I've never given much thought to being a potty mouth.
(I'd never even heard the expression "potty mouth" until I watched a South Park episode a couple of years back. Needless to say, it was an immediate hit. That, and the "Blame Canada" theme song).
My predilection for cussin', however, began at a very early age. I attended a Catholic primary school, so naturally I was well versed in the delicious naughtiness of the forbidden. I recall being menaced - frequently - by a teacher who threatened to wash my mouth out with soap, but rather than deter me, this merely spurred me on to new and ever greater heights of profanity.
Thus began my life long love affair with four letter words.
Admittedly, there have been times when I have attempted to curb my foul mouth in the hopes of becoming a newer, nicer me. But these forays into decorum have been short lived and are, ultimately, doomed to failure. This is because, let's face it, bad language is fun. There is nothing more satisfying than letting loose a string of expletives in times of great stress or excitement.
I am also an avid fan of swearing in other languages. I must confess that my range is fairly limited: I know a smattering in Italian, French and Spanish. But often, the deployment of a foreign swear word is far more appealing than its english counterpart. Merde, for example, spat out from the back of the throat with the french "r" intact, is so very, very...well...French. (And I mean French in the best possible way: condescending, urbane and frankly, just so much more hip than you, cherie).
It may come as no surprise, then (and I admit to this with the requisite chagrin) that I have been far more thorough in mastering Québecois swear words, than in learning French grammar.
I came to Québec thinking that I would merely expand on my already considerable knowledge of French oaths (merde, putain, putain de merde, salope, etc).
But I was in for something of a shock.
In English we make a distinction between blaspheming and swearing. To say "Christ", for instance, or "Jesus H. Christ on a stick" is to blaspheme. Whereas, to say "fuck" is to swear. There is a difference - albeit a subtle one to some people - between blaspheming and swearing. Ordinarily it is worse to say "fuck" than to say "Christ".
Here in Québec, however, the most obscene oaths are reserved for words pertaining to the church. They range from crisse (christ), tabarnak (tabernacle), câlisse (chalice), sacrament (sacrement), to ostie (the host), ciboâre (ciborium) and viarge (virgin).
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
Nice work. And you refrained from using profanity obscenely (if you know what i mean).
Also found me a couple of good links. Thanks.
(See how I resisted. I .... can ... resist.. I .... can. noooooooooooo. ...
... Farkel (as my mom says)
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
heh, brilliant stuff. to quote billy connolly (or near as dammit) "i know at least 112 words. and i still prefer fuck."
It is interesting, as you say, how words become "swears". It's difficult to imagine a new swear word, for example. Mind you, i do get lots of fun out of concocting my own swear-laden phrases. "Couldn't give a flying gypsies fuck" is one of my more recent, and most cherished.
Its interesting too that what might be a swearword in one english-speaking country might not be in another. For example, the word "wanker" is pretty much on a par with calling someone a bastard over here in the UK, i.e, you can't be saying it pre-watershed. Over in the US, though, even homer simpson says it. And U2, also in a simpsons episode, which was censored over here.
3 - Ed
I tried it.
That was fun, and I don't even speak French!
4 - Temple Stark
"Wanker" was censored????
It must have run on BBC1 then.
For those who don't know - never had an occasion to wonder or inquire - "wanker" is from the verb to wank , amer. eng, to masturbate. Usually male.
Is often also used in a friendly way, as akin to bastard. "You are a bastard. "C'mon man don't be such a wanker and buy me a pint."
"Voice of America Enlgish language program signing off now. Y'all have a goodun, ya hear?"
5 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
fine summary, Temple. that's pretty spot on. And here's another observation in a similar trend; the C word in the US is the most offensive of the offensive. Over here, it's up there with the F and so on, but has none of the conotations (heh. say that one fast) that it does in the US. over here, "fuck off you cunt" is heard from bar-stool to bar-stool, usually after someone has made a jibe, in fun, at the expense of said fuck-flinger. we call each other C all the time. its just like a more offensive version of wanker. i can't imagine US folks saying C to each other in such a manner. For example, i was beside myself with shock when Woody Allen refered to "that cunt" in deconstructing harry, and yet the barrage of such in trainspotting cost me not a musing. Odd, that...
oh, and when the U2 simpsons episode was released on video, it was uncut, albeit with a 12 rating.
6 - Doug
What I have always found interesting about French ecclesiatical cuss words is the resulting euphemisms. We have them in English, such as "Jiminy Cricket" instead of "Jesus Christ", "gosh darn" instead of God damn, etc etc.
Here are a few that I have found:
Chalice... becomes, in Quebec "Colline" which only means 'hill', but has the same opening sound as Chalice...
This can then be elaborated as 'Colline de binnes' or 'hill of beans'.
"Nom de Dieu" or 'Name of God' can twist all the way to "nom d'un petit cochon bleu" or 'name of a little blue pig', or if a Frenchman wants to swear a lot but never quite get all the way, he can go on saying "nom d'un nom, d'un nom, d'un nom..." or 'name of a name of a name of a... ' and never get all the way to the almost but not quite blasphemy 'name of God'. Even 'Crisse' is a not-quite-all-the-way pronunciation of 'Christ' even if the 't' is silent...
I guess the thrill comes from "almost' doing something forbidden, but not quite going so far as to actually do it.
Verbal emphasis also is achieved by euphemisms in a veiled sort of way, like implying 'this next word is so important I could almost be moved to swear about it'
Any more examples of strange euphemisms for swear words in French or other languages....?
7 - Scott Butki
I bought this book for a friend who wanted to learn how to cuss better and with more variety. It works!