Is Profanity Becoming The Way of

Life?
Is Profanity Becoming The Way of Life?
When I open up the newspaper today, a politician is quoting the phrase “shitty
deal” from a Goldman Sachs memo recovered in the recent fraud investigation.
Then another movie advertisement “Kick Ass” appears on the overleaf. You can
easily get a T-shirt that prints “Starf*cks” (certain alphabets in this article have
to be * for safety reasons). All these words were considered vulgar not too long
ago.

It is also common to see rappers using profanity. The famous rapper Eminem has
a song named “Still Don’t Give A F*ck”. Kanye West also labeled his latest album
“Good Ass Job”. According to Elizabeth Monk-Turner, a Professor of Sociology and
Chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Old Dominion
University, studies reveal that the word “F*ck” was used by 124 rappers in their
songs. Words such as “B*tch”, “Nigga”, “Shit” were used by 109, 122, and 124
rappers respectively. However, the professor did conclude that female rappers
seem to use less profanity compared to male rappers. This observation is
somewhat consistent with our society, where men are more likely to swear than
the ladies are.

It is without a doubt that profanity is creeping into our daily lexicon. Language
researchers are warning that we are heading down a disturbing path. Their
worries are not unfounded. As language reflects our identity, so how we use
English now will change who we are tomorrow.

Nevertheless, some experts argued that this so called “degradation” of the

English language is in fact a natural evolution. They suggested that the use of
the English language has always been changing and evolving. What we
considered vulgar 20 years ago is now society norm. Phrases such as “suck” and
“ass” are being used by the younger generation in daily conversation. This is
because each generation would want to differentiate themselves from the
previous generation, so they become more creative in their use of language. As a
result, leading to mass adoption of different slang or so called ‘dirty’ phrases.
However, the way young people perceive the meaning of these phrases is not
necessarily the same as the older generation. To them, words such as “suck” just
means lousy. Movie title such as “Kick Ass” is just another trendy slang. The
history and original meaning of a word does not limit how it is being used as time
goes by.

So the big question is whether we should curb the use of profanity. In the West,
we still enforce strict censorship rules on certain ‘dirty’ words on mass media
such as television broadcasts and newspapers. Most television live telecasts are
in reality 2 minutes delayed telecasts so that anything inappropriate can be
muted or deleted.

Yet, many have argued that media censorship on profanity is like ostriches
burying their head in the ground. We just cannot avoid unpleasant situations by
refusing to acknowledge that they exist. Movies and TV series will not stop using
profanity because that language is relevant to their target audiences. When we
leave out words where they are relevant, the message is no longer authentic.
Linguist experts suggested that the use of colourful language is like a cycle and
words carry different meanings in different eras. It is a fashion that will keep
changing and we cannot stop it. But sooner or later, it will come to a full circle.

It just so happens that profanity is the style of our days.