Excuse my French! (1)
Comments people made on an earlier post in the 中級編 category about ‘Strong Adjectives‘ led me to the idea of writing a post about bad language in English. At first I thought I would put it in the 中級編 category, but on reflection, I think the kind of inside knowledge of bad language that I want to share with you is more suitable for advanced students. Of course, there is nothing to stop the ‘lower classes’ from reading this if they choose!
Well-timed and appropriately-judged use of bad language can be a great ice-breaker, putting people at their ease and causing ripples of laughter in a crowd. Used badly though, it is just embarrassing and this is one more reason that I thought it best to put this post in the 上級編. I recall being at a wedding party once and family photographs were being taken in a garden. It was a lovely day, but people were a little tense and needed to relax so that the photographer could take some nice pictures. Someone said ‘Cheese!’ but it didn’t really have the desired effect so the bride’s sister shouted out ‘Up your bum!’. This nicely-timed and clearly-delivered reference to anal sex had everyone in stitches and set the mood nicely for a party free of unnecessary stiffness and formality. ‘Going too far is better than not going far enough’ might be a suitable lesson we can learn from this.
The funny lady just mentioned might have been heard to apologize with the words ‘Excuse my French’ - a common form used to apologize for bad language before or after using it. For example, ‘Excuse my French, but you’re fucking mad if you think I’m going to kiss the boss’ ass on your behalf.’
With that little preamble out of the way, let us proceed to the main course of sexual vulgarity and its varied applications in colloquial speech… First off, what better place to start than with the delightful word ‘fuck’?
‘Fuck’ as a word stands at the top of the food chain of bad language - it is the fountainhead from which a deluge of vulgarity surges, adding colour to the normally-restrained and understated language of the English. In its most basic form it is little more than an invitation to fight : “Fuck you!”, “Motherfucker”, and the like. The verb can also be used in expressions like, “I couldn’t give a fuck” (ie., I don’t care) or “He fucked it up” (ie., He made a mess of it - cf. “What a fuck-up”, ie., what a disaster). Perhaps the most common use of the word ‘fuck’ is as an adjective - ‘fucking’. Here are some examples:
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The effect of using ‘fucking’ in these sentences is two-fold : (1) to emphasize the extremity of the situation, (2) to shock people by using a taboo word (which refers to sex) thereby convincing them of the sincerity of your feelings.
In questions with ‘wh-’ question words, we use ‘the fuck’, like this:
- Why the fuck did you do that? (more politely : Why on earth did you do that?)
- What the fuck are you talking about?
- Where the fuck are my bloody car keys?
‘Bloody’ in the last example here is a very old swearword, that is not considered so strong nowadays. It is supposed to refer to the ‘blood of Christ’ and is therefore blasphemy - not such a serious crime in modern British society. In questions without ‘wh-’ questions words, we use ‘fucking’ :
- Is he fucking coming or what?
- Do you want to fucking buy it or not?
Perhaps the most common situation in which bad language is used is when people are angry or upset about making a mistake. For example, on realizing that you have made a mistake, you might say : “Oh, fuck!” , “Oh, shit” , “Oh bollocks”. Basically any vulgar word relating to sex or sexual genitalia or human excretions would be suitable in this situation. ‘Bollocks’ is a classic English word for the male testicles, and is much appreciated for its comedy value.
When it comes to insulting other people, we have a plethora of foul expletives; here are some examples in descending order of ’shock’ value :
- That fuck still hasn’t paid me back.
- My stupid cunt of a girlfriend dumped me.
- She’s such a stuck-up bitch.
- Look at him trying to hit on those girls - what a dick!
- What did you do that for? You plonker!
‘Dick’ and ‘plonker’ being words for male genitalia, usually refer to men who are considered stupid in some way. ‘Cunt’ being a word for the female genitalia, is usually used in reference to women, though it can also be used effectively to talk about men. ‘Bitch’ usually refers to women, though it can be used to refer to men who display some of the negative characteristics sometimes associated with women. (I won’t attempt to list what these negative characteristics might be…).
Some sensitivity to the people around you is necessary when using bad language. Although it is broadly acceptable in casual situations, that will depend on your relationship with the other people present or, for example, whether children can hear you. Young people often enjoy using bad language for its shock value, but that behaviour tends to decrease as people get older. You should not use bad language with your superiors (in age or otherwise), in formal situations (though there is some flexibility in a work situation) or when children are present. It is perhaps typically English that we take pride in being polite in our formal dealings, but can swing to the other extreme at the drop of a hat, should the situation permit.
Dromiceius wrote:
Reminds me of a classic bit of web-culture: “Uses of the Word Fuck” which is apparently attributed to Adam Sandler nowadays. Go figure.
http://www.lyricsandsongs.com/song/56894.html
I would think it endearing in a disproportionately large number of circumstances to use “play hide and go fuck yourself” for the sheer cleverness of it.
Posted on 22-Sep-06 at 3:00 pm | Permalink
bamboo4 wrote:
The concept behind the use of “fuck” in the English language has no equivalent in the Japanese language. Accordingly, in translating English expressions containing that word, we can only seek to find what a Japanese would say under the same set of circumstances. Thus, literal translation to convey the same concept is a sheer impossibility.
For example, “What the fuck do you think you are doing?” can only be translated, e.g., as 一体全体何をやらかすつもりなんだよ？ which completely lacks the concept behind the use of the word “fuck” or any implication of it.
It should be noted that the Japanese language is inherently poor, as compared with the English language, in terms of expletives and other “bad language” and they are essentially limited to the use of words related to idiocy (バカ、アホウ、マヌケ）、excrements (クソ、クソッタレ、クソ野郎、小便野郎（pronounced “shonben yarou”)、くそ馬鹿, etc.), mental state (キチガイ、き印）or refrences to the lower societal status or beastly being (この野郎、こん畜生、畜生、メス豚、etc.).
There is no comparison, language-wise, therefore, with the prolific breath of swear-words built into the English language, many of which are so classified because of their blasphemous nature. Here again, the Japanese language lacks the concept of blasphemy. The word “blasphemy” is generally translated as 冒涜(boutoku) in Japanese but this word was not a part of the Japanese vocabruary until the Meiji era. The only Yamato kotoba (original Japanese) that I can think of which has the similarity in concept would be 罰当たり(bachi atari) in which 罰(bachi) means the punishment meted out by either Shinto god or Buddhism buddha (although I personally believe that a Buddha would not mete out such punishment, being essentially a merciful being, whereas a Shinto god is revengeful and jealous being which needs pacifying) for immoral deeds. Accordingly, 罰当たり would mean he or she who was hit by such punishment. We use it in such manner as この罰当たりめ！ meaning, again figuratively, “Damn you!”
Enough said.
Posted on 23-Sep-06 at 5:18 am | Permalink