Sunday, May 11, 2008

Bad words

Some time ago I got a request from my faithful reader (or? Where are you Nelson??) about swear words. So now I was thinking about writing something about that. The most common ones here in Sweden are based on Satan, not on things connected to the body in different ways. This might be because Sweden is such a secular society and the usage of "religious" curses isn't seen as harsh. So, common words are: fan, satan (same meaning), jävlar/djävlar (devils), helvete (hell), herre djävlar (herre = lord).

Ethymology (from Wikipedia) "The word "Hell" used away from its religious context was long considered to be profanity, particularly in North America. Although its use was commonplace in everyday speech and on television by the 1970s, many people in the US still consider it somewhat rude or inappropriate language, particularly involving children.[4] Many, particularly among religious circles and in certain sensitive environments, still avoid casual usage of the word. In British English and some parts of North America, the word has fallen into common use and is not considered profane; often considered to be a safer and less offensive alternative to swearing, as in the phrase, "Go to Hell."

1 comment:

Steve sculpts critters said...

Interesting.
Not that it has anything to do with it, but here goes...
If you don't mind my asking, what do you make of my animal bronzes?
If you like them, I love it if you'd show your friends!
I'm trying to get my work seen by a wider audience.
If not, thanks for looking.
http://www.steveworthingtonart.com
There's some 'how it's made' stuff on my blog too,
http://www.steveworthingtonart.blogspot.com