Language

[radegund]

I swear a lot. No, really, a lot. I mean, not at work, or in other contexts where it isn't appropriate, but in general conversation I'm usually among the most foul-mouthed participants. I get it mainly from my father. Also my teddy-bear, who used to turn the air blue - in fact, I got put out on the stairs (the all-purpose punishment in our house) on numerous occasions for things that Flaubert had said.

So now I'm wondering: should I tone it down when my son is learning to talk? What do you think?

[Poll #368139]

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Comments

[pleidhce.livejournal.com]

Swearing is passionate taboo language, one of the riches linguistic life has to offer, an induction into society. Children learn about usage and taboos very early and make their own decisions. The alternative is learning the words in a way that over-mystifies them, makes them feel dark and dirty. Mostly, curse-words refer to the body or to family relationships, and getting the full gamut of all the possible registers to talk about these things at the beginning of life removes the trace of shame associated with them. Swearing is linguistic nakedness, and I find it hard to think that that sort of modesty is good for hatchlings.

[radegund.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to think you're right, partly because that's how I was brought up. But I swear much more freely than "passionate taboo language" implies. Most common swear words have little or no shock value for me. Maybe what I'll do is try to resensitise myself: use swear words when they effectively express my meaning, and not just as punctuation.

That said, there are words that I would hate my child to use - "gay" as an insult, for instance, or "spa", which I've always viscerally detested. So I can be shocked. Probably those are the ones he'll go for, then...