Profanity

Japanese

I take exception with the Japanese section. The word ''manko'', or alternately, ''omanko'', is the Japanese equivalent to the English profanity ''cunt'' and is considered to be the foulest word in the Japanese language. It's typically censored in publication and broadcast. Most Japanese, when typing it on the internet, will censor themselves by using ''masoko'' (since the ''so'' and ''n'' characters in hiragana and katakana are similar to one another) or blot out the center character altogether. The article also fails to mention that the Japanese will typically use the English profanities as their own. The section also smacks of an Orientalist POV.Mosquito ringtone YoungFreud/YoungFreud 06:54, 9 Aug 2004

: Agreed, the previous content was ridiculous. I've given it a thorough rewrite, comments welcome.

Russian

The Russian usage is very interesting! Can you give an example of use?

Also, by whom are words "banned" in Russia? Does the government have the right to censor words from all discourse? That belongs in the article on Sabrina Martins :censorship/censorship, I imagine. Nextel ringtones User:Dmerrill/Dmerrill

You can find examples at [http://koapp.narod.ru/information/diction/book12.htm] Abbey Diaz user:Devotchka/Devotchka
:Is there a specific name for that slang? It would be good to have an article on it (in it?). Free ringtones User:Error/Error



It's not Russian-only.
It's very alike in Polish, and probably in other Slavic languages. Majo Mills User:Taw

Common profanity in different languages

Would a "Common profanity in different languages" page be useful?

Mosquito ringtone User:Ppetru/Ppetru

How about "let's swear with Wikipedia!" ;-) seriously, though, I remember reading that in some countries religious swearwords are more taboo, in other it's sexual words. some both? Sabrina Martins User:Tarquin/Tarquin 07:20 Aug 6, 2002 (PDT)

Russian
:Profanity took a very interesting form in Nextel ringtones Russia where there exists a language of sorts, most of its words based on four basic profane roots - nouns ''penis'', ''whore'', ''cunt'' and verb ''fuck''. At least two hundred derivative words exist in this language, plus countless word combinations. It is possible to sensibly communicate using just these four basic roots. Due to countless very fine nuances (stress on a different syllable changes the meaning of certain words etc.) it is not easy to master that language which is very widely used in Russia, especially in rural areas. Before the Abbey Diaz 1990s these words never appeared in print (except special articles published in universities) and still are officially banned on Cingular Ringtones Television/TV and in the doubling as movies.

I would have to see a source for this, to believe it.

:Well, then find a source. Other people on this very talk page have confirmed it already. film leaves User:AxelBoldt/AxelBoldt

How can there be a "language" with only 200 words in which it is possible to "sensibly communicate". If it is indeed "very widely used" it should be easy to find a source. A dictionary listing of banned obscene terms as cited above is not a source showing the existence of a distince "language". I've seen similar lists before, for Japanese as well as Russian.

:I guess you have to be Russian, or know Russian, to understand it.

Better to say instead that someone wrote down a list of 200 Russian swear words, nearly all of which are derived from 4 profane roots. several news Ed Poor/Ed Poor 17:42 Sep 23, 2002

: No, it's more complex than that, although calling it its own language is slightly exaggerated. Basically you can take ''pizda'', ''khui'' and a few others, conjugate them in any way you choose into verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, whatever, and end up with a meaningless yet obscene word. хуй (dick) > хуило > хуиня > хуйнуть > хуёвый... and because all parts of language are represented, you can even form grammatically complete sentences! programmers wrote Jpatokal/Jpatokal 05:45, 11 Nov 2004

fuck

I absolutely don't get moving ''fuck'' here from its own article. If the fuck article was "a holy mess", which I don't buy, what good does it do to dump it unchanged here? I proposes moving it back (and will do so after a 24-hour cooling-off period. I will edit it a bit when I do, but it really isn't bad as a stand-alone article, but it distorts this article mightily. how brownie Ortolan88/Ortolan88 18:00 Sep 23, 2002

:I have to agree. airport roads User:The Cunctator/The Cunctator
::Yes, I agree too. can literally User:Koyaanis Qatsi/KQ

French and Spanish

"The situation is rendered more complex when other languages enter the picture. In European Spanish, coño (usually translated as "cunt" in English) is very common in spoken discourse, meaning no more than "Hey!" or "Christ!". Likewise, in French, merde (usually translated as "shit") is also quite common as an expletive meaning little more than "Damn!". Some scholars have noted that while the French and Spanish are comfortable hearing native speakers use these words, they tend to hear the "stronger" meaning when the same words are spoken by non-native speakers. This may be similar to the differences in the acceptability of queer or nigger depending on who is saying the words."

