear more are less intelligent and come from a less privileged background than those who do not. Even though multiple studies have shown that swearing is both a sign of higher intelligence in those who use them and is a natural pain relief. 

Many of the classic swear words we still use today have Anglo-Saxon and Germanic origin, with the popular ‘shit’ being shown to have appeared over 1,000 years ago in Old Norse texts. As with most words shit has developed new meanings and uses to the extent that it is now generally not frowned upon compared to other much harsher swear words. A large majority of swear words come from other terms to used to describe genitalia such as, c*nt, dick and twat, with f*ck also being related to sex. C*nt which is considered to be the worst word in the English language actually originated with a good reputation until around the ancient Nomadic times. This can prove that swear words are not always taboo and are simply made taboo by society many years after their origin. Alternatively the use of swear words have been considered blasphemous as “it treats God casually and ignores His glory and honour”. This could be another reason why swearing is so taboo with Christians taking up approximately 33% of the world making them one of the largest religions.

A study by Keele University researchers Stephens, Atkins and Kingston discovered that swearing relieves the effects of physical pain, research which one them the Ig Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. Many different researchers have ran tests on this hypothesis, all with similar if not the same results, making it a highly reliable fact on human psychology. Another team of neurologists and psychologists from the UCLA Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research suggested that swearing may help differentiate Alzheimer’s disease from frontotemporal dementia. Finally neurologist Antonio Damasio found that despite loss of language due to damage in the language areas of the brain, patients were still able to swear proving that it is indeed a common psychological pattern within people.

In conclusion I believe that although to many swearing is considered highly taboo and still socially unacceptable in some places, it is becoming significantly more common in the UK especially with the large majority of Brits regularly using swear words in their everyday language, therefore those who use them should not be criticised. The association between the lower educated and swearing should also be dissociated due to the many studies proving that swearing is actually a sign of more intelligence. This is why I believe that the use of swear words should no longer be criticised and taboo, regardless of the person who is using them.      

Americanisms

Americanisms are commonly used throughout England and have even been dated back as far to Shakespearian times with Shakespeare saying ‘what trash is Rome’. So why are the British suddenly boycotting Americanisms when they don't even know which words are and which words are not? The answer could be simple traditionalism with many people believing that it is replacing traditional English where Britain was the centre of the English Language. They can also confuse people, with the more straight forward variations of sidewalk and pavement to the more complex small variations of colour and color; especially to anyone new to the English Language trying to learn it.

Although Brits act as traditionalists towards the language it’s important to remember that we Brits have been stealing words from other languages for centuries, stemming from the First King of England, King William I from Normandy, bringing aspects of French and Latin to the language all the way through to the Viking invasions of Anglo Saxon England. Most near and dear ‘British’ words that are close to our hearts are not even originated in Britain. For example tea comes from the Chinese word te; chocolate, although came to England after passing through Spanish, it was originally xoxolatl in the Nahuatl language of modern-day Mexico; music which originates from Greek referring to the art of the muses; and sarcasm which is also Greek and comes from the word sarx. In order for the British to be rightly outraged about Americanisms they should stop using words that do not originate from old English, a feat that is virtually impossible, considering how mixed our language in itself is. As Brits we need to realise that our language is forever evolving and Americanisms are just another example of this evolution. Without the evolution of language we would still be stuck in a language that would not match our current society and how we have evolved as not only a country but a world.

Personally I believe that Americanisms should not be shunned by our ‘stiff upper lip’ and should be further embraced. Not only are they significantly more logical, missing out the unnecessary U’s in every other word, the large majority of words sound British regardless. Words such as centre and center both have the same meaning and yet the spelling is different. This change of spelling adds no significance to the word only confusion to the person spelling them. Another example of this confusion is theatre and theater, yet unnecessary spelling change. Anyone who can see these words can clearly see the easier way of spelling is er rather than re, so why would be just further complicate an already complicated language. A further example is the use of S where there should be a Z sound. Although the use of S in the word does look nicer simple phonetics would mean that the word should be spelt with a Z such as the word realise. Us Brits spell it with a ise rather than the more logical phonetic ize. These are the reasons why I believe Americanisms should be used rather than shunned throughout England. 

Welcome

Welcome to my blog,

in this blog I will be posting about my responses to topical issues about the English Language such as Americanisms - which will be my first post. Americanisms are words or expressions or other features that is a characteristic of American English.