This is a subject that is almost never brought up when it comes to learning languages. It's because many people are going to be insulted or offended when they've used and could have the potential to lead to violence. I've seen many sites as well as books trying to teach you the "real" language that's actually used. Obviously, swearing is unbecoming and just because you can doesn't mean you should. But let's explore this further, shall we?
Random Gibberish? Or "You're Stupid" in another language?
Let me share an experience I had in a beginner's Mandarin Chinese class I took in high school. We were trying to learn new vocabulary and structures while the teacher (who is a native speaker by the way) wanted to know something about my friend at the time. (We are no longer friends but it wasn't because of this incident though). He decided to spit out some random gibberish while the teacher immediately picked it up as 你好笨啊 (nǐ shé bèn dàn) or "You're Stupid" in Mandarin. Luckily the teacher had a sense of humour but my ex-friend was mortified after that.
Why? Well because he made a dangerous assumption that if he just spits out random sounds or made up words that they might actually means something in another language (even if you really butchered it!) Thanks to him we not only learned a new phrase but it was something to keep in mind so when we could at least acknowledge that we're being insulted when the situation happens to present itself to us.
Ignorance Is Not Bliss
While it's never a good idea to just learn swear words so that you can randomly insult people to no end; it's also not a good idea to flat out ignore them like they don't exist. You need to be aware of them so you know what's insulting and offensive that could cause major problems if you are not careful. You don't want to say something so insulting that it lands you in jail (ex: offending a police officer) or physically attacked as a result.
Now onto those books that would teach you the real language you were never taught in school which more often than not included: insults and swear words. They also include slang but due to the nature of slang going in and out of style, a lot of it was out-dated. It's a nice reference to have so that way I need which words were "used in the bedroom", insulting, which could be used as euphemisms and which ones you should avoid saying at all costs.
Doesn't sound odd to you when someone who doesn't speak English well at all, using these words just because they can? Defending yourself is one thing but flat out offending people is another. Sometimes there just isn't a word to describe the strong emotion you might be feeling so end up being inclined to use a more vulgar expression to get your point across.
Why We Swear
According to How Stuff Works, every language has its own unique set of words and phrases to express taboo subjects. They are usually related to religions or bodily functions but are definitely not limited to only that. It seems many cuss words tend to have a very strong or "ugly" (and I'm using "ugly" loosely) sound to them when spoken. But sometimes an innocent sounding word can also carry a vulgar meaning as well. The article goes on to say that many people tend to learn swear words first and that people needs some form of outlet to let out powerful emotions.
But I'm NOT a Vulgar Person
Are you sure about that? How many times have you let out a powerful emotion without cussing? Yeah, I know there are a lot of people who don't do it on a regular basis and try to avoid it whenever possible. That's fine. However, not making an effort to bear in mind which words are taboo is just as bad. Even if you had good intentions and thought you just muttering gibberish (like my ex-friend did). I'd rather be knowledgeable about these words so that way when I encounter an odd word on social media, blogs, forums, movies, TV shows, books, magazines, etc. I will at least know it ahead of time. Particularly, if it's a word I wouldn't use myself.
Rule of thumb: If you decide to use vulgar language know that it has a strong negative impact on people. It's not something you should try out unless you're given the okay to or if a situation calls for it.
Be careful which ones you use and know exactly why you're using them. It's always best (in my opinion) to use words to express a powerful emotion WITHOUT directly slandering someone as result.
So how do you approach vulgarities in your target language(s)? Do you have a select few? Do you try to avoid learning them? Or do you wait until you have solid grounding in the language before you dive into that territory? I'd really like to know your take on this.
Comments
Post a Comment