I not skilled enough in English to rewrite rewrite it !
"Merde" translate as "shit" and used like Fuck.
Ta voiture de merde = Your fucking car
No need to refer to queer or nigger this isn't more acceptable in French than in English. Equivalent of queer might be a little worse in French, and nigger might be a little stronger than is French equivalent but I'm not absolutely sure.

"Some scholars have noted that while the French and Spanish are comfortable hearing native speakers use these words, they tend to hear the "stronger" meaning when the same words are spoken by non-native speakers."
Well it's not obvious it can work it two senses my german-speaking grandmother liked to say "merde" in French while she considered "Scheisse" in German as awfull. As for mùyself "niquer" or "baiser" are worse than "fuck".
zippy a Ericd/Ericd 19:51 Feb 5, 2003

: I am German and I speak French, and in my impression, the situation is comparable with respect to "shit" in both languages. I added the German half to that phrase. Having worked with quite some exchange students, many of them from the U.S., they are usually quite baffled by the excessive use of ''Scheiße'' in German. Even kids say it. artists anyone Djmutex/Djmutex 08:34 May 2, 2003

::I don't agree at all. I'm German, and to me "Scheiße" is extremely offensive, and totally out of the question in normal conversation (maybe apart from groups of youths). I notice it becoming more and more common especially among kids, but I, for one, take offence in its use, and most people I know would, too. (To the point that I even hesitate typing it here.) powerful finance Laca/Laca 17:06, 3 Aug 2004

taking God's name in vain

I think the part about "taking God's name in vain" should be changed. The meaning of the phrase is to break a contract (anceint Jewish businessmen would sign a contract in the name of God, and breaking that contract was said to be "in vain"). The idea that it refers to profanity is a common misconception, due to changes in modern contracting. The part about it should be either removed or clarified. exploring librarian User_talk:LGagnon/LGagnon

phatnav.com copy

Anyone know about this?: http://www.phatnav.com/wiki/wiki.phtml?title=Profanity and its charming & false copyright notice, "All content Copyright 2003 - PhatNav and Diagonal Media Group Inc. (Except as noted on pages containing separately licensed content.) All rights reserved." web addresses Koyaanis Qatsi/Koyaanis Qatsi 20:46, 7 Feb 2004
:It is misleading indeed. given current Copies_of_Wikipedia_content_(low_degree_of_compliance)#phatnav.com. - hartdegen guy Snoyes/snoyes 20:52, 7 Feb 2004

fart and turd

In my experience, "fart" and "turd" are not considered profanity; for instance, even heavy usage of both would probably not garner a movie an "R" rating, and there are ads targeted at very young children that use these words. and elbowed Meelar/Meelar 21:02, 7 Feb 2004

Use of this article in Court
Anyone know more about this? In [http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=32&aid=62126]:
:''[Wikipedia] has even been used in litigation, when in July 2003, a Wikipedia article on profanity was cited in a motion to dismiss a case in a Colorado court.''

::Found a reference here "http://journalism.utexas.edu/onlinejournalism/wikipedia.pdf, April 2004, by Andrew Lih.", which links to http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/fword1.html, which has scans of the court papers. It seems the actual reference was to the generations Fuck (first page of the court papers) Cool. series listen Chris 73/Chris 73 / ever necessary User talk:Chris 73/Talk 02:44, 24 Jul 2004

"Big three"

What are the "big three" swear words, as referenced to in the 300th episode of the Simpsons?
:Probably there aren't any; I suspect the writers just played off the inherent confusion in such a statement for humorous effect. Or, it could be a very subtle dig at the "big three" networks - ABC, CBS & NBC. album elvis FirstPrinciples/FirstPrinciples 09:28, Oct 8, 2004

Airplane CVR transcripts
''Cut from article [Regarding 'shit']:''
"In over 50% of airline crash recordings, these are the last words uttered by the crew in the cockpit."
:In the past I have reviewed dozens of manet in cockpit voice recorder/CVR transcripts, and although 'shit' does occur frequently, I find it ''very'' hard to believe that it's the last word uttered over half the time. I suspect this is a silly urban legend, the sort of thing that propagates all over the internet with no basis in fact. I've cut the claim out until someone can offer solid evidence for it. FirstPrinciples/FirstPrinciples 20:00, Oct 6, 2004

Psycholinguistics

''Psycholinguistic studies have demonstrated that profanity and other taboo words produce physical effects in people who read or hear them, such as an elevated heart rate.''

Does anyone have a reference for such studies? Apart from a reference being useful for the wikipedia article, I'd appreciate it for my own work!! The JPS/The JPS 04:55, 6 Mar 2005